Effects of resiniferatoxin on the neurogenic component of feline interstitial cystitis.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B Teng.
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The morphological organization of the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus, midbrain extrapyramidal area, substantia nigra and subthalamic nucleus and their interrelationships were studied in rat organotypic culture using immunohistochemistry and NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry. Three coronal sections, one containing the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus/midbrain extrapyramidal area, another with the substantia nigra and the third with the subthalamic nucleus, were obtained from postnatal 1-2-day-old rats. These sections were co-cultured for 3-4 weeks using the roller-tube technique. In the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus/midbrain extrapyramidal area, the distribution pattern of cholinergic neurons was similar to that found in the in vivo study. We could, therefore, identify the subdivisions of the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus (i.e., pars compacta and pars dissipata) and the midbrain extrapyramidal area. As in the in vivo situation, glutamate immunoreactive neurons were also located in these areas. Approximately 10% of NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons in the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus, were glutamate immunoreactive. In the substantia nigra, as in the in vivo, tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (putative dopaminergic) neurons were identified predominantly in the substantia nigra pars compacta, and parvalbumin immunoreactive neurons (putative GABAergic) mainly in the substantia nigra pars reticulata. The subthalamic nucleus was ladened with glutamate immunoreactive neurons. NADPH-diaphorase stained axons originating from the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus were traced into the substantia nigra and subthalamic nucleus. They were often in close apposition to tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons in the substantia nigra. Parvalbumin immunoreactive fibers from the substantia nigra projected heavily to the midbrain extrapyramidal area, but only sparsely to the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus and the subthalamic nucleus. These findings indicate that the tegmental pedunculopontine nucleus/midbrain extrapyramidal area, substantia nigra and subthalamic nucleus in the organotypic culture have retained a basic morphological organization and connectivity similar to those seen in the in vivo situation. Therefore, this preparation could be a useful model to conduct further studies to investigate functional circuits among the structures represented.
Human intestinal smooth muscle cells in culture produce insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), IGFBP-4, and IGFBP-5, which can modulate the effects of IGF-I on growth. This study examined the role of IGFBP-4 on IGF-I-induced growth and the mechanisms regulating IGFBP-4 levels. IGFBP-4 inhibited IGF-I-induced [(3)H]thymidine incorporation. IGFBP-4 mRNA levels were not altered by IGF-I. IGF-I caused a concentration-dependent activation of an endogenous IGFBP-4 protease, resulting in time-dependent degradation of intact IGFBP-4 into inactive fragments. Protease activity was measured in a cell-free assay using smooth muscle cell conditioned medium containing the IGFBP-4 protease. The protease was inhibited by EDTA and benzamidine. Protease activity was highest in proliferating cells and lowest in postconfluent cells. The role of endogenous IGF-I in regulating IGFBP-4 degradation was confirmed by the ability of an IGF-I antagonist to inhibit IGF-I-activated IGFBP-4 proteolysis in intact cells. We conclude that in human intestinal smooth muscle cells levels of secreted IGFBP-4 are determined by the confluence-dependent production of a cation-dependent serine protease that is activated by endogenous IGF-I.
PURPOSE: We hypothesized that expression/activity of critical components of the apoptotic pathway can be used to induce apoptosis of a human prostate cell line derived from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the apoptotic pathway in BPH cells treated with the powerful inducer of apoptosis, staurosporine (STS), and adenoviruses overexpressing caspase-3, -7, or the control gene lacZ. RESULTS: Twelve hours post-STS, most BPH cells were floating in the culture medium, TUNEL staining was widespread, and DEVDase activity (the catalytic activity of type II caspases) was increased. The pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-FMK, prevented STS-induced apoptosis. Based on these observations, we performed immunoblot analysis for the three known group II caspases (that is caspase-2, -3 and -7), but none of them was detected with three commercially available antibodies. Nevertheless, in view of the presence of increased DEVDase activity, we reasoned that a group II caspase must be a critical mediator of apoptosis in this model. If correct, we postulated that overexpression and activation of a type II caspase should cause apoptosis. To test this hypothesis, we coupled the cDNAs encoding caspase-3 and caspase-7 to adenoviral vectors and obtained constructs AvC3 and AvC7. Cells infected with AvC3 or AvC7 overexpressed the protein for caspase-3 or -7 within 24 to 48 hours. Caspase-3 overexpression did not cause apoptosis above that observed in cells receiving the control adenovirus expressing the lacZ cDNA (AvLac-Z). In contrast, caspase-7 overexpression induced massive apoptosis. BPH cells were then infected with increasing multiplicity of infection (MOI) of AvC7 and AvlacZ. A positive correlation was found between the amount of caspase-7 expressed and the level of DEVDase activity measured. AvC7 at MOIs of 25:1 and 50:1 induced apoptosis in about 50% of BPH cells at 72 hours post-infection. This effect was AvC7 specific, because the same MOIs of AvlacZ were not apoptogenic. CONCLUSIONS: Adenoviral-mediated overexpression of caspase-7 induces apoptosis of BPH-derived cells.
We studied the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in the prostate cancer cell line LNCaP and whether overexpression of caspase activity could force this cell line to undergo apoptosis. The inhibitor of phosphomevalonate decarboxylase, sodium phenylacetate, and the protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine induced (a) release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria to the cytosol; (b) reduction in mitochondrial transmembrane potential; (c) proteolytic processing of caspase-3 and -7 but not -2; (d) cleavage of the DEVD substrate and the death substrates poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and DNA fragmentation factor; and (e) apoptosis. The panspecific inhibitor of caspase activation N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp(OMe)-fluoromethylketone (z-VAD-FMK) prevented all of these events except release of mitochondrial cytochrome c into the cytosol. None of these apoptotic signaling events were elicited by staurosporine or sodium phenylacetate treatment of LNCaP-Bcl-2 cells that overexpress the oncoprotein Bcl-2. Because caspase-7 is activated in every model of apoptosis that we have characterized thus far, we wished to learn whether overexpression of this protease could directly cause apoptosis of LNCaP cells. By using a replication-defective adenovirus, overexpression of caspase-7 protein in both LNCaP and LNCaP-Bcl-2 cells was accompanied by induction of cleavage of the DEVD substrate and TUNEL. These studies have demonstrated that caspase-7 and -3 are critical mediators of apoptosis in LNCaP cells. Caspase-7 was proteolytically activated in every model of apoptosis that we have developed, and the overexpression of it induced apoptosis of LNCaP and LNCaP-Bcl-2 cells. Thus, adenoviral-mediated transfer of caspase-7 may offer a new effective approach for the treatment of prostate cancer.
In both functional and radioligand binding studies of gastric smooth muscle from rabbit and guinea pig, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) show equal potency indicating that the receptor type is either a VIP1/PACAP2 or a VIP2/PACAP3 receptor. We have characterized the VIP/PACAP receptor expressed in freshly dispersed and cultured gastric and tenia coli smooth muscle cells of rabbit and guinea pig by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Northern analysis, and cloning of the first extracellular domain. Specific primers based on cDNA sequences for rat VIP1/PACAP2, VIP2/PACAP3 and PACAP1 receptors were designed spanning the first extracellular domain. A 275 base pair product corresponding to VIP2/PACAP3 receptor was amplified by RT-PCR in muscle cells from both species. No RT-PCR product was obtained with primers for VIP1/PACAP2 and PACAP1 receptors. The deduced amino acid sequences showed 90% similarity in rabbit and 77% in guinea pig to the sequence in rat. The location of the aspartate, tryptophan and glycine residues and all six N-terminal cysteines required for VIP binding were conserved. The sequence in guinea pig tenia coli differed from that in guinea pig stomach by two amino acid residues, Phe40 and Phe41. Northern analysis revealed a single 3.9 kilobase (kb) mRNA corresponding to VIP2/PACAP3 receptors in rabbit and a 2.1 kb mRNA in guinea pig gastric and tenia coli muscle cells. We conclude that only VIP2/PACAP3 receptors are expressed in smooth muscle cells of rabbit and guinea pig. The two amino acid difference in the sequence obtained from guinea pig tenia coli may reflect the distinct binding and functional properties of this tissue.
In gastrointestinal smooth muscle, the neuropeptides vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) induce relaxation by interacting with VIP2/PACAP3 receptors coupled via Gs to adenylyl cyclase and with distinct receptors coupled via Gi1 and/or Gi2 to a smooth muscle endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). The present study identifies the receptor as the single-transmembrane natriuretic peptide clearance receptor (NPR-C). RT-PCR and Northern analysis demonstrated expression of the natriuretic peptide receptors NPR-C and NPR-B but not NPR-A in rabbit gastric muscle cells. In binding studies using 125I-labeled atrial natriuretic peptide (125I-ANP) and 125I-VIP as radioligands, VIP, ANP, and the selective NPR-C ligand cANP(4-23) bound with high affinity to NPR-C. ANP, cANP-(4-23), and VIP initiated identical signaling cascades consisting of Ca2+ influx, activation of eNOS via Gi1 and Gi2, stimulation of cGMP formation, and muscle relaxation. NOS activity and cGMP formation were abolished (93 +/- 3 to 96 +/- 2% inhibition) by nifedipine, pertussis toxin, the NOS inhibitor, NG-nitro-L-arginine, and the antagonists ANP-(1-11) and VIP-(10-28). NOS activity stimulated by all three ligands in muscle membranes was additively inhibited by Gi1 and Gi2 antibodies (82 +/- 2 to 84 +/- 1%). In reconstitution studies, VIP, cANP-(4-23), and guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) stimulated NOS activity in membranes of COS-1 cells cotransfected with NPR-C and eNOS. The results establish a unique mechanism for G protein-dependent activation of a constitutive NOS expressed in gastrointestinal smooth muscle involving interaction of the relaxant neuropeptides VIP and PACAP with a single-transmembrane natriuretic peptide receptor, NPR-C.
The aim of this study was to identify the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoform expressed in freshly dispersed rabbit gastric smooth muscle cells and in cultured rabbit gastric, human intestinal, and guinea pig taenia coli smooth muscle cells. RT-PCR products of the predicted size (354 bp) were obtained with endothelial NOS (eNOS)-specific primers, but not neuronal NOS (nNOS)- or inducible NOS (iNOS)-specific primers, in all smooth muscle preparations except guinea pig taenia coli. Control RT-PCR studies showed absence of the endothelial markers, platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), and the interstitial cell marker, c-kit, from cultures of smooth muscle cells. Cloning and sequence analysis showed that the predicted amino acid sequence (117 residues) in rabbit and human smooth muscle cells differed by only one residue from that of human eNOS. Northern blot analysis, using the PCR-generated and cloned eNOS cDNA from rabbits and humans as probes, demonstrated the expression of eNOS mRNA (4.4 kb) in both species. eNOS, but not nNOS or iNOS, transcripts were localized by in situ RT-PCR in single, freshly dispersed rabbit gastric smooth muscle cells; expression was evident in the majority of cells in each preparation. We conclude that eNOS is selectively expressed in rabbit gastric and human intestinal smooth muscle cells. The results confirm functional evidence for the existence of a constitutive NOS in smooth muscle cells of the gut in different species, except for guinea pig taenia coli.
Adenovirus-mediated gene delivery of apolipoprotein (apo)B mRNA editing enzyme (AvApobec1) was used to study the effect of apoB mRNA editing on apoB production in homozygous LDL receptor-deficient (LDLR-/-) mice. Intravenous injection of AvApobec1 into these mice resulted in a >80% decrease in plasma apoB-100 with a concomitant increase in plasma apoB-48 level. The plasma apoE level also increased. In all cases, total plasma apoB (apoB-100 + apoB-48) decreased by 60% at day 5 and remained approximately 40% lower in AvApobec1-treated compared with control vector Av1LacZ4-treated animals at day 12. On day 12, total plasma cholesterol decreased by 29% in male mice and 18% in female mice that were transduced with AvApobec1. This was reflected in a reduction in apoB-containing lipoprotein cholesterol, which decreased by 34% and 27% in male and female mice, respectively. Apobec1 gene transfer also decreased the cholesteryl ester contents in the LDL fraction, which were 16%, 22%, and 22% in female and 20%, 20%, and 15% in male animals on days 5, 7, and 12, respectively, compared with Av1LacZ controls with 29%, 32%, and 33%, respectively, in female and 29%, 38%, and 36%, respectively, in male animals. Nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis indicated almost complete elimination of LDL particles of 29, 27, and 25 nm at days 7 and 12. We conclude that in the absence of a functioning LDL receptor, hepatic overexpression of Apobec1 is highly efficient in lowering plasma apoB-100 levels, leading to the almost complete elimination of LDL particles and a reduction in LDL cholesterol and cholesteryl ester content.
By means of polyacrylaminde gel eletrothoresis and thin layer scanning, the paper semi-quantitatively studies some relation between component and activity of isoenayme of Ginseng infecting red skin desease. The results show activity of esterase increases 100% than that of normal Ginseng; activity of polyphenol oxidase increases 60-30% and represent new isoenzyme bands in the early infection in juxtapose transolant experiment.
We have used the technique of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer to study the in vivo function of the very low density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) in low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) knockout mice. We generated a replication-defective adenovirus (AdmVLDLR) containing mouse VLDLR cDNA driven by a cytomegalovirus promoter. Transduction of cultured Hepa (mouse hepatoma) cells and LDLR-deficient CHO-ldlA7 cells in vitro by the virus led to high-level expression of immunoreactive VLDLR proteins with molecular sizes of 143 kDa and 161 kDa. Digestion of the cell extract with the enzymes neuraminidase, N-glycanase, and O-glycanase resulted in the stepwise lowering of the apparent size of the 161-kDa species toward the 143-kDa species. LDLR (-/-) mice fed a 0.2% cholesterol diet were treated with a single intravenous injection of 3 x 10(9) plaque-forming units of AdmVLDLR. Control LDLR (-/-) mice received either phosphate-buffered saline or AdLacZ, a similar adenovirus containing the LacZ cDNA instead of mVLDLR cDNA. Comparison of the plasma lipids in the 3 groups of mice indicates that in the AdmVLDL animals, total cholesterol is reduced by approximately 50% at days 4 and 9 and returned toward control values on day 21. In these animals, there was also a approximately 30% reduction in plasma apolipoprotein (apo) E accompanied by a 90% fall in apoB-100 on day 4 of treatment. By FPLC analysis, the major reduction in plasma cholesterol in the AdmVLDLR animals was accounted for by a marked reduction in the intermediate density lipoprotein/low density lipoprotein (IDL/LDL) fraction. Plasma VLDL, IDL/LDL, and HDL were isolated from the three groups of animals by ultracentrifugal flotation. In the AdmVLDLR animals, there was substantial loss (approximately 65%) of protein and cholesterol mainly in the IDL/LDL fraction on days 4 and 9. Nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis indicates a preferential loss of the IDL peak although the LDL peak was also reduced. When 125I-IDL was administered intravenously into animals on day 4, the AdmVLDLR animals cleared the 125I-IDL at a rate 5-10 times higher than the AdLacZ animals. We conclude that adenovirus-mediated transfer of the VLDLR gene induces high-level hepatic expression of the VLDLR and results in a reversal of the hypercholesterolemia in 0.2% cholesterol diet-fed LDLR (-/-, mice. The VLDLR overexpression appears to greatly enhance the ability of these animals to clear IDL, resulting in a marked lowering of the plasma IDL/LDL. Further testing of the use of the VLDLR gene as a therapeutic gene for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia is warranted.
Washed human platelets were loaded with the Ca(2+)-sensitive photoprotein, aequorin, using hypoosmotic shock treatment-technique. Then aggregation and cytoplasmic ionized calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) changes in response to collagen or thrombin were measured simultaneously in the aequorin-loaded human platelets with a Platelet Ionized Calcium Aggregometer. 764-3, an active component isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bge, inhibited platelet [Ca2+]i rise as well as aggregation evoked by collagen or thrombin in the presence of extracellular Ca2+. After the extracellular Ca2+ was removed by addition of EGTA, collagen or thrombin, causing no aggregation, still elicited platelet [Ca2+]i rise which reflected Ca2+ mobilization from intraplatelet stores. Under this condition, 764-3 could also suppress platelet [Ca2+]i rise. Analysis shows that 764-3 inhibits platelet Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ mobilization with similar potency, which accounts for its suppression of platelet [Ca2+]i rise, and must contribute to its inhibition of platelet aggregation.
To investigate the potential use of apoE in gene therapy of hyperlipidemias, an adenoviral vector was constructed that contained the human apoE3 cDNA under the control of the RSV promoter (Av1RE). Transduction of HepG2 cells resulted in the overexpression of human apoE secreted into the culture medium. Intravenous injection of 5 x 10(11) Av1RE vector particles into apoE-deficient mice resulted in expression of human apoE3 in mouse plasma at levels of 1.2 +/- 0.4 micrograms/L (mean +/- SEM, n = 5) 7 days after injection. Mice injected with the control vector Av1Lacz4 did not express detectable levels of human apoE. Average plasma cholesterol concentrations were reduced approximately eightfold from 737.5 +/- 118 mg/dL (mean +/- SEM, n = 6) to 98.2 +/- 4.4 mg/dL (mean +/- SEM, n = 5) and were unaffected in the control vector group. Expression of human apoE resulted in a shift in the plasma lipoprotein distribution from primarily VLDL and LDL in the control mice to predominantly HDL in the Av1RE-treated group. Western blot analysis of fast protein liquid chromatography-fractionated mouse plasma showed that the human apoE protein was associated with VLDL, LDL, and HDL. Correction of the hyperlipidemic condition found in the apoE-knockout mouse strain by direct in vivo gene transfer establishes the potential of this approach for treatment of hyperlipidemia caused by apoE deficiency or malfunction in human disease.
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The platelet activation induced by two anti-human platelet P24/CD9 McAbs was investigated. The results showed that the pathways of platelet aggregation induced by the two McAbs (HI117 and SJ9A4) were different and HI117 and SJ9A4 induced the phosphorylation of platelet proteins (40,000 and 20,000) when platelets were activated. However, HI117 did not cause a rise in intracellular Ca2+ concentration in activated platelets in comparison with SJ9A4 and the epitope recognized by HI117 and SJ9A4 was different and this might explain why the two CD9 McAbs played different roles in platelet activation in addition, McAbs HI117 and SJ9A4 could not promote associations of other proteins (eg: GP II b/III a) with P24/CD9 on activated human platelets. All these results indicate that the mechanisms of platelet activation induced by HI117 or SJ9A4 are different from each other. It suggests that CD9 antigen plays an importent and complex role in platelet activation.
Apolipoprotein (apo) B-100 is the major protein component in low density lipoprotein (LDL); it contains the binding domain for the LDL receptor and the attachment site for apolipoprotein(a) in lipoprotein(a). ApoB-48 is colinear with the amino-terminal half of apoB-100 and misses the part of the molecule required for LDL receptor interaction and lipoprotein(a) formation. ApoB-48 mRNA is produced by the editing of apoB-100 mRNA, a process by which the codon CAA for Gln-2153 is changed to UAA, an in-frame stop codon. We used the cloned catalytic component of the rat apoB mRNA-editing enzyme (REPR) to construct a replication-defective recombinant adenoviral vector containing REPR cDNA (AvREPR) and a control vector (Av1LacZ4) containing a beta-galactosidase cDNA to investigate the effect of REPR gene delivery in C57BL/6 mice. Intravenous injection of AvREPR in mice resulted in efficient transduction of liver cells, where REPR mRNA and protein were overexpressed, reaching a peak at 7 and 12 days, returning toward control levels at 39 days after AvREPR administration. ApoB mRNA editing activity in liver extracts showed changes parallel to those of REPR mRNA expression; the proportion of edited apoB mRNA in the total hepatic apoB mRNA increased from approximately 60% to more than 90% at the peak of REPR expression. The proportion of plasma apoB-100 in AvREPR-transduced animals decreased from approximately 50% to < 10% of total plasma apoB concentration. Plasma very low density lipoproteins were polydisperse in control animals with an average diameter of 54.9 +/- 20.6 nm (uninjected control) and 54.7 +/- 16.8 nm (Av1LacZ4-treated), respectively. They became much smaller (average diameter 39.3 +/- 12.7 nm) and more uniform in size at day 12 following AvREPR administration. On the same day, the normal plasma LDL (26.2-25.5 nm) was almost completely eliminated in treated animals. Adenovirus-mediated transfer of the REPR cDNA is an efficient method to reduce plasma apoB-100 and normal LDL production.
Mammalian apolipoprotein B (apo B) exists in two forms, each the product of a single gene. The shorter form, apo B48, arises by posttranscriptional RNA editing whereby cytidine deamination produces a UAA termination codon. A full-length complementary DNA clone encoding an apo B messenger RNA editing protein (REPR) was isolated from rat small intestine. The 229-residue protein contains consensus phosphorylation sites and leucine zipper domains. HepG2 cell extracts acquire editing activity when mixed with REPR from oocyte extracts. REPR is essential for apo B messenger RNA editing, and the isolation and characterization of REPR may lead to the identification of other eukaryotic RNA editing proteins.
Mammalian intestinal apolipoprotein B (apoB) messenger RNA (mRNA) undergoes posttranscriptional editing, changing codon 2153 from CAA in apoB100 mRNA to an in-frame translational stop codon (UAA) in apoB48 mRNA. By contrast, chicken intestinal apoB cDNA contains a CAA codon at the corresponding site and apoB mRNA from chicken enterocytes, kidney, and liver is unedited. The cDNA sequence of chicken apoB spanning the edited base is divergent from mammalian apoB cDNA sequence, with 70% homology over the conserved 29-nucleotide sequence (6662-6690) flanking codon 2153. Efficient in vitro editing of both human and rat, but not chicken, synthetic apoB RNA was achieved using rat enterocyte S-100 extracts. By contrast, chicken enterocyte S-100 extracts failed to edit chicken, rat, or human synthetic apoB RNA. Mixing experiments, however, revealed that chicken enterocyte S-100 extracts enhance the in vitro editing activity of rat, pig, and human enterocyte S-100 extracts upon homologous RNAs. The editing enhancement activity of chicken enterocyte S-100 extracts is tissue-specific, heat-sensitive, substrate-saturable, and sensitive to proteinase K, but resistant to micrococcal nuclease. The activity was partially purified by Q-Sepharose chromatography and has an average molecular mass of 49 kDa when analyzed by gel filtration chromatography. We conclude that the evolutionary adaptation of intestinal apoB mRNA editing requires both a requisite RNA motif and tissue-specific factors which mediate the site-specific modification.