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Biomedical subjects

O Hatase

Publications and source records attributed to O Hatase.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Distinct cellular compartment of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and neuron-specific Cdk5 activator protein (p35nck5a) in the developing rat cerebellum.

We have elucidated the spatial and temporal localization of Cdk5 and p35nck5a in the developing rat postnatal cerebellum. Both proteins were highly expressed in cell bodies of post mitotic and immature neurons. The localization of Cdk5 in cellular compartment was changed from cell body to the axon in development. On the other hand, p35nck5a was always expressed in the cell body throughout cerebellum development. The Cdk5 kinase activity was correlated with the expression of p35nck5a rather than that of Cdk5. These results indicate that p35nck5a is a physiological activator of Cdk5 in immature neurons and further suggest that Cdk5 has another function in mature neurons.

Aging↗

Expression of calbindin-D28K by reactive astrocytes in gerbil hippocampus after ischaemia.

Calbindin-D28K (Calbindin) is a member of the superfamily of calcium-binding proteins that is implicated in the regulation of intracellular calcium. In the adult mammalian brain, calbindin was thought to be present only in neurones, where it is believed to serve a neuroprotective role. We now report the expression of calbindin after ischaemia in reactive astrocytes in the CA1 subfield of the hippocampus. Since other calcium-binding proteins, such as S-100 and calmodulin, which induce transformation or proliferation of glia, occur in astrocytes, it is conceivable that the expression of calbindin after ischaemia might be an important part of the process of gliosis.

Animals↗

Calcineurin inhibitors, FK506 and cyclosporin A, suppress the NMDA receptor-mediated potentials and LTP, but not depotentiation in the rat hippocampus.

The effects of FK506, a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase 2B (calcineurin) inhibitor, on the NMDA receptor-mediated potentials and synaptic plasticity were investigated in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus. Bath application of FK506 (50 microM) produced a 45% inhibition on the NMDA receptor-mediated potentials. FK506 also inhibited the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), but had no effect on the depotentiation in the CA1 hippocampus. Cyclosporin A (100 microM), another calcineurin inhibitor, mimicked the effects of FK506 on the NMDA responses and synaptic plasticity. These results suggest that FK506 inhibits the activity of NMDA receptors via the involvement of calcineurin. The differential effects of FK506 on LTP and depotentiation may attribute to the partial inhibition on the activity of NMDA receptors and the subsequent attenuation of intracellular Ca2+ increase.

Animals↗

Protective effect of vagus nerve stimulation on forebrain ischaemia in gerbil hippocampus.

The left vagus nerve was stimulated during transient forebrain ischaemia in gerbils. The animals were exposed to 3 min of forebrain ischaemic insult at 37.5 degrees C. On day 5 post-ischaemia, the animals were perfusion-fixed for qualitative and quantitative histopathological analyses. High current stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibited ischaemic neuronal damage in the hippocampal CA1 sector (p < 0.01), but low current stimulation did not (p < 0.01). These effects might have been due to inhibition of the effects of excitatory amino acids during ischaemia. These results indicate that vagus nerve stimulation might be protective to neurones subjected to ischaemic insult.

Animals↗

Immunosuppressant FK506 prevents mossy fiber sprouting induced by kindling stimulation.

Kindling stimulation induces expansive growth of the axons of the dentate granule cells, the mossy fiber, into several areas of the hippocampus. An intraperitoneal injection of the immunosuppressant drug FK506, which is a specific inhibitor of Ca(2+)-calmodulin dependent phosphatase, calcineurin, prevented the full development of kindling as well as mossy fiber sprouting. The results show a correlation between mossy fiber sprouting and the development of kindling. The results suggest also that calcineurin may have a promoting role in mossy fiber sprouting and subsequent synaptogenesis.

Animals↗

Localization and developmental changes in the neuron-specific cyclin-dependent kinase 5 activator (p35nck5a) in the rat brain.

Mammalian brains contain a cde2-like protein kinase which is a heterodimer of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) and a brain-specific regulatory subunit with a molecular weight of 35,000. In this study, we examined the temporal and spatial expression patterns of p35nck5a in the developing rat brain. Northern blot analysis showed that p35nck5a messenger RNA expression was low in the brain of 12-day postcoitum rats, and increased to a much higher level from 18 days postcoitum to two weeks after birth, and then declined at three weeks after birth. These developmental changes in p35nck5a expression correlated with the changes in Cdk5-associated kinase activity during brain development. These data suggest that p35nck5a is the specific activator for Cdk5 in the brain. Immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization studies demonstrated the presence of p35nck5a protein in postmitotic neurons but not in glial cells at all stages of brain development, indicating that p35nck5a is a neuron-specific protein. In the adult brain, the protein was rich in cell bodies and dendrites, and only very low amounts were detected in axons. In fetal and neonatal brains, however, axonal pathways such as the corpus callosum and external capsule were also stained with anti-p35nck5a antibody. Our findings suggest that p35nck5a is neuron specific, and a specific activator for Cdk5, and the subcellular localization of the two is strictly regulated depending on brain development. Neuronal Cdc2-like kinase may play key roles in neuronal maturation, synaptic formation, and neuronal plasticity.

Animals↗

A chronological study of the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and calbindin-D28 k by reactive astrocytes in the electrically lesioned rat brain.

Immunoreactivity of neuronal and glial marker proteins of reactive astrocytes around the electrically damaged pyramidal layer and stratum radiatum of the hippocampal CA1 region and corpus callosum was chronologically studied in electrically lesioned rat brains. A monoclonal antibody against calbindin-D28 k (CD28-Ab) and a polyclonal antibody against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP-Ab) were used for immunostaining. Immunoreactivity of CD28 and GFAP in the reactive astrocytes was detected in brains 1-6 weeks post-lesion but not in non-lesioned brains. The number of immunohistochemically stained reactive astrocytes around the electrically damaged areas were counted and then compared with the number of those in the same areas of non-lesioned brains. The number of CD28- and GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes began to increase around the lesion from 1-3 weeks following lesion in the pyramidal layer of the hippocampal CA1 region and from 1-4 weeks following lesion in the stratum radiatum of the hippocampal CA1 region and corpus callosum. These immunoreactive astrocytes could be observed for 6 weeks (the maximum survival time studies) in all areas of the lesioned brains studied. The increase in the number of reactive astrocytes might have been induced by the stimulatory effects of neurotrophic factors, or growth factors, produced around the lesioned site. The constancy in the number of reactive astrocytes after 3 and 4 weeks in the lesioned areas may have been due to the termination of the initial phase of the repair process, i.e. space-filling. Reactive astrocytes which were stained by GFAP-Ab were separated into two groups, based on the presence of CD28, i.e. CD28-positive and CD28-negative reactive astrocytes. The presence of CD28 might confer certain functions via calcium-mediated mechanisms on CD28-positive astrocytes in addition to the constructive role mediated by GFAP.

Animals↗

Developmental alteration of the expression and kinase activity of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5)/p35nck5a in the rat retina.

Neuronal Cdc2-like kinase has been purified from the bovine brain as a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase. This kinase is a heterodimer of Cdk5 and p35nck5a and influences neuronal maturation or sprouting in the normal brain. In this study, we showed the expression of Cdk5/p35nck5a kinase in the developing rat retina. The expression of Cdk5 and p35nck5a increased between 1 week and 3 weeks after birth. These expression levels were most prominent from 2 weeks to 3 weeks after birth and decreased after 4 weeks. The developmental change of Cdk5/p35nck5a kinase activity coincided with those of the expression of p35nck5a and Cdk5. An immunohistochemical study showed that Cdk5 was expressed in the ganglion cells and in some cells in the inner nuclear layer at an early stage. With retinal development, Cdk5 was expressed in the inner plexiform layer also. In the adult, the expression of Cdk5 was restricted to the inner plexiform layer and to some cells in the inner nuclear layer. These changes of localization in the developing retina were very close to those of B-50/GAP-43. On the other hand, the expression of p35nck5a was restricted to the soma of the neuron in the developing retina. This subcellular localization in the developing retina agreed with that in the developing rat brain. The expression levels of Cdk5 and p35nck5a in retina of rats raised from fetus to 3 weeks after birth in darkness were 36% and 40% respectively, of the baseline for control rats. Moreover, the kinase activity in rats raised in darkness was lower than that in control rats. These data suggest that Cdk5/p35nck5a may play a role in neuronal plasticity in the developing rat retina.

Animals↗

Enhanced expression of the protein kinase substrate annexin in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Annexin (AX) constitutes a new family of Ca2+-dependent membrane-binding proteins; 13 of them have been described. Among these, annexin-1 (AX-I) has displayed many biological functions in vitro. Its actual role in vivo, however, remains unknown. We already reported that AX-I was expressed in proliferating (regenerating) hepatocytes at both protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels. The role of AX-I in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains obscure. In this study, the amounts of AX-I at protein and mRNA levels, as well as its localization, have been determined in the normal human liver, chronic hepatitis liver, and nontumorous and tumorous portions of HCC. AX-I was rarely found in normal and chronic liver tissues, whereas it is overexpressed at both the transcriptional and translational levels in tumorous and nontumorous regions of HCC. In addition, more AX-I was expressed in the tumorous portion than the nontumorous portion of HCC. AX-I was present in the hepatocytes and HCC cells, localized mainly in the cytoplasm. AX-I was expressed in poorly differentiated cancer cells. Furthermore, AX-I was tyrosine-phosphorylated in HCC. We also found that some of the AX-I- positive hepatocytes in the nontumorous tissues were derived from a particular subset of parenchymal cells (stem or oval cells). These results indicate that AX-I plays an important role in the malignant transformation process leading to HCC and that it is closely related to the histological grade of HCC. HCC would offer a novel tool with which to study the function of AX-I in malignant transformation.

Annexin A1↗

Direct evidence of the production of IgA by tonsillar lymphocytes and the binding of IgA to the glomerular mesangium of IgA nephropathy patients.

Tonsils were obtained by tonsillectomy from a 33-year-old woman with IgA nephropathy. Hetero-hybridoma cells of human tonsillar B-lymphocytes with mouse myeloma cells (NS-1) were made, and cultured in HAT medium supplemented with 10% fetus bovine serum and hybridoma cloning factor. The culture medium was analyzed by Western blot analysis using anti-human IgA antibody, and both IgA1 and IgA2 were demonstrated to be produced. The specimens of the biopsied kidney tissue of IgA nephropathy were washed with 0.02 M citrate buffer (pH 3.2) to remove deposited IgA from glomerulus. The specimens were then incubated with the culture media of hybridoma cells, and immuno-fluorescence analysis using FITC-conjugated anti-human IgA antibody was performed. IgA deposit was efficiently removed by washing with citrate buffer and was recovered after incubation with the culture medium of hybridoma cells. Direct evidence of binding of IgA produced by tonsillar B-lymphocytes to the glomerular mesangium of IgA nephropathy was demonstrated.

Adult↗

An isoform of the neuronal cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) activator.

Neuronal Cdc2-like kinase is a heterodimer of Cdk5 and a 25-kDa subunit that is derived from a 35-kDa brain- and neuron-specific protein called the neuronal Cdk5 activator (p35/p25nck5a) (Lew, J., Huang, Q.-Q., Qi, Z., Winkfein, R. J., Aebersold, R., Hunt, T., and Wang, J. H. (1994) Nature 371, 423-426; Tsai, L. H., Delalle, I., Caviness, V. S., Jr., Chae, T., and Harlow, E. (1994) Nature 371, 419-423). Upon screening of a human hippocampus library with a bovien Nck5a cDNA, we uncovered a distinct clone encoding a 39-kDa isoform of Nck5a. The isoform, designated the neuronal Cdk5 activator isoform (p39nck5ai), showed a high degree of sequence similarity to p35nck5a with 57% amino acid identity. Northern blot analysis detected its mRNA transcript in bovine and rat cerebrum and cerebellum, but not in any other rat tissues examined. In situ hybridization showed that Nck5ai was enriched in CA1 to CA3 of the hippocampus, but absent in the fimbria of hippocampal formation. Among seven cell lines in proliferating cultures, only PC12 and N2A, two cell lines capable of differentiating into neuron-like cells, were found to contain Nck5ai mRNA. A 30-kDa truncated form of Nck5ai expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein in Escherichia coli] was found to associate with Cdk5 to form an active Cdk5 kinase. Thus, the isoform shares many common characteristics with p35nck5a, including Ckd5 activating activity and brain- and neuron-specific expression. Both proteins show limited sequence homology to cyclins, suggesting that they define a new family of cyclin-dependent kinase-activating proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Developmental changes of cyclin dependent kinase 5 subcellular localization in the rat cerebellum.

Cyclin dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) phosphorylates tau protein, a microtubule-associated protein, at pathological sites in vitro as well as in Alzheimer's disease brain. The enzyme is therefore regarded as an important candidate responsible for the progression of Alzheimer's disease. We and others have suggested that the enzyme has physiological roles in brain development and maturation. In this study, we investigated the exact distribution and developmental changes of the enzyme in cerebellum by immunohistochemistry and non-radioactive in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that Cdk5 was consistently expressed in the cerebellum at all developing stages. However, the subcellular localization of Cdk5 dramatically changed during maturation of the cerebellum. In the early neonatal stage, Cdk5 was strongly expressed in the cell bodies of neurones. With neuronal maturation Cdk5 immunoreactivity changed its subcellular localization from the cell body to axon. In terminally differentiated neurons, the immunoreactivity was only detected in the axon. These results suggest that subcellular localization of Cdk5 is strictly regulated and may play an important role in neuronal maturation.

Alzheimer Disease↗

pp60c-src expression in rat spermatogenesis.

A fractionation of the membrane extract of rat testes revealed the existence of pp60c-src kinase activity. The expression of pp60c-src was examined in the developing rat testes. The immunecomplex kinase assay using a monoclonal antibody specific to pp60c-src (mAb327) showed that the expression of pp60c-src kinase activity increased during the development of rat testes and declined in the adult. The increase in pp60c-src kinase activity observed during the development of rat testes was accompanied with an increase in the amount of pp60c-src protein. The peak period in the increase of pp60c-src kinase activity well coincided with the timing, when the spermatogenesis by meiosis just began. The immunohistochemical staining of pp60c-src in rat testes demonstrated that pp60c-src is most abundantly expressed in the spermatids which are the spermatogenic cells in the post-meiotic phase of the spermatogenesis. These findings strongly suggest that pp60c-src is a developmentally regulated gene product which is involved in rat spermatogenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Developmental alteration and neuron-specific expression of bone morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) mRNA in rodent brain.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are a group of proteins which induce bone formation from mesenchymal cells. The existence of BMPs in the nervous system as well as in bone tissue has recently been reported. In this study, we show that BMP-6 is neuron-specific, and describe the temporal and spatial expression patterns of BMP-6 mRNA in the developing rat and gerbil brain. Northern blot analysis showed that the BMP-6 transcript level was specifically high from newborn to 3 weeks after birth compared with those in fetal and adult rats. In situ hybridization showed that most of the neurons possessed high levels of BMP-6 mRNA in the neonatal brain, while in the adult brain, BMP-6 mRNA level was significantly decreased in most of the neurons except those in hippocampus which retained high levels. Furthermore, to show that the BMP-6 expression was specific to neurons, we induced delayed neuronal cell death and compensative glial cell proliferation in the gerbil hippocampus by transient ischemia. Our findings collectively suggest that BMP-6 is neuron-specific and may play important roles in neuronal maturation and synapse formation.

Animals↗

Identification of Rap1 as a target for the Crk SH3 domain-binding guanine nucleotide-releasing factor C3G.

C3G, which was identified as a Crk SH3 domain-binding guanine nucleotide-releasing factor, shows sequence similarity to CDC25 and Sos family proteins (S. Tanaka, T. Morishita, Y. Hashimoto, S. Hattori, S. Nakamura, M. Shibuya, K. Matuoka, T. Takenawa, T. Kurata, K. Nagashima, and M. Matsuda, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:3443-3447, 1994). The substrate specificity of C3G was examined by in vitro and in vivo experiments. C3G markedly stimulated dissociation of bound GDP from Rap1B but marginally affected the same reaction of other Ras family proteins (Ha-Ras, N-Ras, and RalA). C3G also stimulated binding of GTP-gamma S [guanosine 5'-3-O-(thio)triphosphate] to Rap1B. When C3G and Rap1A were expressed in COS7 cells, marked accumulation of the active GTP-bound form of Rap1A was observed, while Sos was not effective in the activation of Rap1A. These results clearly show that C3G is an activator for Rap1. Furthermore, expression of C3G with a membrane localization signal in a v-Ki-ras transformant, DT, induced a reversion of the cells to the flat form, possibly through the activation of endogenous Rap1.

Animals↗

In situ localization of rat testis-specific calcineurin B subunit isoform beta 1 in the developing rat testis.

In situ localization and developmental changes in expression of testis-specific calcineurin B subunit isoform beta 1 was examined in rat testis. Two different sizes of mRNA signal, 4.0 kb and 0.9 kb, were detected by Northern blot hybridization. Both signals were expressed synchronously with the start of meiosis at 3 weeks after birth, and increased depending on the maturation of spermatogenesis. In situ hybridization using non-radioactive riboprobes showed that the beta 1 mRNA was specifically localized to spermatocytes where meiosis occurs but none or very little was observed in spermatogonia, spermatids, Sertoli or Leydig cells.

Animals↗

Immunosuppressants and calcineurin inhibitors, cyclosporin A and FK506, reversibly inhibit epileptogenesis in amygdaloid kindled rat.

Calcineurin (CaN) immunoreactivity and content increased markedly in kindled rat brain, and this increment was due to CaN in the membrane fraction. Investigation of the effects of cyclosporin A and FK506 (immunosuppressants which inhibit CaN activity in T lymphocytes) in the kindling phenomena showed that the kindling stage progression was reversibly blocked by these drugs. These findings suggest that calcineurin may play an essential role in acquiring epileptogenesis in kindling.

Amygdala↗

Mutual interaction between host and graft tissues in embryonic neural transplantation.

The differentiation of AChE-positive cells in embryonic neural grafts from various brain regions into the hippocampus after fimbria-fornix transection was investigated. Rat fetal cell suspensions of basal forebrain, hippocampus, mesencephalon or cortex were prepared from fetuses of either embryonic day 14 (E14) or day 19 (E19) gestational age, and these were transplanted into the rat brain after unilateral fimbria-fornix transection. Dense acetylcholinesterase (AChE) positive fibres were observed in both E14 and E19 basal forebrain grafts. These fibres were also found in E14 hippocampal grafts. However E19 hippocampal grafts did not have any AChE-positive fibres. These results suggest that E14 hippocampal grafts might be affected by the host brain tissues and differentiate into cholinergic neurones.

Acetylcholinesterase↗