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Biomedical subjects

G Vincendon

Publications and source records attributed to G Vincendon.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Regulation of cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP levels by adrenocorticotropic hormone in cultured neurons.

The effect of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on the intracellular concentration of cyclic nucleotides was studied in cultures of neurons from embryonic chick cerebral hemispheres. Incubation of neurons with ACTH(1-24) in the presence of phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine resulted in a sustained increase in cyclic AMP while rise in cyclic GMP level was transient. The values obtained for half-maximal stimulation were 0.5 microM and 0.03 nM for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP respectively. Concomitantly, ACTH(1-24) stimulated guanylate cyclase activity (half-maximal stimulation at 0.02 nM). These results suggest the existence of two distinct populations of ACTH receptors in neurons and provide the first evidence that cyclic GMP does mediate the action of ACTH in neurons.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

Regulation of deoxyglucose uptake by adrenocorticotropic hormone in cultured neurons.

The influence of ACTH and some of its N-terminal related peptides was investigated on the uptake of (3H)-2-deoxy-D-glucose in pure cultures of neurons from chick embryo cerebral hemispheres. ACTH influences deoxyglucose uptake in a time and dose-dependent fashion. The stimulation of deoxyglucose uptake is observed after a delay of 6-8 h and requires active protein synthesis. ACTH does not affect deoxyglucose in non-neuronal cells (astroglial cells, hepatocytes, myoblasts, fibroblasts). The effect of various peptide hormones, neuropeptides and growth factors, active in the central nervous system or other tissues, has also been examined. None of these were able to stimulate deoxyglucose uptake, suggesting that the regulation of hexose uptake in neurons is specific for the ACTH-related peptides.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

Con A-binding glycoproteins in the developing cerebellum of control and hypothyroid rats.

Concanavalin A (Con A)-binding glycoproteins were studied during the postnatal development of the cerebellum of control and hypothyroid rats. Only 4 glycoprotein bands have a transient behavior in control animals. They progressively increase until the 13th day and markedly decline between the 15th and the 18th postnatal day. In the cerebellum of hypothyroid rats, the level of these compounds is greatly reduced and the previous decrease observed in controls is not found again. This defect of Con A-binding glycoproteins mainly localized on the plasma membrane of parallel fibers might be related to the reduced synaptogenesis observed in the molecular layer of hypothyroid rats between parallel fibers and Purkinje cell dendritic spines.

Age Factors↗

Growth promotion of transformed cells by iron in serum-free culture.

The growth of C6 glioma and L1210 leukemic cells has been stimulated in serum-free medium by the addition or iron or transferrin. The growth promoting action of transferrin was lost when iron was chelated in the culture medium using desferrioxamine. L1210 cells can be grown continuously in serum-free medium supplemented with transferrin or FeCl3 only. In this latter case, it has been shown that L1210 cells secrete into the medium some factor which facilitates iron uptake. The growth of L1210 cells in their exponential phase was blocked by desferrioxamine at the G1-S interface of the cell cycle. The action of transferrin on cell growth was also inhibited by propyl gallate - a known antioxidant which prevents lipid peroxidation. The action of iron was more potent than hemin in reversing the influence of propyl gallate on L1210 cell growth. Iron was found to activate purified guanylate cyclase in the presence of unsaturated fatty acids. This suggests that cyclic GMP synthesis could be involved in the promotion of transformed cell growth by iron.

Animals↗

Cellular development and myelin production in primary cultures of embryonic mouse brain.

The development of cell cultures from embryonic mouse cerebral hemispheres has been followed in detail for periods up to 40 days in culture using a variety of approaches. Functionally well differentiated neurons (shown by receptor binding studies, immunocytochemistry and morphological examination) were found to be abundant early in culture and to form cell contacts with oligodendrocytes characterized both immunocytochemically and morphologically. Myelin-like membranes with the periodicity of classical myelin elaborated by oligodendrocytes were detected only after 30 days in culture when neurones were no longer present. These results are discussed with regard to possible mechanisms of initiation of myelin synthesis.

Animals↗

Isolation and immunohistochemical characterization of two developmentally regulated highly insoluble antigens from the membrane of sinusoidal rat liver cells.

Using sequential extractions with buffers containing or not containing neutral detergent, two highly insoluble protein components were found in livers of 30-day-old rats. These compounds (molecular weights (MW) 52 900 and 33 200 respectively) were practically absent from livers of young rats (between 5 and 8 postnatal days). After two-third hepatectomy performed on 30-day-old rats followed by a 24 h recovery, the level of these compounds is drastically decreased (about 50%). Monospecific antibodies against these components were obtained. Using immunohistochemical techniques, these antigens were localized in the membranes (essentially plasma membranes and sometimes internal membranes) of sinusoidal cells of adult rat livers. After partial hepatectomy, these antigens are no more present in the sinusoidal cells of the regenerating parts of the liver.

Aging↗

Postnatal variations of endo-beta-D-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase in the developing rat cerebellum.

Some properties and the level of endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase were studied during the postnatal development of the rat cerebellum. No isoenzymes were detected. The enzyme (essentially cytosolic) showed a peak of total and specific activity at the 24th postnatal day. The hypothesis was formulated that glycoprotein glycans could be degraded in two steps: one lysosomal, the other cytosolic.

Age Factors↗

Evidence for the presence of lectins with mannose specificity in the rat cerebellum.

Two different methods were set up to detect the possible presence of lectin-like molecules with a specificity for mannose-rich glycans in the rat cerebellum. The first, affinity histochemistry, involved the isolation of a particular class of glycoproteins from the cerebella of 11-day-old rats followed by the formation of covalent complexes with horseradish peroxidase and then incubation with cerebellar slices. The second used in vitro interactions between [3H]leucine-labeled proteins, kept in solution, with insolubilized [14C]glucosamine-labeled glycoproteins. The results of both methods are compatible with the presence of lectin-like activities inhibited by high mannose concentrations, but not other sugars. However, the binding sites preferred by these molecules seem to be more than a single mannose residue.

Animals↗

Long-term culture of neurones from human cerebral cortex in serum-free medium.

A method for cultivating neurones from the fetal human central nervous system in the absence of glial cells is described. Brain cells from 15-18-week-old human fetuses are plated on polylysine-coated surfaces and grown in a serum-free hormonally-defined medium. About 98% of the cells were identified as neurones using tetanus toxin as a marker. The cultures survive for up to 7 weeks and develop an extremely complex network of neurites.

Cells, Cultured↗

Influence of adrenocorticotropic hormone on the growth of isolated neurons in culture.

The present study reports the influence of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on the development of cultured neurons from chick embryo cerebral hemispheres. Cultures were initiated in serum-supplemented medium and then transferred to serum-free hormonally-defined medium containing various concentrations of ACTH1--24. The effects of ACTH on the light microscopic features, metabolic activity and permeation properties were examined. The results demonstrate that ACTH exerts a trophic action on the neurons.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

Uptake and metabolism of L-[3H]glutamate and L-[3H]glutamine in adult rat cerebellar slices.

Using very low concentrations (1 mumol range) of L-2-3-[3H]glutamate, (3H-Glu) or L-2-3-[3H]glutamine (3H-Gln), we have previously shown by autoradiography that these amino acids were preferentially taken up in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex. Furthermore, the accumulation of 3H-Glu was essentially glial in these conditions. We report here experiments in which uptake and metabolism of either (3H-Glu) or (3H-Gln) were studied in adult rat cerebellar slices. Both amino acids were rapidly converted into other metabolic compounds: after seven minutes of incubation in the presence of exogenous 3H-Glu, 70% of the tissue accumulated radioactivity was found to be in compounds other than glutamate. The main metabolites were Gln (42%), alpha-ketoglutarate (25%) and GABA (1,4%). In the presence of exogenous 3H-Gln the rate of metabolism was slightly slower (50% after seven minutes of incubation) and the metabolites were also Glu (29%), alpha-ketoglutarate (15%) and GABA (5%). Using depolarizing conditions (56 mM KCl) with either exogenous 3H-Glu or 3H-Gln, the radioactivity was preferentially accumulated in glutamate compared to control. From these results we conclude: i) there are two cellular compartments for the neurotransmission-glutamate-glutamine cycle; one is glial, the other neuronal; ii) these two cellular compartments contain both Gln and Glu; iii) transmitter glutamate is always in equilibrium with the so-called "metabolic" pool of glutamate; iv) the regulation of the glutamate-glutamine cycle occurs at least at two different levels: the uptake of glutamate and the enzymatic activity of the neuronal glutaminase.

Animals↗

Arguments in favour of endocytosis of glycoprotein components of the membranes of parallel fibers by Purkinje cells during the development of the rat cerebellum.

Chloroquine (a drug known to induce a dysfunction of lysosomes) was used to study the behavior of Concanavalin A binding glycoproteins located on the axolemma of parallel fibers in young rat cerebella, and abundant on these membranes at a period preceding synaptogenesis with the dendrites of Purkinje cells. Chloroquine induces in Purkinje cells a large accumulation of grains consisting of membrane whorls in lysosomes. These grains stain for Concanavalin A, and do not stain either for a mitochondrial marker (aspartate aminotransferase mitochondrial isoenzyme) or for a marker of the Purkinje cell internal membrane (PSG). It is suggested that the material accumulating in the Purkinje cells under the effect of chloroquine comes from the parallel fibers. Together with the observation that alpha-D-mannosidase (involved in the degradation of these glycoproteins) is exclusively located inside Purkinje cells, these results provide a firm indication that this material enters the Purkinje cells through pinocytosis. The absence of ATPase activity (ATPase is a glycoprotein plasma membrane marker highly concentrated on parallel fibers) within these grains suggested that not all the components of these membranes are pinocytosed, but that the process is specific for certain molecules. These results are compatible with the ultrastructural observations of others, and support the arguments in favour of the pinocytosis phenomenon being one of the first steps of synapse formation. The observed specificity of pinocytosis for certain molecules suggests that a receptor-mediated recognition of some glycans of glycoproteins is the preliminary event in the establishment of synapses.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Immunohistochemical localization of alpha-mannosidase during postnatal development of the rat cerebellum.

The localization of alpha-D-mannosidase in the rat cerebellum was studied by using indirect immunohistochemistry at both optical and electron microscopic levels. In the adult the enzyme is particularly concentrated in the dendrites and cell bodies of Purkinje cells, basket cells, and Golgi neurons in the cerebellar cortex and in the cytoplasm and dendrites of deep nuclei neurons. The cytoplasm of granule cells is poorly stained, whereas parallel fibers, white matter, Bergman fibers, and Golgi epitheloid cell perikarya show virtually no staining. Electron microscopy suggests that most of the staining is found in the cytosol, although some staining is found in the postsynaptic densities of the synapses between parallel fibers and Purkinje dendrites. The pattern of staining was followed throughout the postnatal development of the rat cerebellum. At bith an intense and diffuse staining is found in all cells except those of the external germinative layer. At the 6th postnatal day, Purkinje cell bodies and apical cones are strongly labeled. From the 13th day on the pattern is very similar to that found in the adult. However, at the 18th postnatal day (when compared with the other structures), the staining of Purkinje cell dendrites seems to be higher than at all other ages. These data are correlated with biochemical studies and discussed in relation to the possible role of this enzyme during the postnatal development of the rat cerebellum.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗

Evidence for cysteine sulfinate as a neurotransmitter.

The Na+-independent binding of L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate and L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate uptake were investigated in rat brain membranes and vesicles. Specific binding of L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate was saturable and occurred by a single high affinity process with a Kb of 100 nM +/- 9 and a capacity (Bmax) of 2.4 +/- 0.22 pmol/mg protein. Sodium ions were found to have a biphasic effect; low concentrations (in the range of 0.1-3 mM) induced a marked inhibition of the binding whereas higher concentrations (10-300 mM) resulted in a dose-dependent stimulation of binding. The inhibition potency, expressed as the Ki values of a wide range of compounds with known pharmacological activities was tested. L-Cysteine sulfinate was the most potent inhibitor being 3-fold more potent than L-glutamate and 80 times more potent than L-aspartate. The regional distribution of the binding of L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate in the brain was found to be heterogeneous. These results provide the first evidence for an interaction of cysteine sulfinate with specific receptor sites on the synaptic membrane. The rate of L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate uptake shows a biphasic dependence on the concentration of L-cysteine sulfinate, corresponding to a high affinity (27.2 microM) and a low affinity (398 microM) transport system. The maximum L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate uptake is reached at 2 min. The reversibility of this transport was demonstrated. The L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate uptake increases as a function of the sodium concentration. Chloride and potassium ions stimulate the uptake. The decrease or increase in the electrical membrane potential (delta psi) caused by replacing the chloride ions by the sulfate or sulfocyanate ions respectively leads to a decrease or increase in the rate of uptake. Increase in the extravesicular osmolarity leads to a decrease in the extent of L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate accumulation. Amino acids with an acidic group in position omega were found to be potent inhibitors (the most potent being L-aspartate). The length of the carbon chain also has a bearing on the inhibitory effect. The regional distribution of L-[3H]cysteine sulfinate uptake in the brain was heterogeneous. These results demonstrate the existence of a high affinity system which may correspond to the transmitter inactivation. Binding and uptake sites are distinguishable as evidenced by the affinity constants, the ionic and pharmacological effects and the different regional distributions in the brain. Finally, these results give further evidence for a neurotransmitter role of L-cysteine sulfinate.

Animals↗