Biomedical subjects

D J Post-Munson

Publications and source records attributed to D J Post-Munson.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Targeting acute ischemic stroke with a calcium-sensitive opener of maxi-K potassium channels.

During ischemic stroke, neurons at risk are exposed to pathologically high levels of intracellular calcium (Ca++), initiating a fatal biochemical cascade. To protect these neurons, we have developed openers of large-conductance, Ca++-activated (maxi-K or BK) potassium channels, thereby augmenting an endogenous mechanism for regulating Ca++ entry and membrane potential. The novel fluoro-oxindoles BMS-204352 and racemic compound 1 are potent, effective and uniquely Ca++-sensitive openers of maxi-K channels. In rat models of permanent large-vessel stroke, BMS-204352 provided significant levels of cortical neuroprotection when administered two hours after the onset of occlusion, but had no effects on blood pressure or cerebral blood flow. This novel approach may restrict Ca++ entry in neurons at risk while having minimal side effects.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Phenotypic alteration of a human BK (hSlo) channel by hSlobeta subunit coexpression: changes in blocker sensitivity, activation/relaxation and inactivation kinetics, and protein kinase A modulation.

A human homolog of the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channel beta subunit (hSlobeta) was cloned, and its effects on a human BK channel (hSlo) phenotype are reported. Coexpression of hSlo and hSlobeta, in both oocytes and human embryonic kidney 293 cells, resulted in increased Ca2+ sensitivity, marked slowing of BK channel activation and relaxation, and significant reduction in slow inactivation. In addition, coexpression changed the pharmacology of the BK channel phenotype: hSlo-mediated currents in oocytes were more sensitive to the peptide toxin iberiotoxin than were hSlo + hSlobeta currents, and the potency of blockade by the alkaloid BK blocker tetrandrine was much greater on hSlo + hSlobeta- mediated currents compared with hSlo currents alone. No significant differences in the response to charybdotoxin or the BK channel opener NS1619 were observed. Modulation of BK channel activity by phosphorylation was also affected by the presence of the hSlobeta subunit. Application of cAMP-dependent protein kinase increased P(OPEN) of hSlo channels, but decreased P(OPEN)of most hSlo + hSlobeta channels. Taken together, these altered characteristics may explain some of the wide diversity of BK channel phenotypes observed in native tissues.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed1996

Effects of channel modulators on cloned large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels.

Through expression of the cloned mouse (mSlo) or human (hSlo) large-conductance (BK) Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel in Xenopus laevis oocytes and HEK 293 cells, we characterized the effects of reported blockers and openers of BK channels to initiate the study of the molecular determinants of BK channel modulation. In oocytes, iberiotoxin and charybdotoxin, peptidyl scorpion toxins, were both equally effective blockers of BK current, although iberiotoxin was significantly more potent than charybdotoxin. The structurally related peptide kaliotoxin was not a potent blocker of BK current. Paxilline, a fungal tremorgenic alkaloid, was an effective but complex blocker of BK current. Tetrandrine, a putative blocker of type II BK channels, and ketamine were relatively ineffective. The putative BK openers NS004 and NS1619, phloretin, niflumic acid, flufenamic acid, and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB) increased BK current in oocytes at microM concentrations; many of these produced biphasic concentration-response relationships. Coapplication of representative blockers and openers revealed several patterns of interaction, including competitive and noncompetitive antagonism. NS1619, niflumic acid, and phloretin were tested by using excised inside-out membrane patches from HEK 293 cells and were found to increase the activity of hSlo BK channels and produce a leftward shift in the G/Gmax-versus-voltage relationship of these channels. These results represent the first comprehensive examination of the molecular pharmacology of BK channels.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed1989

Echothiophate and cogeners decrease the voltage dependence of end-plate current decay in frog skeletal muscle.

The effects of three irreversible anticholinesterase agents, echothiophate (217MI), tertiary methylamine analog of 217MI (217AO) and Tetram, on end plate currents (e.p.c.s) of Rana pipiens cutaneous pectoris muscle were studied using electrophysiological techniques. All three compounds (217MI, 1-10 microM; 217AO, 1-25 microM; and Tetram, 1-50 microM) decreased the rate of e.p.c. decay (alpha) to the same extent as neostigmine (10 microM), a reversible anticholinesterase agent. Decay remained a single exponential at all membrane potentials. 217MI and its derivatives greatly reduced the normal voltage dependence of alpha represented by the slope (H = mV-1) of log alpha vs. membrane potential, in contrast to neostigmine which had no effect on H. Suppression of Ach release by the addition of 4 mM Mg++ to end-plates did not alter the reduction of H by 217AO indicating that the anticholinesterase-induced decrease in H is not simply due to an increased interaction between Ach and its receptors. Additionally, the pretreatment of end-plates with methanesulfonyl fluoride, also an irreversible cholinesterase agent, did not modify the effects of 217AO and Tetram on H. 217MI and its derivatives, at low concentrations which altered H, did not affect [3H]PCP or [125I]alpha-bungarotoxin binding to Torpedo californica Ach receptor-rich membranes. It is concluded that these agents alter H by an effect on the Ach receptor ion channel complex unrelated to either esterase inhibition or channel block.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reduced bicuculline response and GABAA agonist binding in aged rat hippocampus.

Extracellular field recordings from CA1 pyramidal cells in the rat hippocampal slice preparation were used to examine the effects of age on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated recurrent inhibition. The actions of bicuculline (1-100 microM), a GABAA antagonist, were assessed in slices from young (1-3 months) and aged (26 months) Fischer 344 rats. Pre-drug population spike amplitudes were smaller in slices from aged rats. Bicuculline increased population spike amplitudes in slices from both age groups, but slices from young rats were more sensitive to the antagonist. Bicuculline also produced multiple population spikes in slices from both age groups, however the increase in population spike burst durations was much greater in slices from young rats than in slices from aged rats. Agonist radiolabeled GABAA binding site density was significantly decreased in hippocampal tissue from aged rats. Our results suggest there is a reduction in GABAergic inhibition in hippocampal slices from aged rats, possibly mediated by a decrease in GABAA receptors.

Aging↗