Electroacupuncture inhibits dendritic spine remodeling through the srGAP3-Rac1 signaling pathway in rats with SNL

Previous studies have shown that peripheral nerve injury can lead to abnormal dendritic spine remodeling in spinal dorsal horn neurons. Inhibition of abnormal dendritic spine remodeling can relieve neuropathic pain. Electroacupuncture (EA) has a beneficial effect on the treatment of neuropathic pain, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. Evidence has shown that slit-robo GTPase activating protein 3 (srGAP3) and Rho GTPase (Rac1) play very important roles in dendritic spine remodeling. Here, we used srGAP3 siRNA and Rac1 activator CN04 to confirm the relationship between SrGAP3 and Rac1 and their roles in improving neuropathic pain with EA. Spinal nerve ligation (SNL) was used as the experimental model, and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL), mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT), Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and Golgi-Cox staining were used to examine changes in behavioral performance, protein expression and dendritic spines. More dendritic spines and higher expression levels of srGAP3 were found in the initial phase of neuropathic pain. During the maintenance phase, dendritic spines were more mature, which was consistent with lower expression levels of srGAP3 and higher expression levels of Rac1-GTP. EA during the maintenance phase reduced the density and maturity of dendritic spines of rats with SNL, increased the levels of srGAP3 and reduced the levels of Rac1-GTP, while srGAP3 siRNA and CN04 reversed the therapeutic effects of EA. These results suggest that dendritic spines have different manifestations in different stages of neuropathic pain and that EA may inhibit the abnormal dendritic spine remodeling by regulating the srGAP3/Rac1 signaling pathway to alleviate neuropathic pain.

Phosphorylation of 46-kappa Da protein of synaptic vesicle membranes is stimulated by GTP and Ca2+/calmodulin

The release of neurotransmitter is regulated in the processes of membrane docking and membrane fusion between synaptic vesicles and presynaptic plasma membranes. Synaptic vesicles contain a diverse set of proteins that participate in these processes. Small GTP-binding proteins exist in the synaptic vesicles and are suggested to play roles for the regulation of neurotransmitter release. We have examined a possible role of GTP-binding proteins in the regulation of protein phosphorylation in the synaptic vesicles. GTPgammaS stimulated the phosphorylation of 46 kappa Da protein (p46) with pI value of 5.0-5.2, but GDPbetaS did not. The p46 was identified as protein interacting with C-kinase 1 (PICK-1) by MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy analysis, and anti-PICK-1 antibody recognized the p46 spot on 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Rab guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (RabGDI), which dissociates Rab proteins from SVs, did not affect phosphorylation of p46. Ca2+/ calmodulin (CaM), which causes the small GTP- binding proteins like Rab3A and RalA to dissociate from the membranes and stimulates CaM- dependnet protein kinase(s) and phosphatase, strongly stimulate the phosphorylation of p46 in the presence of cyclosporin A and cyclophylin. However, RhoGDI, which dissociates Rho proteins from membranes, reduced the phosphorylation of p46 to the extent of about 50%. These results support that p46 was PICK-1, and its phosphorylation was stimulated by GTP and Ca2+/CaM directly or indirectly through GTP-binding protein(s) and Ca2+/CaM effector protein(s). The phosphorylation of p46 (PICK-1) by GTP and Ca2+/CaM may be important for the regulation of transporters and neurosecretion.

Regulation of GTP-binding state in RalA through Ca2+ and calmodulin

RalA GTPase, a member of Ras superfamily proteins, shows alternative forms between the active GTP-binding and the inactive GDP-binding states. Ral-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor such as RalGDS interacts with activated Ras and cooperates with Ras indicating that Ral can be activated through Ras signaling pathway. Another activation path for Ral are through Ca2+-dependent but Ras-independent manner. In this study, studies were carried out to examine possible effects of Ca2+ and calmodulin, Ca2+-binding protein, directly on the GTP/GDP-binding state to recombinant unprenylated GST-RalA proteins. The results showed that Ca2+ stimulated the binding of GTP to RalA, whereas it reduced the binding of GDP to RalA. However, it does not involve a high affinity association of Ca2+ with RalA. Ca2+/calmodulin stimulated the GTPase activity of RalA. These results indicate that Ca2+ alone activates RalA by stimulating GTP-binding to RalA and Ca2+/calmodulin inactivates RalA by increasing the activity of RalGTPase.

Investigations of anti-inflammatory activity of Jigrine.

Jigrine, a polypharmaceutical herbal formulation containing 14 medicinal plants is used in the Unani system of medicine for the treatment of liver ailments. The antiinflammatory activity of Jigrine (0.5 ml and 1.0 ml/kg, po), was evaluated against acute inflammation caused by carrageenin (injecting 0.1 ml of 1% carrageenin in 0.9% NaCl solution into plantar surface of the hind paw of the rat) and the effect of Jigrine (1 ml/kg/day, po for 7 days) was also studied on the sub-acute inflammation induced by cotton pellet granuloma. The paw volume, biochemical parameters like tissue AST, ALT, gamma-GTP and lipid peroxides and dry wt. of granuloma were measured to assess the anti-inflammatory activity. It showed a significant anti-inflammatory activity as evidenced by lowering the elevated levels of paw volume and biochemical parameters. But it could not reduce the sub-acute inflammation caused by cotton pellet granuloma. The study suggests that Jigrine has significant effect only on acute phase of inflammation caused by carrageenin. Antioxidant and membrane stabilizing action of Jigrine might be responsible for its anti-inflammatory effect.

Oxygen transfer in fish: morphological and molecular adjustments

A wide range of organismic, physiological and biochemical adjustments to improve oxygen transfer is observed in fish exposed to environmental hypoxia and during anemia. Many fish species of the Amazon obtain oxygen directly from air when water oxygen is low. The accessory air-breathing organs include modifications of the gills, mouth, stomach and intestine, and swimbladder vascularization. Other species extend the lower lip and skim to improve oxygen uptake from the oxygen-rich surface layer of the water. The amount of oxygen uptake from air wp estimated for Hoplosternum littorale and Lipossarcus pardalis. In addition, the oxygen uptake from the water surface was estimated for Colossoma macropomum. Blood oxygen content was reduced by 30 per cent in Hoplostemum littorale and Colossoma macropomum and 70 per cent in Lipossarcus pardalis if they were denied access to air. Adjustments of intraerythrocytic levels of ATP and GTP significantly improve oxygen transfer in fish during environmental hypoxia and anemia. In contrast to environmental hypoxia, intraerythrocytic levels of ATP and GTP increase during anemia in fish facilitating oxygen unloading to the tissues. It is suggested that the increase in ATP and GTP levels during anemia occurs because the conditions required to increase the activity of adenylate and guanylate phosphate synthetic pathways are similar.

Cell wall deficiency in slime strains of Neurospora crassa: osmotic inhibition of cell wall synthesis and Beta-D-glucan synthase activity

1. The RCP-3 S/H mutant of Neurospora crassa was obtained by vegetative selection in medium of high osmolarity of a mycelial form an fz, sg, os-1 ("smile"-like) segregant. The mutant exhibits spheroplast-hyphal dimorphism conditioned by the osmolarity of the culture medium (pietro et al. (1990). Journal of General Microbiology, 136: 121-129). The carbohydrate composition of the cell wall of the mutant was different from that of the wild type in the absence of an alkalisoluble galactosaminoglycan polymer. Furthermore the mutant cell wall had a somewhat lower content of ß-glucan relative to that of chitin. 2. Increasing concentrations of sorbitol in the culture medium of the mutant inhibited by 10-fold the formation of cell wall relative to toal biomass. The cell wall of the mutant cultured in the presence of sorbitol lacked mannose-and galactose-containing polymers, and also showed progressively lower amounts of ß-glucan relative to chitin. 3. The activity of membrane-bound (1-3)-ß-D-glucan synthase from the mutant grown in the absence of sorbitol shared several properties with the wil type enzyme (i.e., Km app, Vmax, stability at 30ºC, activation by GTPyS, and dissociability by treatment with NaCl and Tergitol NP-40 into a membrane-bound catalytic center and GTP-binding activating protein). On the other hand, the enzyme from the mutant but not that from the wild type was inactivated by about 15 per cent by treatment with NaCl and detergent. 4. At high concentrations of sorbitol (1.0M) the RCP-3 S/H mutant exclusively produced spheroplasts devoid of (1-3)-ß-D-glucan synthase activity. The defect was at the level of the membrane-bound catalytic center. The activity of the GTP-binding activating factor was apparently normal in these cells. 5. These results suggest that the definitive loss of cell wall in the N. crassa "slime" RCP-3 S/H mutant was due to a defect in (1-3)-ß-D-glucan synthase activity which wass exaggerated in the presence of high osmolyte concentrations

Kinetic properties of poly (2'-0-methycytidylic acid)- directed reverse transcriptase reaction

Poly (2'-O-methylcytidylic acid) is recognized as a template in reactions catalyzed by RNA-dependent DNA polymerases in the presence of Mn2+ as divalent cation. We report that kinetic data obtained for dGTP and template under optimal experimental conditions in the reaction catalyzed by reverse transcriptase showed some similarities between the poly (2'-O-methylcytidylic acid)Mn2+ and polyribocytidylic acid/Mg2+ systems. The reaction was inhibited by the action of N-ethylmaleimide and novobiocin, and to a lesser extent by ethidium bromide and tetramethyl ethidium bromide