Effects of GABAB receptors in the insula on recognition memory observed with intellicage.

BACKGROUND: Insular function has gradually become a topic of intense study in cognitive research. Recognition memory is a commonly studied type of memory in memory research. GABABR has been shown to be closely related to memory formation. In the present study, we used intellicage, which is a new intelligent behavioural test system, and a bilateral drug microinjection technique to inject into the bilateral insula, to examine the relationship between GABABR and recognition memory. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, Sham, Nacl, baclofen and CGP35348 groups. Different testing procedures were employed using intellicage to detect changes in rat recognition memory. The expression of GABABR (GB1, GB2) in the insula of rats was determined by immunofluorescence and western blotting at the protein level. In addition, the expression of GABABR (GB1, GB2) was detected by RT-PCR at the mRNA level. RESULTS: The results of the intellicage test showed that recognition memory was impaired in terms of position learning, punitive learning and punitive reversal learning by using baclofen and CGP35348. In position reversal learning, no significant differences were found in terms of cognitive memory ability between the control groups and the CGP and baclofen groups. Immunofluorescence data showed GABABR (GB1, GB2) expression in the insula, while data from RT-PCR and western blot analysis demonstrated that the relative expression of GB1 and GB2 was significantly increased in the baclofen group compared with the control groups. In the CGP35348 group, the expression of GB1 and GB2 was significantly decreased, but there was no significant difference in GB1 or GB2 expression in the control groups. CONCLUSIONS: GABABR expression in the insula plays an important role in the formation of recognition memory in rats.

Erythropoietin increases neuronal NDPKA expression, and NDPKA up-regulation as well as exogenous application protects cortical neurons from in vitro ischemia-related insults.

Using proteomics, we identified nucleoside diphosphate kinase A (NDPKA; also known as NME/NM23 nucleoside diphosphate kinase 1: NME1) to be up-regulated in primary cortical neuronal cultures by erythropoietin (EPO) preconditioning. To investigate a neuroprotective role of NDPKA in neurons, we used a RNAi construct to knock-down and an adenoviral vector to overexpress the protein in cortical neuronal cultures prior to exposure to three ischemia-related injury models; excitotoxicity (L-glutamic acid), oxidative stress (hydrogen peroxide), and in vitro ischemia (oxygen-glucose deprivation). NDPKA down-regulation had no effect on neuronal viability following injury. By contrast, NDPKA up-regulation increased neuronal survival in all three-injury models. Similarly, treatment with NDPKA recombinant protein increased neuronal survival, but only against in vitro ischemia and excitotoxicity. These findings indicate that the NDPKA protein may confer a neuroprotective advantage following injury. Furthermore, as exogenous NDPKA protein was neuroprotective, it suggests that a cell surface receptor may be activated by NDPKA leading to a protective cell-signaling response. Taken together both NDPKAs intracellular and extracellular neuroprotective actions suggest that the protein is a legitimate therapeutic target for the design of drugs to limit neuronal death following stroke and other forms of brain injury.

Mycobacterial nucleoside diphosphate kinase blocks phagosome maturation in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages.

BACKGROUND: Microorganisms capable of surviving within macrophages are rare, but represent very successful pathogens. One of them is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) whose resistance to early mechanisms of macrophage killing and failure of its phagosomes to fuse with lysosomes causes tuberculosis (TB) disease in humans. Thus, defining the mechanisms of phagosome maturation arrest and identifying mycobacterial factors responsible for it are key to rational design of novel drugs for the treatment of TB. Previous studies have shown that Mtb and the related vaccine strain, M. bovis bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), disrupt the normal function of host Rab5 and Rab7, two small GTPases that are instrumental in the control of phagosome fusion with early endosomes and late endosomes/lysosomes respectively. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we show that recombinant Mtb nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk) exhibits GTPase activating protein (GAP) activity towards Rab5 and Rab7. Then, using a model of latex bead phagosomes, we demonstrated that Ndk inhibits phagosome maturation and fusion with lysosomes in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. Maturation arrest of phagosomes containing Ndk-beads was associated with the inactivation of both Rab5 and Rab7 as evidenced by the lack of recruitment of their respective effectors EEA1 (early endosome antigen 1) and RILP (Rab7-interacting lysosomal protein). Consistent with these findings, macrophage infection with an Ndk knocked-down BCG strain resulted in increased fusion of its phagosome with lysosomes along with decreased survival of the mutant. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence in support of the hypothesis that mycobacterial Ndk is a putative virulence factor that inhibits phagosome maturation and promotes survival of mycobacteria within the macrophage.

The exonuclease TREX1 is in the SET complex and acts in concert with NM23-H1 to degrade DNA during granzyme A-mediated cell death.

Granzyme A (GzmA) activates a caspase-independent cell death pathway with morphological features of apoptosis. Single-stranded DNA damage is initiated when the endonuclease NM23-H1 becomes activated to nick DNA after granzyme A cleaves its inhibitor, SET. SET and NM23-H1 reside in an endoplasmic reticulum-associated complex (the SET complex) that translocates to the nucleus in response to superoxide generation by granzyme A. We now find the 3'-to-5' exonuclease TREX1, but not its close homolog TREX2, in the SET complex. TREX1 binds to SET and colocalizes and translocates with the SET complex. NM23-H1 and TREX1 work in concert to degrade DNA. Silencing NM23-H1 or TREX1 inhibits DNA damage and death of cells treated with perforin (PFN) and granzyme A, but not of cells treated with perforin and granzyme B (GzmB). After granzyme A activates NM23-H1 to make single-stranded nicks, TREX1 removes nucleotides from the nicked 3' end to reduce the possibility of repair by rejoining the nicked ends.

Specific biochemical inactivation of oncogenic Ras proteins by nucleoside diphosphate kinase.

Activating mutations of Ras have been implicated in approximately 30% of human cancers. In every case, the biochemical consequence of such mutations is to disrupt the GTPase activity of Ras and to render Ras resistant to the actions of GTPase activating proteins. Consequently, oncogenic Ras mutants are "locked" in a GTP-bound active state. We detected a potent activity in Escherichia coli extract that can efficiently convert mutationally activated GTP-bound Ras to the inactive GDP-bound form. Purification of the protein responsible for this activity led to the identification of the enzyme nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk). The human orthologue of Ndk is the NM23 metastasis suppressor, which we found to exhibit a similar activity. Purified Ndk effectively inactivates several of the oncogenic forms of Ras that are seen frequently in human cancers, including RasD12, the most commonly detected Ras mutation. Significantly, Ndk does not detectably affect wild-type Ras or an activated form of the Ras-related Rho GTPase. These results demonstrate that it is possible, through biochemical means, to specifically inactivate oncogenic Ras as a potential therapeutic approach to tumors that harbor Ras mutations. Moreover, the results suggest that the loss of NM23 expression that is commonly observed during tumor progression could lead to increased potency of oncogenic Ras proteins.

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase-like activity in adenylate kinase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Ak (adenylate kinase) is a ubiquitous enzyme that catalyses a reversible high-energy phosphoryl-transfer reaction between ATP and AMP to form ADP. In the present study, the Ak gene (adk) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and purified as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. Purified Ak converted AMP into ADP in the presence of [gamma-32P]ATP or [gamma-32P]GTP. Replacement of arginine-88 of adk with glycine resulted in the loss of enzymic activity. The purified protein also showed Ndk (nucleoside diphosphate kinase)-like activity as it transferred terminal phosphate from [gamma-32P]ATP to all nucleoside diphosphates, converting them into corresponding triphosphates. However, Ndk-like activity of Ak was not observed with [gamma-32P]GTP. Immunoblot analysis of various cellular fractions of M. tuberculosis H37Rv revealed that Ak is a cytoplasmic protein. The dual activity of Ak as both nucleoside mono- and di-phosphate kinases suggested that this enzyme may have a role in RNA and DNA biosynthesis in addition to its role in intracellular nucleotide metabolism.

Cytotoxic activity of nucleoside diphosphate kinase secreted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Pathogenicity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is closely related to its ability to survive and replicate in the hostile environment of macrophages. For some pathogenic bacteria, secretion of ATP-utilizing enzymes into the extracellular environment aids in pathogen survival via P2Z receptor-mediated, ATP-induced death of infected macrophages. A component of these enzymes is nucleoside diphosphate kinase (Ndk). The ndk gene was cloned from M. tuberculosis H37Rv and expressed in Escherichia coli. Ndk was secreted into the culture medium by M. tuberculosis, as determined by enzymatic activity and Western blotting. Purified Ndk enhanced ATP-induced macrophage cell death, as assayed by the release of [14C]adenine. A catalytic mutant of Ndk failed to enhance ATP-induced macrophage cell death, and periodate-oxidized ATP (oATP), an irreversible inhibitor of P2Z receptor, blocked ATP/Ndk-induced cell death. Purified Ndk was also found to be autophosphorylated with broad specificity for all nucleotides. Conversion of His117-->Gln, which is part of the nucleotide-binding site, abolished autophosphorylation. Purified Ndk also showed GTPase activity. Collectively, these results indicate that secreted Ndk of M. tuberculosis acts as a cytotoxic factor for macrophages, which may help in dissemination of the bacilli and evasion of the immune system.

The regulatory effect of nucleoside diphosphate kinase on G-protein and G-protein mediated phospholipase C.

The effect of nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK) on the activity of guanine nucleotide regulatory protein (G-protein) mediated phospholipase C (PLC) and on the [35S] GTPT tau S binding of G-protein was investigated in this work in order to demonstrate the mechanism behind the regulation of G-protein and its effector PLC by NDPK. The stimulation of PLC in turkey erythrocyte membrane by both GTP and GTP tau S indicated that the PLC stimulation was mediated by G-protein. NDPK alone stimulated PLC activity, as well as the stimulation in the presence of GTP and GDP, in a dose-dependent manner. However, NDPK inhibited GTP tau S-stimulated PLC. Furthermore, NDPK inhibited [35S]GTP tau S binding of purified Gi-protein in a non-competitive manner. A hypothesis implying an important role of direct interaction of G-protein and NDPK in the regulation of their functions is suggested and discussed.

Muscarinic receptor-mediated inhibition of GDP-activated adenylyl cyclase suggests a direct interaction of inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding proteins and adenylyl cyclase.

To differentiate the effects of GDP and GTP on adenylyl cyclase regulation, adenylyl cyclase in canine sarcolemmal membranes was studied under conditions where only 3-12% of added GDP was converted to GTP by membrane-associated nucleoside diphosphate kinase. Adenylyl cyclase was stimulated up to 180% by GDP at 7-fold lower concentrations than required for stimulation by GTP (GDP half-maximal activation, 120 nM; GTP half-maximal activation, 830 nM). Transphosphorylation of GDP to GTP was blocked completely by the addition of 3 mM UDP. However, UDP did not affect GDP-mediated adenylyl cyclase activation, and guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) had the same effect on adenylyl cyclase activity as did GDP, indicating that GDP-mediated stimulation of adenylyl cyclase was not due to transphosphorylation of GDP to GTP. Carbachol inhibited GDP-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity even without addition of GTP; however, this inhibition was clearly dependent upon the endogenous formation of GTP. Half-maximal adenylyl cyclase inhibition by carbachol required the addition of either 330 nM GDP or 25 nM GTP. Taking into account a 3-12% conversion of GDP to GTP by membrane-associated nucleoside diphosphate kinase, sufficient GTP was generated from GDP to support receptor-mediated inhibition of adenylyl cyclase. In addition carbachol-mediated adenylyl cyclase inhibition in the presence of GDP, but not GTP, was blocked completely by 3 mM UDP. In conclusion, GDP-activated adenylyl cyclase could be inhibited by carbachol in the presence of GTP concentrations that were 34-fold below the concentrations needed for GTP-mediated activation of stimulatory guanine nucleotide-binding proteins. In addition, at low GTP concentrations carbachol reduced adenylyl cyclase to levels below "basal" activity (activity in the absence of guanine nucleotides). Although indirectly, these results suggest that carbachol-mediated inhibition of adenylyl cyclase may be independent of Gs activity and possibly due to direct interaction of inhibitory guanine nucleotide-binding proteins and adenylyl cyclase.

[Interactions of platelet inhibitors]. / Kombinationswirkung von Plättchenhemmstoffen.

Combination effects of inhibitors of platelet function with different mechanisms of action such as adenosine, acetylsalicylic acid, papaverine, dipyridamole, and sodium nitroprusside were studied in vitro by means of ADP- and collagen-induced aggregation of human blood platelets. In case of ADP-induced aggregation, potentiation of the inhibitory effect was observed only with the combination adenosine-papaverine, whereas in case of collagen-induced aggregation the inhibitory effect was potentiated at various inhibitor combinations.