Recombinant ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73) has long lasting antinociceptive effects that are dependent on adenosine A1 receptor activation.

BACKGROUND: Ecto-5'-nucleotidase (NT5E, also known as CD73) hydrolyzes extracellular adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine in nociceptive circuits. Since adenosine has antinociceptive effects in rodents and humans, we hypothesized that NT5E, an enzyme that generates adenosine, might also have antinociceptive effects in vivo. RESULTS: To test this hypothesis, we purified a soluble version of mouse NT5E (mNT5E) using the baculovirus expression system. Recombinant mNT5E hydrolyzed AMP in biochemical assays and was inhibited by alpha,beta-methylene-adenosine 5'-diphosphate (alpha,beta-me-ADP; IC50 = 0.43 microM), a selective inhibitor of NT5E. mNT5E exhibited a dose-dependent thermal antinociceptive effect that lasted for two days when injected intrathecally in wild-type mice. In addition, mNT5E had thermal antihyperalgesic and mechanical antiallodynic effects that lasted for two days in the complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) model of inflammatory pain and the spared nerve injury (SNI) model of neuropathic pain. In contrast, mNT5E had no antinociceptive effects when injected intrathecally into adenosine A1 receptor (A1R, Adora1) knockout mice. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that the long lasting antinociceptive effects of mNT5E are due to hydrolysis of AMP followed by activation of A1R. Moreover, our data suggest recombinant NT5E could be used to treat chronic pain and to study many other physiological processes that are regulated by NT5E.

Structure and dynamics of an Arp2/3 complex-independent component of the lamellipodial actin network.

Sea urchin coelomocytes contain an unusually broad lamellipodial region and have served as a useful model experimental system for studying the process of actin-based retrograde/centripetal flow. In the current study the small molecule drug 2,3-butanedione monoxime (BDM) was employed as a means of delocalizing the Arp2/3 complex from the cell edge in an effort to investigate the Arp2/3 complex-independent aspects of retrograde flow. Digitally-enhanced phase contrast, fluorescence and polarization light microscopy, along with rotary shadow transmission electron microscopy methods demonstrated that BDM treatment resulted in the centripetal displacement of the Arp2/3 complex and the associated dendritic lamellipodial (LP) actin network from the cell edge. In its wake there remained an array of elongate actin filaments organized into concave arcs that displayed retrograde flow at approximately one quarter the normal rate. Actin polymerization inhibitor experiments indicated that these arcs were generated by polymerization at the cell edge, while active myosin-based contraction in BDM treated cells was demonstrated by localization with antiphospho-myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC) antibody, the retraction of the cytoskeleton in the presence of BDM, and the response of the BDM arcs to laser-based severing. The results suggest that BDM treatment reveals an Arp2/3 complex-independent actin structure in coelomocytes consisting of elongate filaments integrated into the LP network and that these filaments represent a potential connection between the LP network and the central cytoskeleton.

Broadening the spectrum of actin-based protrusive activity mediated by Arp2/3 complex-facilitated polymerization: motility of cytoplasmic ridges and tubular projections.

Arp2/3 complex-facilitated actin polymerization plays an essential role in a variety of cellular functions including motility, adherence, endocytosis, and trafficking. In the present study, we employ the sea urchin coelomocyte experimental model system to test the hypotheses that Arp2/3 complex-nucleated actin assembly mediates the motility of two unusual cellular protrusions; the cytoplasmic ridges present during coelomocyte spreading, and inducible, tubular-shaped, and neurite-like projections. Our investigations couple pharmacological manipulation employing inhibitors of actin polymerization and the Arp2/3 complex with a wide array of imaging methods including digitally enhanced phase contrast, DIC, and polarization light microscopy of live cells; conventional, confocal and super-resolution light microscopy of fluorescently labeled cells; and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that Arp2/3 complex-facilitated actin polymerization underlies the motility of coelomocyte cytoplasmic ridges and tubular projections, that these processes are related to each other, and that they have been preliminarily identified in other cell types. The results also highlight the broad spectrum of actin-based protrusive activities dependent on the Arp2/3 complex and provide additional insights into the pervasive nature of this ubiquitous actin nucleator. Furthermore, we provide the first evidence of a possible mechanistic difference between the impacts of the small molecule drugs BDM and CK666 on the Arp2/3 complex.