Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Higashida.
The rate of functional synapse formation in NG108-15 neuronal cells transiently transfected with cDNAs of rat synapsin Ia, Ib, IIa and IIb significantly increased during the late phase of coculture with myotubes. The result shows that four synapsins may function equally well in the facilitation of NG108-15-myotube synapse formation.
Cerebellar granule neurons possess a non-inactivating K+ current, which controls resting membrane potentials and modulates the firing rate by means of muscarinic agonists. kcr1 was cloned from the cerebellar cDNA library by suppression cloning. KCR1 is a novel protein with 12 putative transmembrane domains and enhances the functional expression of the cerebellar non-inactivating K+ current in Xenopus oocytes. KCR1 also accelerates the activation of rat EAG K+ channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes or in COS-7 cells. Far-Western blotting revealed that KCR1 and EAG proteins interacted with each other by means of their C-terminal regions. These results suggest that KCR1 is the regulatory component of non-inactivating K+ channels.
The present study was designed to obtain evidence for direct interactions of G-protein alpha (Galpha) and beta gamma subunits (Gbeta gamma) with N- (alpha1B) and P/Q-type (alpha1A) Ca2+ channels, using synthetic peptides and fusion proteins derived from loop 1 (cytoplasmic loop between repeat I and II) and the C terminus of these channels. For N-type, prepulse facilitation as mediated by Gbeta gamma was impaired when a synthetic loop 1 peptide was applied intracellularly. Receptor agonist-induced inhibition of N-type as mediated by Galpha was also impaired by the loop 1 peptide but only when applied in combination with a C-terminal peptide. For P/Q-type channels, by contrast, the Galpha-mediated inhibition was diminished by application of a C-terminal peptide alone. Moreover, in vitro binding analysis for N- and P/Q-type channels revealed direct interaction of Galpha with C-terminal fusion proteins as well as direct interaction of Gbeta gamma with loop 1 fusion proteins. These findings define loop 1 of N- and P/Q-type Ca2+ channels as an interaction site for Gbeta gamma and the C termini for Galpha.
Employing subtype-specific antisera, we measured the relative immunoreactivity of five muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtype proteins (m1-m5) in the human iris. The most intensive FITC immunofluorescence was detected by the anti-m3 antibody, followed by anti-m1 and -m5 antisera, in the iris sphincter muscle cells. Only very weak fluorescence was obtained by anti-m2 and -m4 antibodies. In dilator muscle cells, weak but not consistent immunoreactivity was found by anti-m1 and -m5 antibodies. The results suggest that the m3 muscarinic receptor is the predominant subtype in sphincter muscle cells of the human iris.
1. Extracellular application of the novel brain peptides endomorphin 1 (EM1) and endomorphin 2 (EM2) inhibited high-threshold Ca2+ channel currents in NGMO-251 cells, a daughter clone of NG108-15 mouse neuroblastoma x rat glioma hybrid cells, in which mu-opioid receptors are overexpressed. 2. In contrast, EM1 and EM2 did not induce this inhibition in the parental NG108-15 cells that predominantly express endogenous delta-receptors. 3. The IC50 for EM1 and EM2 was 7.7 and 23.1 nM, respectively. 4. EM-induced Ca2+ channel current inhibition was blocked by treatment or pretreatment of the cells with 100 microM N-methylmaleimide or 100 ng ml-1 pertussis toxin. 5. These results show that a decrease in conductance of Ca2+ channels results following interaction of EMs with cloned mu-receptors, which couple via Gi/Go-type G proteins, and that EMs fulfill one of the necessary synaptic conditions for them to be identified as neurotransmitters.
The majority of cell-surface receptor proteins belong to one of three main families: ionotropic receptors, G protein-coupled receptors, and enzyme-containing receptors. Additionally, recent studies have revealed the existence of receptors which couple to nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases. These receptors could be classified as a fourth family. In this review, we summarize structural and functional characteristics of each receptor family.
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Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADP-ribose) is an endogenous modulator of ryanodine-sensitive Ca2+ release channels. An unsolved question is whether or not cADP-ribose mediates intracellular signals from hormone or neurotransmitter receptors. The first step in this study was to develop a TLC method to measure ADP-ribosyl cyclase, by which conversion of [3H]NAD+ to [3H]cADP-ribose was confirmed in COS-7 cells overexpressing human CD38. A membrane fraction of NG108-15 neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells possessed ADP-ribosyl cyclase activity measured by TLC. Carbamylcholine increased this activity by 2.6-fold in NG108-15 cells overexpressing m1 or m3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs), but inhibited it by 30-52% in cells expressing m2 and/or m4 mAChRs. Both of these effects were mimicked by GTP. Pretreatment of cells with cholera toxin blocked the activation, whereas pertussis toxin blocked the inhibition. Application of carbamylcholine caused significant decreases in NAD+ concentrations in untreated m1-transformed NG108-15 cells, but an increase in cholera toxin-treated cells. These results suggest that mAChRs couple to ADP-ribosyl cyclase within cell membranes via trimeric G proteins and can thereby control cellular function by regulating cADP-ribose formation.
Crude cell membranes in mammalian cells contain ADP-ribosyl cyclase, which converts NAD+ to cyclic ADP-ribose. Acetylcholine either increases or inhibits this activity in NG108-15 neuronal cells and adrenal chromaffin cells in a muscarinic receptor subtype-specific manner. Activation or inhibition of the cyclase activity is mimicked by GTP and blocked by bacterial toxins. These findings suggest that hormone or neurotransmitter receptors utilize the direct signaling pathway to ADP-ribosyl cyclase via G proteins within cell membranes, analogous to the previously established transduction pathways to adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase Cbeta.
Inositol-1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4,5)P4) binding properties were investigated in NIH/3T3 fibroblasts and its ras-transformant (DT cells), in which inositol tetrakisphosphates induce Ca2+ influx. [3H]-Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 bound to membranes of both types of cells with Kd values of 10.6 and 8.6 nM, respectively. The rank order of inositol polyphosphates for displacing [3H]Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 in DT cells was Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 > inositol-1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate > inositol hexakisphosphate > inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate. This order is similar to that reported in two Ras-GTPase-activating proteins, GAP1IP4BP and GAP1m, which are also the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding proteins. Northern blot analysis revealed that NIH/3T3 and DT cells expressed mRNA species that were hybridizable with GAP1m cDNA. These results suggest that parental and ras-transformed NIH/3T3 fibroblasts possess GAP1-like proteins, which may be responsible for triggering inositol tetrakisphosphate-dependent Ca2 influx.
A cDNA encoding a mouse B2 bradykinin (BK) receptor was stably transfected in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. In two resulting transformants, mouse B2 BK receptor was found to induce a twofold elevation in the inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate level. In a pertussis toxin-insensitive manner, BK also produced a biphasic increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). The initial elevation in [Ca2+]i was abolished by thapsigargin pretreatment in Ca(2+)-free medium. The second phase was dependent on external Ca2+. The BK/inositol trisphosphate and thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ stores required extracellular Ca2+ for refilling. Ca2+ influx induced by BK and thapsigargin was confirmed by Mn2+ entry through Ca2+ influx pathways producing Mn2+ quenching. Genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, partially decreased the BK-induced [Ca2+]i increase during the sustained phase and the rate of Mn2+ entry. BK had essentially no effect on the intracellular cyclic AMP level. The results suggest that the mouse B2 BK receptor couples to phospholipase C in CHO cells and that its activation results in biphasic [Ca2+]i increases, by mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ and store-depletion-mediated Ca2+ influx, the latter of which is tyrosine phosphorylation dependent.
The effects of sulfhydryl reagents on M-type voltage-dependent potassium currents (IK(M)) were examined in NG108-15 cells transformed to express ml muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs), a NGPM1-27 clone. Focal application of glutathione at millimolar concentrations dissolved in acidic solutions caused a transient inward current in NGPM1-27 cells at holding potentials of -30mV, associated with an inhibition of IK(M). The glutathione-induced response was mimicked by cysteine. These effects were also reproduced by superfusion with micromolar concentrations of HgCl2, AgNO3, N-methylmaleimide and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid (pCMB), agents which target protein thiols. Glutathione, HgCl2, AgNO3 and pCMB inhibited the peak conductance of IK(M) without shifting the half activating voltage (V1/2), which was comparable to the acetylcholine (ACh)-induced response. The voltage dependence of time constants for IK(M) deactivation in sulfhydryl reagent-, ACh- and non-treated cells resembled, but differed from that in Ba(2+)-treated cells. These results reveal that there is an accessible cysteine moiety, but not a disulfide bond, either on the M channel protein itself or on a protein directly involved in agonist-M channel coupling.
The role of adhesion molecule L1 in synapse formation was examined by transient transfection of L1 cDNA in neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid NG108-15 cells. L1 overexpression was found in approximately 50% of the transfected NG108-15 cell population. Neurite outgrowth induced by 0.25 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP (cAMP) was much greater in L1-transfected NG108-15 cells than that in nontransfected and mock-transfected cells. The proportion of cells with neurites and the number of neurites per cells were increased in L1-transfected cells after 2 days of dibutyryl cAMP treatment. The proportion of cells with branched neurites and the average length of neurites were higher at day 4. A significantly higher rate of synapse formation with myotubes was apparent in the late phase of coculture (days 4-7) in L1-transfected cells than in control cells. The miniature end-plate potential frequency in myotubes was the same for the three types of NG108-15 cells. These results show that overexpression of L1 in NG108-15 cells facilitates synaptic connections by enhancing branching and elongation of neurites induced with dibutyryl cAMP, rather than by increasing probability of acetylcholine release.
Although recent evidence suggests that certain beta-lactam antibiotics are absorbed via a specific transport mechanism, its nature is unclear. To confirm whether peptide transport in the rat can be largely ascribed to the intestinal oligopeptide transporter PepT1, the transporter has been functionally characterized and its significance in the intestinal absorption of beta-lactam antibiotics was evaluated. For evaluation of transport activity complementary RNA (cRNA) of rat PepT1 was synthesized in-vitro and expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. cRNA induced uptake of several beta-lactam antibiotics and the dipeptide [14C]glycylsarcosine; this was specifically inhibited by various dipeptides and tripeptides but not by their constituent amino acids or by tetra- or pentapeptides. The transport activity of PepT1 for beta-lactam antibiotics correlated well with their in-vivo intestinal transport and absorption. Furthermore, mutual inhibitory effects on uptake were observed between glyclsarcosine and beta-lactam antibiotics. Hybrid depletion of the functional expression of rat PepT1 in oocytes injected with rat intestinal epithelial total mRNA was studied using an antisense oligonucleotide corresponding to the 5'-coding region of PepT1. In oocytes injected with rat mRNA pre-hybridized with the antisense oligonucleotide against rat PepT1, the uptake of [14C]glycylsarcosine was almost completely abolished, whereas its uptake was not influenced by a sense oligonucleotide for the same region of PepT1. Similarly, the uptake of beta-lactam antibiotics was also reduced by the antisense oligonucleotide against rat PepT1. These results demonstrate that the intestinal proton-coupled oligopeptide transporter PepT1 plays a predominant role in the carrier-mediated intestinal absorption of beta-lactam antibiotics and native oligopeptides in the rat.
Signal transduction from mouse bradykinin B2-receptors to Ca2+ influx was studied in single control or v-Ki-ras-transformed NIH/3T3 (DT) fibroblasts. Microspectrofluometry (fura-2) was combined with the whole-cell patch-clamp technique to study bradykinin-activated Ca2+ influx. Cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations observed at holding potentials of -20 to -80 mV were terminated by holding at -10 mV or more depolarized potentials. Bradykinin significantly enhanced the hyperpolarization-induced increases in the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration upon membrane hyperpolarization only in DT cells but not in control cells. Internal application of 10 microM inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4) mimicked membrane potential-dependent Ca2+ entry. Activation of B2-receptors resulted in a decrease of cellular fluorescence at the excitation wavelength of 340 or 360 nm after MnCl2 application in DT cells. This Mn2+ entry through the Ca2+ influx pathway increased with membrane hyperpolarization below -20 mV. The results suggest that bradykinin-induced cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations in ras-transformed NIH/3T3 cells are maintained by bradykinin-activated continuous Ca2+ influx, which may use Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 as an intracellular messenger.
Signal transduction from mouse bradykinin B2 receptors to calcium influx was studied in ras-transformed NIH/3T3 (DT) fibroblasts. DT cells were preloaded with fura-2 and whole-cell voltage-clamped. Activation of B2 receptors resulted in a decrease of cellular fluorescence at the excitation wavelength of 340, or 360 nm after MnCl2 application, in both the presence and absence of external Ca2+ in DT cells, at a holding potential of -40 mV. This Mn2+ entry through the Ca2+ influx pathway increased with membrane hyperpolarization. Internal application of inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4), but not of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, mimicked membrane potential-dependent Mn2+ entry. Bradykinin- and InsP4-induced Ca2+ influx was blocked by 10-100 microM genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. B2 receptor activation induced time-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase and 120 kDa protein, which was dose-dependently inhibited by genistein. Bradykinin was unable to induce Ca2+ oscillations in genistein-treated DT cells. Our results show that bradykinin-induced Ca2+ influx and oscillations depend upon protein tyrosine phosphorylation. The results suggest that two bradykinin B2 receptor-activated signal pathways, protein tyrosine phosphorylation and formation of InsP4, merge at the Ca2+ influx process in ras-transformed NIH/3T3 fibroblasts.
We assessed the effect of an opener of ATP-sensitive K+ channel, levcromakalim (BRL 38227, (-)6-cyano-3,4-dihydro-2, 2-dimethyl-trans-4-(2-oxo-1-pyrrolidyl)-2H-1-benzopyran-3-ol) on seizure threshold and severity of the hippocampus-generating partial seizures in rats. For comparison, an ATP-sensitive K+ channel blocker, glibenclamide; K+ channel blocker, tetraethylammonium; Ca2+ channel antagonist, nimodipine and Ca2+ channel agonist, (+/-)-BAY K 8644 (1,4-dihydro-2, 6-dimethyl-5-nitro-4-[2-(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]-3-pyridinecarboxyli c acid methyl ester) were also examined. Seizure threshold was determined using pulse number threshold and seizure severity was ascertained using afterdischarge duration. Levcromakalim decreased afterdischarge duration at 10 nmol i.c.v. and decreased pulse number threshold at 100 nmol i.c.v. Tetraethylammonium at 10 nmol i.c.v. increased afterdischarge duration selectively and at 100 nmol i.c.v. induced spontaneous seizures. Glibenclamide (1-100 nmol i.c.v.) failed to change pulse number threshold and afterdischarge duration. Nimodipine (40 mg/kg i.p.) decreased afterdischarge duration and pulse number threshold. BAY K 8644 (1 mg/kg i.p.) decreased pulse number threshold and increased afterdischarge duration. In addition, voltage-clamp recording from neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cells indicates that levcromakalim inhibited the fast component of Ca(2+)-dependent K+ currents, in addition to the inhibition of T- and L-types of voltage-dependent Ca2+ currents reported (Ito et al., FEBS Lett. 262, 313, 1990). These results suggest that levcromakalim shows anti- and proconvulsive actions in the hippocampus-generating partial seizures in rats and these effects might be, at least partly, caused by inhibiting Ca2+ channel and Ca(2+)-dependent K+ channel, respectively.