Sortilin gates neurotensin and BDNF signaling to control peripheral neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain is a major incurable clinical problem resulting from peripheral nerve trauma or disease. A central mechanism is the reduced expression of the potassium chloride cotransporter 2 (KCC2) in dorsal horn neurons induced by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), causing neuronal disinhibition within spinal nociceptive pathways. Here, we demonstrate how neurotensin receptor 2 (NTSR2) signaling impairs BDNF-induced spinal KCC2 down-regulation, showing how these two pathways converge to control the abnormal sensory response following peripheral nerve injury. We establish how sortilin regulates this convergence by scavenging neurotensin from binding to NTSR2, thus modulating its inhibitory effect on BDNF-mediated mechanical allodynia. Using sortilin-deficient mice or receptor inhibition by antibodies or a small-molecule antagonist, we lastly demonstrate that we are able to fully block BDNF-induced pain and alleviate injury-induced neuropathic pain, validating sortilin as a clinically relevant target.

BK channel activators and their therapeutic perspectives.

The large conductance calcium- and voltage-activated K(+) channel (KCa1.1, BK, MaxiK) is ubiquitously expressed in the body, and holds the ability to integrate changes in intracellular calcium and membrane potential. This makes the BK channel an important negative feedback system linking increases in intracellular calcium to outward hyperpolarizing potassium currents. Consequently, the channel has many important physiological roles including regulation of smooth muscle tone, neurotransmitter release and neuronal excitability. Additionally, cardioprotective roles have been revealed in recent years. After a short introduction to the structure, function and regulation of BK channels, we review the small organic molecules activating BK channels and how these tool compounds have helped delineate the roles of BK channels in health and disease.

NS19504: a novel BK channel activator with relaxing effect on bladder smooth muscle spontaneous phasic contractions.

Large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels (BK, KCa1.1, MaxiK) are important regulators of urinary bladder function and may be an attractive therapeutic target in bladder disorders. In this study, we established a high-throughput fluorometric imaging plate reader-based screening assay for BK channel activators and identified a small-molecule positive modulator, NS19504 (5-[(4-bromophenyl)methyl]-1,3-thiazol-2-amine), which activated the BK channel with an EC50 value of 11.0 ± 1.4 µM. Hit validation was performed using high-throughput electrophysiology (QPatch), and further characterization was achieved in manual whole-cell and inside-out patch-clamp studies in human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing hBK channels: NS19504 caused distinct activation from a concentration of 0.3 and 10 µM NS19504 left-shifted the voltage activation curve by 60 mV. Furthermore, whole-cell recording showed that NS19504 activated BK channels in native smooth muscle cells from guinea pig urinary bladder. In guinea pig urinary bladder strips, NS19504 (1 µM) reduced spontaneous phasic contractions, an effect that was significantly inhibited by the specific BK channel blocker iberiotoxin. In contrast, NS19504 (1 µM) only modestly inhibited nerve-evoked contractions and had no effect on contractions induced by a high K(+) concentration consistent with a K(+) channel-mediated action. Collectively, these results show that NS19504 is a positive modulator of BK channels and provide support for the role of BK channels in urinary bladder function. The pharmacologic profile of NS19504 indicates that this compound may have the potential to reduce nonvoiding contractions associated with spontaneous bladder overactivity while having a minimal effect on normal voiding.

Increased protein SUMOylation following focal cerebral ischemia.

Stroke is a major cause of death and disability, which involves excessive glutamate receptor activation leading to excitotoxic cell death. We recently reported that SUMOylation can regulate kainate receptor (KAR) function. Here we investigated changes in protein SUMOylation and levels of KAR and AMPA receptor subunits in two different animal stroke models: a rat model of focal ischemia with reperfusion and a mouse model without reperfusion. In rats, transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) resulted in a striatal and cortical infarct. A dramatic increase in SUMOylation by both SUMO-1 and SUMO-2/3 was observed at 6h and 24h in the striatal infarct area and by SUMO-2/3 at 24h in the hippocampus, which was not directly subjected to ischemia. In mice, permanent MCAO resulted in a selective cortical infarct. No changes in SUMOylation occurred at 6h but there was increased SUMO-1 conjugation in the cortical infarct and non-ischemic hippocampus at 24h after MCAO. Interestingly, SUMOylation by SUMO-2/3 occurred only outside the infarct area. In both rat and mouse levels of KARs were only decreased in the infarct regions whereas AMPARs were decreased in the infarct and in other brain areas. These results suggest that posttranslational modification by SUMO and down-regulation of AMPARs and KARs may play important roles in the pathophysiological response to ischemia.

Temporal expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the rat hippocampus after treatment with selective and mixed monoaminergic antidepressants.

Strong evidence suggests that antidepressants work by induction of neuroplastic changes mediated through regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This study was undertaken to investigate the time-course of the effect of three antidepressants; fluoxetine, imipramine and venlafaxine, which differentially affect monoamine reuptake, on BDNF mRNA expression in the hippocampus. The consequences of increased BDNF in the hippocampus are still indefinite. Here, we also determined the effects on the expression of two other genes (synaptophysin and growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43)) known to be involved in synapse formation and axonal growth and likely regulated by BDNF. The effects were determined in rats after sub-chronic (7 days) and chronic (14 and 21 days) treatment using semi-quantitative in situ hybridisation. BDNF mRNA levels in the dentate gyrus (DG) were increased after treatment with venlafaxine (7, 14 and 21 days) and imipramine (14 and 21 days), but not after treatment with fluoxetine, indicating that stimulation of BDNF mRNA expression is dependent on the pharmacological profile and on the time-course of drug treatment. A transient increase in synaptophysin mRNA was observed after treatment with venlafaxine and fluoxetine whereas imipramine had no effect. In the CA3 region a reduction of GAP-43 mRNA was observed after treatment with imipramine (21 days) and fluoxetine (7 and 14 days). These results suggest that venlafaxine and imipramine, but not fluoxetine, induce neuroplastic effects in the hippocampus through stimulation of BDNF mRNA expression, and that the effect on BDNF is not directly translated into regulation of synaptophysin and GAP-43 mRNA.

Serotonin depletion results in a decrease of the neuronal activation caused by rivastigmine in the rat hippocampus.

Interactions between the serotonergic and cholinergic systems are known to occur and are believed to play a role in the mechanism underlying both major depression and Alzheimer's disease. On a molecular level, studies suggest that acetylcholine (ACh) increases serotonin (5-HT) release through nicotinic receptors located at nerve terminals. The aim of the present study was to determine in which areas and to what extent 5-HT mediates the neuronal response to ACh release. For this purpose, neuronal activity was measured in rats with rivastigmine-induced elevated ACh levels after a 95% 5-HT depletion obtained by dosing p-chlorophenylalanine followed by D,L-fenfluramine. Neuronal activation was quantified by stereological measurements of c-Fos immunoreactivity. The brain areas examined were medial prefrontal cortex, septum, dorsal hippocampus, and dorsal raphe nucleus. Rivastigmine significantly increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in medial prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, but not in the septum and dorsal raphe nucleus. 5-HT depletion decreased ACh-induced c-Fos immunoreactivity in the dentate gyrus. By contrast, 5-HT depletion had no effect on the ACh-induced activity in the other brain areas examined. It is concluded that 5-HT mediates part of the ACh-induced hippocampal neuronal activation, possibly mediated via locally released 5-HT.

Distribution of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule in rat septal nuclei and septohippocampal pathway: transient increase of polysialylated interneurons in the subtriangular septal zone during memory consolidation.

During memory consolidation neuroplastic events in the mediotemporal corticohippocampal pathway are accompanied by transient increases in the frequency of neurons expressing polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM PSA), a posttranslational modification associated with morphofunctional change. As a bidirectional pathway between the hippocampus and the septal nuclei also influences memory processing, we have determined the distribution of NCAM PSA within this system before and after learning in the adult Wistar rat. The most intense NCAM PSA immunoreactivity was observed in the medial and triangular septal nuclei, regions that regulate hippocampal theta rhythm during memory consolidation. Within the fimbria, NCAM PSA was expressed only in a subpopulation of fibres, most likely cholinergic projections from the medial septum to the hippocampus. Grey level analysis or direct cell counting revealed no learning-specific change in NCAM PSA expression in these septal subregions after avoidance conditioning or spatial training. A population of discrete polysialylated neurons in the subtriangular septal zone, however, exhibited a transient twofold frequency increase at 12 hr after training in either task. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed these cells to be gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) interneurons co-expressing vasoactive intestinal peptide. The unique location of these interneurons is proposed to provide a natural plexus by which bidirectional communication between the septum and hippocampus may be modified during memory consolidation.

Characterization of a novel NCAM ligand with a stimulatory effect on neurite outgrowth identified by screening a combinatorial peptide library.

The neural cell adhesion molecule, NCAM, plays a key role in neural development and plasticity mediating cell adhesion and signal transduction. By screening a combinatorial library of synthetic peptides with NCAM purified from postnatal day 10 rat brains, we identified a nonapeptide, termed NCAM binding peptide 10 (NBP10) and showed by nuclear magnetic resonance analysis that it bound the NCAM IgI module of NCAM. NBP10 modulated cell aggregation as well as neurite outgrowth induced specifically by homophilic NCAM binding. Moreover, both monomeric and multimeric forms of NBP10 stimulated neurite outgrowth from primary hippocampal neurons. The neurite outgrowth response to NBP10 was inhibited by a number of compounds previously shown to inhibit neurite outgrowth induced by homophilic NCAM binding, including voltage-dependent calcium channel antagonists, suggesting that NBP10 induced neurite outgrowth by activating a signal transduction pathway similar to that activated by NCAM itself. Moreover, an inhibitor of intracellular calcium mobilization, TMB-8, prevented NBP10-induced neurite outgrowth suggesting that NCAM-dependent neurite outgrowth also requires mobilization of calcium from intracellular calcium stores in addition to calcium influx from extracellular sources. By single-cell calcium imaging we further demonstrated that NBP10 was capable of inducing an increase in intracellular calcium in PC12E2 cells. Thus, the NBP10 peptide is a new tool for the study of molecular mechanisms underlying NCAM-dependent signal transduction and neurite outgrowth, and could prove to be a useful modulator of regenerative processes in the peripheral and central nervous system.

Induction of neuronal differentiation by a peptide corresponding to the homophilic binding site of the second Ig module of the neural cell adhesion molecule.

NCAM plays a key role in neural development and plasticity-mediating cell adhesion and differentiation mainly through homophilic binding. Until recently, attempts to modulate neuronal differentiation and plasticity through NCAM have been impeded by the absence of small synthetic agonists mimicking homophilic interactions of NCAM. We show here that a peptide, P2, corresponding to a 12-amino acid sequence localized in the FG loop of the second Ig module of NCAM, binds to the first Ig module, which is the natural binding partner of the second Ig module, with an apparent K(d) of 4.7 +/- 0.9 x 10(-6) m. P2 inhibits cell aggregation and induces neurite outgrowth from hippocampal neurons, maximal neuritogenic effect being obtained at a concentration of 0.8 microm. The neuritogenic effect was inhibited by preincubation of P2 with the recombinant NCAM-IgI. Both the length of P2 and the basic amino acid residues at the N and C termini are important for its neuritogenic activity. Treatment of hippocampal cultures with P2 results in induction of phosphorylation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK1 and ERK2. Thus, P2 is a potent mimetic of NCAM, and therefore, an attractive compound for the development of drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Increased intracellular calcium is required for neurite outgrowth induced by a synthetic peptide ligand of NCAM.

We have recently identified a synthetic peptide, termed C3, capable of binding the first immunoglobulin-like module of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) by means of combinatorial chemistry and shown that this NCAM ligand promotes neurite outgrowth. By means of single cell calcium imaging using the calcium-sensitive probe fura-2-acetomethyl ester, we here show that the C3-peptide induced an increase in intracellular calcium in primary hippocampal neurons and PC12-E2 cells, presumably requiring mobilization of calcium from both extracellular and intracellular stores. We further observed that C3-induced neurite outgrowth was inhibited by antagonists of voltage-dependent calcium channels as well as by an inhibitor of intracellular calcium mobilization, TMB-8. These findings demonstrate at the single cell level that a synthetic NCAM ligand directly can induce an increase in intracellular calcium and suggest that NCAM-dependent neurite outgrowth requires calcium mobilization from both extracellular and intracellular calcium stores. Thus, the C3-peptide may be regarded as a useful tool for the study of NCAM-dependent signal transduction. Furthermore, the peptide may be of considerable therapeutical interest for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.