Bilirubin as an endogenous modulator of neurotrophin redox signaling.

Bilirubin is neurotoxic upon excess accumulation in the brain, but it also plays important physiological roles related to its antioxidant properties. Here we report that exposure of PC12 and primary rat cerebellar granule neurons to bilirubin (0.5-10 microM) drastically decreases nerve growth factor (NGF)/brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling to Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), indicating a direct interference of the molecule with crucial prosurvival signaling pathways. This effect likely involves the scavenging capacity of bilirubin, the latter being able to inhibit, in PC12 cells, accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and phosphorylation of Akt and ERKs in response to extracellular hydrogen peroxide. Interestingly, in the absence of exogenous growth factor, bilirubin elicited the phosphorylation of ERKs and of the cAMP responsive element binding (CREB) transcription factor, a signature of NGF-dependent survival signaling. These growth factor-like signaling effects were paralleled by the induction of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and generation of nitric oxide (NO). Pharmacological dissection of the signaling cascade triggered by bilirubin revealed that phosphorylation of ERKs requires NO signaling through soluble guanylyl cyclase, and, further upstream, influx of extracellular calcium is necessary for nNOS induction and NO release, likely through calcium-dependent phosphorylation of CREB. Importantly, the cascade elicited by bilirubin through NO and ERK is cytoprotective, as revealed by exacerbated bilirubin toxicity in cultures treated by either NOS or MEK inhibitors. Taken together, these observations indicate an important action of bilirubin on redox signaling by neurotrophins, with either inhibitory or agonistic effects based on growth factor availability.

Redox regulation of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein and induction of manganous superoxide dismutase in nerve growth factor-dependent cell survival.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) act as both signaling molecules and mediators of cell damage in the nervous system and are implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Neurotrophic factors such as the nerve-derived growth factor (NGF) support neuronal survival during development and promote regeneration after neuronal injury through the activation of intracellular signals whose molecular effectors and downstream targets are still largely unknown. Here we present evidence that early oxidative signals initiated by NGF in PC12 cells, an NGF-responsive cell line, play a critical role in preventing apoptosis induced by serum deprivation. This redox-signaling cascade involves phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, the small GTPase Rac-1, and the transcription factor cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB), a molecule essential to promote NGF-dependent survival. We found that ROS are necessary for NGF-dependent phosphorylation of CREB, an event directly correlated with CREB activity, whereas hydrogen peroxide induces a robust CREB phosphorylation. Cells exposed to NGF show a late decrease in the intracellular content of ROS when compared with untreated cells and increased expression of the mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme manganese superoxide dismutase, a general inhibitor of cell death. Accordingly, serum deprivation-induced apoptosis was selectively inhibited by low concentrations of the mitochondrially targeted antioxidant Mito Q (mitoquinol/mitoquinone). Taken together, these data demonstrate that the oxidant-dependent activation of CREB is a component of NGF survival signaling in PC12 cells and outline an intriguing circuitry by which a cytosolic redox cascade promotes cell survival at least in part by increasing mitochondrial resistance to oxidative stress.

Expression of the survival of motor neuron (SMN) gene in primary neurons and increase in SMN levels by activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a common motor neuron degenerative disease caused by mutations of the survival of motor neuron (SMN) gene. The SMN protein is expressed ubiquitously as part of a 300-kilodalton multi-protein complex, incorporating several proteins critically required in pre-mRNA splicing. Although SMN mutations render SMN defective in this role, the specific alpha-motor neuron degenerative phenotype seen in the disease remains unexplained. During the differentiation process of spinal motor neurons and cerebellar granule cells, the acquisition of mature electrophysiological and molecular properties is linked to the activation of the glutamate receptors of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype. We have used primary cultures of rat cerebellar granules to study SMN expression during neuronal differentiation in vitro and in response to the activation of the NMDA receptor. We report that the expression of gems, the nuclear structures where SMN concentrates, is developmentally regulated. The highest expression is associated with the cell clustering phase and expression of NMDA receptors. Stimulation of the NMDA receptor induces an increase in gem number and in SMN transcription, through activation of its promoter. These results demonstrate that SMN levels are dependent on synaptic activity, implying that SMN may have important neuron-specific functions downstream of synaptic activation.