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Biomedical subjects

W R Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to W R Zhang.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Reduction of tyrosine kinase B and tyrosine kinase C inductions by treatment with neurotrophin-3 after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat.

Infarct volume and immunoreactivities for trkB and trkC in rat brain were compared at 24 h after 90 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) between animal groups with or without neurotrophin-3 (NT-3, 10 microg/250 g animal). Treatment of rat brain with topical application of NT-3 significantly reduced infarct volume (P = 0.02) and trkB and trkC inductions. These data suggest that NT-3 reduced the ischemic injury along with the reduction of trkB and trkC inductions.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1999

Immunoreactive Akt, PI3-K and ERK protein kinase expression in ischemic rat brain.

In order to clarify the role of protein kinases in ischemic brain injury, the spatiotemporal expression of immunoreactive serine-threonine kinase Akt, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) were examined at 3, 8, or 24 h after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Weak staining for these protein kinases was found in both cortical and caudate neurons in sham controls. The staining for Akt-1 and PI3-K was increased at 3-8 h in the ischemic penumbral region and declined at 24 h. A slight induction of these kinases was observed in the ischemic core region. Robust expression of ERK was noted at 3-8 h in most neurons in the area of ischemia. At 24 h, ERK continued to be expressed in the ischemic penumbra, but decreased in the ischemic core. These findings suggest that the signaling for Akt and PI3-K are different from the ERK dependent signal transduction during ischemic brain injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Topical application of neurotrophin-3 attenuates ischemic brain injury after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

In order to examine the effect of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) on ischemic brain injury, NT-3 was topically applied to brain surface just after 90 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. NT-3 significantly reduced the infarct size at 24 h of reperfusion. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin in situ nick labeling (TUNEL) staining and immunohistochemical study for caspase-3 and heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) showed that NT-3 treatment decreased the number of cells with DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 and HSP72 expressions. These data suggest that NT-3 protects neuronal cells from ischemic injury, and it is possibly associated with inhibition of DNA fragmentation.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1999

Induction of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor receptor proteins in cerebral cortex and striatum after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats.

In an attempt to elucidate whether glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) receptors are induced after ischemic brain injury, possible expression of immunoreactive GDNF receptor-alpha1 (GFRalpha-1) and c-ret (RET) was examined at 3, 8, or 24 h after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in rats. Immunohistochemical study showed that both GFRalpha-1 and RET staining cells which were not detected in sham control brain, were present in the ipsilateral cortex and caudate at 3 to 8 h after permanent MCAO, and then decreased but remained to some extent at 24 h. Positive cells for both GDNF receptors were predominantly in cortical neurons of ischemic penumbral area. Western blot analysis confirmed the induction of those receptors after permanent MCAO. This rapid induction of GFRalpha-1 and RET, which correlates with the similar induction of GDNF under these conditions, may play a role in the early response to ischemic brain injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Transgenic mice deficient in the LAR protein-tyrosine phosphatase exhibit profound defects in glucose homeostasis.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) play an integral role in the regulation of cellular insulin action. LAR, a transmembrane PTPase expressed in insulin-sensitive tissues, acts as a negative regulator of insulin signaling in intact cell models. The physiological role of LAR was studied in mice in which LAR expression was eradicated by insertional mutagenesis. In the fasting state, adult male homozygous LAR (-/-) mice had significantly lower plasma levels of insulin and glucose, as well as a reduced rate of hepatic glucose production compared with wild-type controls, suggesting a heightened level of insulin sensitivity. In euglycemic clamp studies, the LAR (-/-) mice exhibited a significant resistance to insulin-stimulated glucose disposal and suppression of hepatic glucose output. Examination of hepatic insulin action demonstrated that the major alteration involved a 47% reduction in insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI 3-kinase) activity in the knockout mice, indicating a post-receptor signaling defect. Taken together with previous work on the cellular effects of LAR, the present results are consistent with a physiological role for LAR in the negative regulation of insulin action, with secondary abnormalities that contribute to the resistance to insulin-stimulated signaling in the knockout mice. Overall, these data provide further evidence for an important role for LAR in the regulation of insulin action and glucose homeostasis in intact animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Regulation of the insulin signalling pathway by cellular protein-tyrosine phosphatases.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) have been implicated in the physiological regulation of the insulin signalling pathway. In cellular and molecular studies, the transmembrane, receptor-type PTPase LAR and the intracellular, non-receptor enzyme PTP1B have been shown to have a direct impact on insulin action in intact cell models. Since insulin signalling can be enhanced by reducing the abundance or activity of specific PTPases, pharmaceutical agents directed at blocking the interaction between individual PTPases and the insulin receptor may have potential clinical relevance to the treatment of insulin-resistant states such as obesity and Type II diabetes mellitus.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Suppression of insulin receptor activation by overexpression of the protein-tyrosine phosphatase LAR in hepatoma cells.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) play an essential role in the regulation of reversible tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins that mediate insulin action. In order to explore the potential role of the transmembrane PTPase (LAR) in insulin receptor signal transduction, we overexpressed the full-length LAR protein in McA-RH7777 rat hepatoma cells and found that modest increases in the abundance of LAR protein expression downregulated a number of insulin-stimulated cellular responses closely related to the activation of the receptor kinase. An increase in LAR protein of 2.4-fold over the level in control cells caused a 40% reduction in insulin receptor autophosphorylation in intact cells, without an alteration in insulin receptor mass or a change in the insulin-stimulated receptor kinase activity measured with partially purified receptors in vitro. In addition, insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the endogenous insulin receptor substrates IRS-1 and Shc were decreased to 57% and 73% of control, respectively, and IRS-1 associated phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase activity was reduced to 47% of control of the cells overexpressing LAR. The present results, taken with our recent data demonstrating that reducing the abundance of LAR by expression of antisense mRNA enhances insulin receptor signal transduction (Kulas D. T., et al. J. Biol. Chem. 270:2435, 1995), supports the hypothesis that LAR acts as a physiological modulator of insulin action in insulin-sensitive hepatoma cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Modulation of insulin signal transduction by eutopic overexpression of the receptor-type protein-tyrosine phosphatase LAR.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) regulate insulin signaling by catalyzing the tyrosine dephosphorylation of the insulin receptor and its substrate proteins. Previous studies have implicated a PTPase localized to a cell membrane fraction in the regulation of the insulin receptor in situ. LAR (leukoyte antigen related) is a transmembrane PTPase in insulin-sensitive tissues with in vitro catalytic specificity for the insulin receptor kinase domain. When transfected into Chinese hamster ovary cells overexpressing the human insulin receptor (CHO-hlR), the LAR protein was processed as expected into an 85-kDa subunit containing the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. LAR was increased an average of 6-fold in clonal lines of stably transfected cells, and cell fractionation confirmed its localization in the cell membrane. After stimulation with 100 nM insulin, tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor was decreased by 31% at 1 min (P < 0.01) and by 42% at 10 min (P < 0.01), and that of IRS-1 was decreased by 34% (P < 0.01) at 1 min and by 56% (P < 0.01) at 10 min in the LAR-overexpressing cells compared with empty vector transfectants. LAR overexpression also blocked insulin-stimulated receptor kinase activation as well as thymidine incorporation into DNA. Quantitatively similar results were obtained in populations of CHO-hlR cells transfected transiently by electroporation. In contrast, overexpression of recombinant LAR cytoplasmic domain, detected as a 72-kDa protein in the cell cytosol, did not significantly affect the insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor or IRS-1 (99% and 93% of control at 10 min, respectively). These studies provide the first evidence that increased expression of LAR has negative regulatory effects at a proximal site in the insulin-signaling pathway. Since this effect occurs only when LAR is eutopically expressed at the cell membrane, these data further suggest that LAR requires a transmembrane localization to directly interact with the insulin receptor in situ.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Insulin receptor signaling is augmented by antisense inhibition of the protein tyrosine phosphatase LAR.

Considerable evidence has shown that most physiologic responses to insulin require activation of the intrinsic tyrosine kinase of the insulin receptor. Biochemical studies have also supported the hypothesis that receptor kinase activity can be modulated by cellular protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases), which have not yet been identified. To test the hypothesis that the transmembrane PTPase LAR can modulate insulin receptor signaling in vivo, antisense RNA expression was used to specifically suppress LAR protein levels by 63% in the rat hepatoma cell line, McA-RH7777. Hormone-dependent autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor was increased by approximately 150% in the antisense-expressing cells at all insulin concentrations tested. This increase in autophosphorylation was paralleled by a 35% increase in insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activity. Reduced LAR levels did not alter non-hormone-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation nor basal insulin receptor tyrosine phosphorylation and kinase activity. Most significantly, reduced LAR levels resulted in a 350% increase in insulin-dependent phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity. These studies provide unique in vivo evidence that LAR is involved in the modulation of insulin receptor signaling in intact cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Role of the pericytes of intra-acinar pulmonary artery in the structural remodeling of pulmonary vessels.

Whether or not the pericytes exist in the intra-acinar pulmonary arteries and their normal structure and morphological changes during development of the structural remodeling of pulmonary vessels were observed using a pulmonary hypertension model in rats induced by monocrotaline injection. The results showed that the pericytes in the peripheral pulmonary vessels proliferated and transformed into smooth muscle cells during development of pulmonary hypertension, and at the same time, the pericytes could synthesize and secrete extracellular matrix including collagen, suggesting that the pericytes play an important role in the development of pulmonary hypertension and structural remodeling of the pulmonary vessels.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Molecular cloning and expression of a unique receptor-like protein-tyrosine-phosphatase in the leucocyte-common-antigen-related phosphate family.

Protein-tyrosine-phosphatases (PTPases) have been implicated in the regulation of certain tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors in that they dephosphorylate the activated (autophosphorylated) form of the receptors. In order to identify PTPases that potentially act on receptor targets in liver, we used the human leucocyte common antigen-related PTPase (LAR) cDNA [Streuli, Krueger, Hall, Schlossman and Saito (1988) J. Exp. Med. 168, 1523-1530] and isolated two closely related transmembrane PTPase homologues from a rat hepatic cDNA library. Both PTPases had large extracellular domains that contained three immunoglobulin-like repeats and eight type-III fibronectin repeats. Both enzymes had tandem homologous PTPase domains following a single hydrophobic transmembrane domain. One sequence encoded the rat homologue of LAR. The second PTPase, designated LAR-PTP2, had 79 and 90% identity with rat LAR in the respective cytoplasmic PTPase domains, with only 57% sequence similarity in the extracellular domain. The catalytic domains of LAR and LAR-PTP2 prepared by bacterial expression were active in dephosphorylating a variety of phosphotyrosyl substrates but did not hydrolyse phosphoserine or phosphothreonine residues of labelled casein. Both enzymes exhibited rapid turnover numbers of 4-7 s-1 for myelin basic protein and 78-150 s-1 for derivatized lysozyme. LAR and LAR-PTP2 displayed similar PTPase activity towards the simultaneous dephosphorylation of receptors of intact insulin and epidermal growth factor from liver membranes. These data indicate that there is a family of LAR-related PTPases that may regulate the phosphorylation state of receptor tyrosine kinases in liver and other tissues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Identification of protein-tyrosine phosphatases prevalent in adipocytes by molecular cloning.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) are among the fastest growing family of enzymes that are closely linked to signal transduction pathways involving reversible tyrosine phosphorylation. In order to identify PTPase homologs expressed in adipocytes that might regulate the action of insulin or growth factors in this tissue, we screened a rat adipocyte cDNA library at reduced stringency with a panel of candidate PTPase probes. After subcloning and sequence analysis of the positive plaques, this approach enabled us to identify the expression of LRP/RPTP-alpha, PTPase 1B, SH-PTP2/Syp, and LAR in adipocytes at an abundance of 16, 7, 6 and 3 per million, respectively. Furthermore, a sequence variant of SH-PTP2/Syp was identified that may have significance in the tissue-specific activity of this enzyme. These data provide insight into PTPase homologs that may have a physiological role in the regulation of phosphotyrosyl turnover in hormone signalling pathways in adipocytes.

Adipocytes↗
PubMed1994

The inhibitory effect of radix Salviae miltiorrhizae on hypoxic structural remodeling of intra-acinar pulmonary arteries.

The inhibitory effect of Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (RSM) on hypoxic structural remodeling of intra-acinar pulmonary arteries (IAPA) was observed by light and electron microscopy and morphometry. It was found that RSM can not only dilate IAPA and relieve the hypoxic injuries to endothelia cells, but also inhibit the active muscularization of IAPA in the hypoxic animals, suggesting that RSM plays a very important role in inhibiting structural remodeling of IAPA and pulmonary hypertension.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

A study of endothelium-dependent proliferation of pulmonary smooth muscle cells in vitro.

The direct effect of hypoxia and the effect of hypoxic endothelial cells conditioned medium on cultured pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells in vitro were studied with phase contrast in microscopy, 3H-thymidine labelled technique and flow cytometric measurements. The results showed that direct hypoxia inhibited proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, retained pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells in the Go/G1 phase and decreased 3H-thymidine incorporation into pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells and that hypoxic endothelial cells conditioned medium stimulated proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, promoted pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells from G0/G1 phase to S phase and increased 3H-thymidine incorporation into pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells. It was reasonable to believe that hypoxia might enable pulmonary arterial endothelial cells to secrete some growth factors which could stimulate proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, thereby playing an important role in structural remodeling of the pulmonary arteries and in the development of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Experimental studies on peripheral nerve regeneration enhanced by nerve growth factor.

The effect of exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) examined on the neural repair of adult rabbit sciatic nerve was evaluated in the present study. A nerve regeneration chamber was created by suturing the proximal and distal ends of a transected sciatic nerve into a silicone chamber. A gap of 6 mm in chamber was left after removal of a 3 mm piece of nerve in the distal ends and insertion of the proximal and distal stumps into the chamber. Animals were operated on bilaterally, one side of the chamber was filled with a 1 mg/ml NGF/normal saline (NS) (experimental) and the contralateral side with NS (control). The regenerated nerves from within the silicone chamber were dissected and fixed 1 to 5 weeks following surgery for histological studies at both the light microscopic and ultrastructural levels. The NGF chamber showed a more mature regenerated nerve based on a larger diameter of the regenerated nerve trunk, a great number of axons, and thicker myelin sheaths.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Insulin receptor protein-tyrosine phosphatases. Leukocyte common antigen-related phosphatase rapidly deactivates the insulin receptor kinase by preferential dephosphorylation of the receptor regulatory domain.

A number of protein-tyrosine phosphatase(s) (PTPases) have been shown to dephosphorylate the insulin receptor in vitro; however, it is not known whether any individual PTPase has specificity for certain phosphotyrosine residues of the receptor that regulate its intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. We evaluated the deactivation of the insulin receptor kinase by three candidate enzymes that are expressed in insulin-sensitive rat tissues, including the receptor-like PTPases LAR and LRP, and the intracellular enzyme, PTPase1B. Purified insulin receptors were activated by insulin and receptor dephosphorylation, and kinase activity was quantitated after incubation with recombinant PTPases from an Escherichia coli expression system. When related to the level of overall receptor dephosphorylation, LAR deactivated the receptor kinase 3.1 and 2.1 times more rapidly than either PTPase1B or LRP, respectively (p less than 0.03). To assess whether these effects were associated with preferential dephosphorylation of the regulatory (Tyr-1150) domain of the receptor beta-subunit, we performed tryptic mapping of the insulin receptor beta-subunit after dephosphorylation by PTPases. Relative to the rate of initial loss of 32P from receptor C-terminal sites, LAR dephosphorylated the Tris-phosphorylated Tyr-1150 domain 3.5 and 3.7 times more rapidly than either PTPase1B or LRP, respectively (p less than 0.01). The accelerated deactivation of the insulin receptor kinase by LAR and its relative preference for regulatory phosphotyrosine residues further support a potential role for this transmembrane PTPase in the physiological regulation of insulin receptors in intact cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Insulin receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor dephosphorylation by three major rat liver protein-tyrosine phosphatases expressed in a recombinant bacterial system.

Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) play an essential role in the regulation of signal transduction mediated by reversible protein-tyrosine phosphorylation. In order to characterize individual rat hepatic PTPases that might have specificity for autophosphorylated receptor tyrosine kinases, we isolated cDNA segments encoding three PTPases (PTPase 1B, LAR and LRP) that are expressed in insulin-sensitive liver and skeletal muscle tissue, and evaluated their catalytic activity in vitro. The intrinsic PTPase activities of the full-length PTPase 1B protein and the cytoplasmic domains of LAR and LRP were studied by expression of recombinant cDNA constructs in the inducible bacterial vector pKK233-2 using extracts of a host strain of Escherichia coli that lacks endogenous PTPase activity. Each of the cloned cDNAs dephosphorylated a cognate phosphopeptide derived from the regulatory region of the insulin receptor. Despite having only 30-39% sequence identity in their catalytic domains, LAR and PTPase 1B had similar relative activities between the peptide substrate and intact insulin receptors, and also displayed similar initial rates of simultaneous dephosphorylation of insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors. In contrast, LRP exhibited a higher rate of dephosphorylation of both intact receptors relative to the peptide substrate, and also dephosphorylated EGF receptors more rapidly than insulin receptors. These studies indicate that three PTPases with markedly divergent structures have the catalytic potential to dephosphorylate both insulin and EGF receptors in intact cells and that redundant PTPase activity may occur in vivo. For these PTPases to have specific physiological actions in intact cells, they must be influenced by steric effects of the additional protein segments of the native transmembrane enzymes, cellular compartmentalization and/or interactions with regulatory proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗