Raf kinase signaling functions in sensory neuron differentiation and axon growth in vivo.

To define the role of the Raf serine/threonine kinases in nervous system development, we conditionally targeted B-Raf and C-Raf, two of the three known mammalian Raf homologs, using a mouse line expressing Cre recombinase driven by a nestin promoter. Targeting of B-Raf, but not C-Raf, markedly attenuated baseline phosphorylation of Erk in neural tissues and led to growth retardation. Conditional elimination of B-Raf in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons did not interfere with survival, but instead caused marked reduction in expression of the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor receptor Ret at postnatal stages, associated with a profound reduction in levels of transcription factor CBF-beta. Elimination of both alleles of Braf, which encodes B-Raf, and one allele of Raf1, which encodes C-Raf, affected DRG neuron maturation as well as proprioceptive axon projection toward the ventral horn in the spinal cord. Finally, conditional elimination of all Braf and Raf1 alleles strongly reduced neurotrophin-dependent axon growth in vitro as well as cutaneous axon terminal arborization in vivo. We conclude that Raf function is crucial for several aspects of DRG neuron development, including differentiation and axon growth.

Forebrain-specific knockout of B-raf kinase leads to deficits in hippocampal long-term potentiation, learning, and memory.

Raf kinases are downstream effectors of Ras and upstream activators of the MEK-ERK cascade. Ras and MEK-ERK signaling play roles in learning and memory (L&M) and neural plasticity, but the roles of Raf kinases in L&M and plasticity are unclear. Among Raf isoforms, B-raf is preferentially expressed in the brain. To determine whether B-raf has a role in synaptic plasticity and L&M, we used the Cre-LoxP gene targeting system to derive forebrain excitatory neuron B-raf knockout mice. This conditional knockout resulted in deficits in ERK activation and hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and impairments in hippocampus-dependent L&M, including spatial learning and contextual discrimination. Despite the widespread expression of B-raf, this mutation did not disrupt other forms of L&M, such as cued fear conditioning and conditioned taste aversion. Our findings demonstrate that B-raf plays a role in hippocampal ERK activation, synaptic plasticity, and L&M.

Indiplon is a high-affinity positive allosteric modulator with selectivity for alpha1 subunit-containing GABAA receptors.

Indiplon (NBI 34060) is a novel pyrazolopyrimidine currently in development for the treatment of insomnia. We have previously shown that indiplon exhibits high-affinity binding to native GABA(A) receptors from rat brain and acts as a positive allosteric modulator of GABA(A) receptor currents in cultured rat neurons (Sullivan et al., 2004). In this study, we examined the GABA(A) receptor alpha subunit selectivity of indiplon using electrophysiological techniques to record GABA-activated chloride currents from recombinant rodent GABA(A) receptors expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. Indiplon potentiated the GABA-activated chloride current in recombinant GABA(A) receptors in a dose-dependent and reversible manner and was approximately 10-fold selective for alpha1 subunit-containing receptors over GABA(A) receptors containing alpha2, alpha3, or alpha5 subunits. The EC(50) values were 2.6, 24, 60, and 77 nM for alpha1beta2gamma2, alpha2beta2gamma2, alpha3beta3gamma2, and alpha5beta2gamma2 receptors, respectively. Indiplon was approximately 10 times more potent than zolpidem and zopiclone and >100 times more potent than zaleplon. Moreover, indiplon, up to 1 microM, did not potentiate GABA(A) receptors composed of alpha4beta2gamma2 and alpha6beta2gamma2 subunits. This mechanism of action is proposed to underlie the sedative-hypnotic effects of indiplon in animals and humans.

Essential role of B-Raf in ERK activation during extraembryonic development.

The kinases of the Raf family have been intensively studied as activators of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extra-cellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) module in regulated and deregulated proliferation. Genetic evidence that Raf is required for ERK activation in vivo has been obtained in lower organisms, which express only one Raf kinase, but was hitherto lacking in mammals, which express more than one Raf kinase. Ablation of the two best studied Raf kinases, B-Raf and Raf-1, is lethal at midgestation in mice, hampering the detailed study of the essential functions of these proteins. Here, we have combined conventional and conditional gene ablation to show that B-Raf is essential for ERK activation and for vascular development in the placenta. B-Raf-deficient placentae show complete absence of phosphorylated ERK and strongly reduced HIF-1alpha and VEGF levels, whereas all these parameters are normal in Raf-1-deficient placentae. In addition, neither ERK phosphorylation nor development are affected in B-raf-deficient embryos that are born alive obtained by epiblast-restricted gene inactivation. The data demonstrate that B-Raf plays a nonredundant role in ERK activation during extraembyronic mammalian development in vivo.