Cytosolic organelles shape calcium signals and exo-endocytotic responses of chromaffin cells.

The concept of stimulus-secretion coupling was born from experiments performed in chromaffin cells 50 years ago. Stimulation of these cells with acetylcholine enhances calcium (Ca(2+)) entry and this generates a transient elevation of the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](c)) that triggers the exocytotic release of catecholamines. The control of the [Ca(2+)](c) signal is complex and depends on various classes of plasmalemmal calcium channels, cytosolic calcium buffers, the uptake and release of Ca(2+) from cytoplasmic organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, chromaffin vesicles and the nucleus, and Ca(2+) extrusion mechanisms, such as the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-stimulated ATPase, and the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger. Computation of the rates of Ca(2+) fluxes between the different cell compartments support the proposal that the chromaffin cell has developed functional calcium tetrads formed by calcium channels, cytosolic calcium buffers, the endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria nearby the exocytotic plasmalemmal sites. These tetrads shape the Ca(2+) transients occurring during cell activation to regulate early and late steps of exocytosis, and the ensuing endocytotic responses. The different patterns of catecholamine secretion in response to stress may thus depend on such local [Ca(2+)](c) transients occurring at different cell compartments, and generated by redistribution and release of Ca(2+) by cytoplasmic organelles. In this manner, the calcium tetrads serve to couple the variable energy demands due to exo-endocytotic activities with energy production and protein synthesis.

Extensive linkage disequilibrium mapping at HTR2A and DRD3 for schizophrenia susceptibility genes in the Galician population.

The serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems are candidate pathways in the development of schizophrenia because of the assumed causal relationship with the observed symptoms as well as effective targeting of the corresponding receptors by antipsychotic drugs. However, genetic association studies have systematically focused on a limited set of genes and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including T102C at HTR2A and Ser9Gly at DRD3. Meta-analyses of the associations between these two markers and schizophrenia revealed a true increase in risk, the magnitude of the effect being very low. In the present study we analyzed 260 schizophrenic patients and 354 control subjects from a homogeneous population, the Galician population, using an extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping approach, genotyping a total of 47 SNPs to test for the existence of additional variants that confer higher risk. We detected nominal significant association with schizophrenia for several haplotype tag SNPs (htSNPs) at HTR2A, although the significance was lost after multiple test corrections. In addition, haplotype analyses involving a sliding window approach, with window size 2 to 4 SNPs, revealed significant differences in frequencies of the DRD3 haplotypes at the 3' half of the gene region. This difference, which remains clearly significant after multiple test corrections (p=0.002, 0.0001, and 0.0025, for window sizes 2, 3, and 4, respectively), was mainly due to over-representation of several rare haplotypes in patients, at the expense of a single common haplotype; this represents interesting evidence of rare haplotypes for susceptibility detected using common htSNPs due to their strong effect.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis and binding affinity of novel (R)- and (S)-3-aminomethyl-1-tetralones, potential atypical antipsychotics.

A series of (R)- and (S)-3-aminomethyl-1-tetralones, conformationally constrained analogues of haloperidol, have been obtained by enzymatic resolution of the corresponding racemic 3-hydroxymethyl-1-tetralones using Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase. Their binding affinities at dopamine D(2) and serotonin 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors were determined showing in some cases an atypical antipsychotic profile with Meltzer's ratio higher than 1.30.

Distant collaboration in drug discovery: the LINK3D project.

The work describes the development of novel software supporting synchronous distant collaboration between scientists involved in drug discovery and development projects. The program allows to visualize and share data as well as to interact in real time using standard intranets and Internet resources. Direct visualization of 2D and 3D molecular structures is supported and original tools for facilitating remote discussion have been integrated. The software is multiplatform (MS-Windows, SGI-IRIX, Linux), allowing for a seamless integration of heterogeneous working environments. The project aims to support collaboration both within and between academic and industrial institutions. Since confidentiality is very important in some scenarios, special attention has been paid to security aspects. The article presents the research carried out to gather the requirements of collaborative software in the field of drug discovery and development and describes the features of the first fully functional prototype obtained. Real-world testing activities carried out on this prototype in order to guarantee its adequacy in diverse environments are also described and discussed.