[DREAM: a multifunctional transcriptional regulator].

DREAM (downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator), Calsenilin and KChIP3 (potassium channel interacting protein 3) belong to the neuronal calcium sensor (NCS) superfamily, which transduces the intracellular calcium signaling into a variety of activities. They are encoded by the same gene locus, but have distinct subcellular locations. DREAM was first found to interact with DRE (downstream regulatory element) site in the vicinity of the promoter of prodynorphin gene to suppress gene transcription. Calcium can disassemble this interaction by binding reversibly to DREAM protein on its four EF-hand motifs. Apart from having calcium dependent DRE site binding, DREAM can also interact with other transcription factors, such as cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), CREB-binding protein (CBP) and cAMP responsive element modulator (CREM), by this concerted actions, DREAM extends the gene pool under its control. DREAM is predominantly expressed in central nervous system with its highest level in cerebellum, and accumulating evidence demonstrated that DREAM might play important roles in pain sensitivity. Novel findings have shown that DREAM is also involved in learning and memory processes, Alzheimer's disease and stroke. This mini-review provides a brief introduction of its discovery history and protein structure properties, focusing on the mechanism of DREAM nuclear translocation and gene transcription regulation functions.

The Unwanted Cell Migration in the Brain: Glioma Metastasis.

Cell migration is identified as a highly orchestrated process. It is a fundamental and essential phenomenon underlying tissue morphogenesis, wound healing, and immune response. Under dysregulation, it contributes to cancer metastasis. Brain is considered to be the most complex organ in human body containing many types of neural cells with astrocytes playing crucial roles in monitoring both physiological and pathological functions. Astrocytoma originates from astrocytes and its most malignant type is glioblastoma multiforme (WHO Grade IV astrocytoma), which is capable to infiltrate widely into the neighboring brain tissues making a complete resection of tumors impossible. Very recently, we have reviewed the mechanisms for astrocytes in migration. Given the fact that astrocytoma shares many histological features with astrocytes, we therefore attempt to review the mechanisms for glioma cells in migration and compare them to normal astrocytes, hoping to obtain a better insight into the dysregulation of migratory mechanisms contributing to their metastasis in the brain.

Astrocytes in Migration.

Cell migration is a fundamental phenomenon that underlies tissue morphogenesis, wound healing, immune response, and cancer metastasis. Great progresses have been made in research methodologies, with cell migration identified as a highly orchestrated process. Brain is considered the most complex organ in the human body, containing many types of neural cells with astrocytes playing crucial roles in monitoring normal functions of the central nervous system. Astrocytes are mostly quiescent under normal physiological conditions in the adult brain but become migratory after injury. Under most known pathological conditions in the brain, spinal cord and retina, astrocytes are activated and become hypertrophic, hyperplastic, and up-regulating GFAP based on the grades of severity. These three observations are the hallmark in glia scar formation-astrogliosis. The reactivation process is initiated with structural changes involving cell process migration and ended with cell migration. Detailed mechanisms in astrocyte migration have not been studied extensively and remain largely unknown. Here, we therefore attempt to review the mechanisms in migration of astrocytes.

Calcium Signaling Involvement in Cadmium-Induced Astrocyte Cytotoxicity and Cell Death Through Activation of MAPK and PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathways.

Cadmium (Cd), a highly ubiquitous toxic heavy metal, can contaminate the environment, including agricultural soil, water and air, via industrial runoff and other sources of pollution. Cd accumulated in the body via direct exposure or through the food chain results in neurodegeneration and many other diseases. Previous studies on its toxicity in the central nervous system (CNS) focused mainly on neurons. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of Cd toxicity for the CNS, we investigated how astrocytes respond to acute and chronic Cd exposure and its toxic molecular mechanisms. When primary cultures of cerebral cortical astrocytes incubated with 1-300 µM CdCl2, morphological changes, LDH release and cell death were observed in a time and dose-dependent manner. Further studies demonstrated that acute and chronic Cd treatment phosphorylated JNK, p38 and Akt to different degrees, while ERK1/2 was only phosphorylated under low doses of Cd (10 µM) exposure. Inhibition of JNK and PI3K/Akt, but not of p38, could partially protect astrocyte from cytotoxicity in chronic and acute Cd exposure. Moreover, Cd also induced a strong calcium signal, while BAPTA, a specific intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)) chelator, prevented Cd-induced intracellular increase of calcium levels in astrocytes; inhibited the Cd-induced activation of ERK1/2, JNK, p38 and Akt; and also significantly reduced astrocyte cell death. All of these results suggested that the Cd-Ca(2+)-MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways were involved in Cd-induced toxicity in astrocytes. This toxicity involvement indicates that these pathways may be exploited as a target for the prevention of Cd-induced neurodegenerative diseases.

Ischemia preconditioning protects astrocytes from ischemic injury through 14-3-3γ.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, and new strategies are required to reduce neuronal injury and improve prognosis. Ischemia preconditioning (IPC) is an intrinsic phenomenon that protects cells from subsequent ischemic injury and might provide promising mechanisms for clinical treatment. In this study, primary astrocytes exhibited significantly less cell death than control when exposed to different durations of IPC (15, 30, 60, or 120 min). A 15-min duration was the most effective IPC to protect astrocytes from 8-hr-ischemia injury. The protective mechanisms of IPC involve the upregulation of protective proteins, including 14-3-3γ, and attenuation of malondialdehyde (MDA) content and ATP depletion. 14-3-3γ is an antiapoptotic intracellular protein that was significantly upregulated for up to 84 hr after IPC. In addition, IPC promoted activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)-1/2, p38, and protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathways. When JNK was specifically inhibited with SP600125, the upregulation of 14-3-3γ induced by IPC was almost completely abolished; however, there was no effect on ATP or MDA levels. This suggests that, even though both energy preservation and 14-3-3γ up-regulation were turned on by IPC, they were controlled by different pathways. The ERK1/2, p38, and Akt signaling pathways were not involved in the 14-3-3γ upregulation and energy preservation. These results indicate that IPC could protect astrocytes from ischemia injury by inducing 14-3-3γ and by alleviating energy depletion through different pathways, suggesting multiple protection of IPC and providing new insights into potential stroke therapies.

[Caenorhabditis elegans: a powerful tool for drug discovery].

A simple model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has contributed substantially to the fundamental researches in biology. In an era of functional genomics, nematode worm has been developed into a multi-purpose tool that can be exploited to identify disease-causing or disease-associated genes, validate potential drug targets. This, coupled with its genetic amenability, low cost experimental manipulation and compatibility with high throughput screening in an intact physiological condition, makes the model organism into an effective toolbox for drug discovery. This review shows the unique features of C. elegans, how it can play a valuable role in our understanding of the molecular mechanism of human diseases and finding drug leads in drug development process.

Effect of runing II on the growth and metastasis of transplanted tumor in mammary cancer-bearing mice and its mechanism.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Runing II (a Chinese herbal preparation for mammary cancer) on the growth and metastasis of transplanted tumor of mammary cancer MA-891-bearing TA2 mice and its mechanism. METHODS: The model of mammary cancer MA-891 cell strain transplanted tumor of TA2 mice with lung metastasis were developed to observe the effect of Runing II on the growth and metastasis of the transplanted tumor. The immunohistochemical method and image analysis were adopted to detect the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), and micro-vessel count (MVC) and micro-vessel area (MVA). RESULTS: In the Runing II group, the tumor weight inhibition rate and the lung metastasis inhibition rate were 37.3% and 65.4% respectively, the tumor growth and lung metastasis were obviously inhibited; And the levels of VEGF and VEGFR, MVC and MVA were significantly decreased as compared with those in the tumor-bearing control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The Chinese herbal preparation Running II can inhibit the metastasis of tumor through inhibiting the angiogenesis, and the mechanism is possibly related with down-regulation of VEGF and VEGFR expression.