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P Cottin

Publications and source records attributed to P Cottin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

An antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotide to m-calpain mRNA inhibits myoblast fusion.

Previous studies have led to the hypothesis of a possible role for m-calpain (EC 3.4.22.17) in myoblast fusion in culture in vitro. To support this hypothesis, an antisense strategy has been used with cultured primary rat myoblasts. Using an appropriate antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotide to m-calpain mRNA, an inhibition of myoblast fusion has been observed, the maximum being obtained when the cell culture was treated with 30 microM of oligomer. Synthesis of m-calpain was decreased by 48% while high concentrations of antisense oligonucleotide do not significantly affect myoblast proliferation. The specificity of m-calpain intervention during fusion has also been confirmed using antisense oligonucleotides to mu-calpain and p94 mRNAs, respectively.

Animals↗

Ca(2+)-dependent proteinases (calpains) and muscle cell differentiation.

The chronology of appearance of calpain I and calpain II was analyzed during myogenesis of embryonic myoblasts in culture. The influence of the hormones insulin and corticosterone, and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) on the modulation of calpain-calpastatin levels during myogenesis was also analyzed. Immunodetection assays using specific antibodies and enzymic activities showed that during muscle cell differentiation in vitro, calpain II is present from the beginning of myoblast fusion (2nd day) increasing until the 6th day and then reaching a plateau. These observations were confirmed by an analysis of the expression of total calpain mRNAs which followed the same time profile, thereby providing evidence for a transcriptional regulation in the expression of calpains. Even if an increase in calpain II activity occurs at approximately the same time as an increase of fusion, calpain II activity and rate of fusion are not closely correlated. The involvement of calpain II in some event that follows myoblast fusion is suggested. On the other hand, calpain I and calpastatin were detected only on the 6th day of cell culture growth; these results enable us to argue that if calpain I has any biological role (which remains to be established), this role occurs during the final stages of muscle cell differentiation. The presence of exogenous factors which are known to affect muscle cell differentiation by altering either the rate of protein synthesis, or degradation or both, significantly affects the modulation of calpain-calpastatin levels. Such a regulation at the transcriptional level suggests that calpains do not act as housekeeping enzymes during myogenesis.

Animals↗

Rat myoblast fusion requires exteriorized m-calpain activity.

Our previous studies demonstrated that fibronectin could be proteolyzed by m-calpain during muscle cell differentiation. Recent results indicated also that m-calpain could be exteriorized and more particularly associated to extracellular matrix components. To clarify one of the possible physiological functions of this proteinase during myogenesis, we have analyzed the incidence of added purified m-calpain and calpain inhibitors on the fusion kinetics of cultured myoblasts. Our results provided evidence that at low concentration (0.01 microgram/ml), added m-calpain induces precocious fusion and increases myoblast fusion by 78%. At high concentrations (10 micrograms/ml), the viability of the cells was not affected but the myoblasts were unable to fuse. Leupeptin and calpastatin--potent m-calpain inhibitors--added to the culture medium reduced myoblast fusion by 70%. On the other hand, the addition of monospecific m-calpain polyclonal antibodies to the culture medium induced a 76% decrease of myoblast fusion. In order to trap exteriorized m-calpain, myoblasts were incubated for 24 h with m-calpain antibodies. Following this treatment, nonpermeabilized myoblasts exposed to labeled secondary antibodies showed fluorescent spots scattered at the cell surface. These results strongly support that m-calpain which was involved in myoblast fusion was exteriorized and suggest therefore that this enzyme may play an important role extracellularly.

Animals↗

Evidence for fibronectin degradation by calpain II.

Recent work supports the hypothesis that calpain II can be exteriorized. Indeed, this cysteine calcium-dependent proteinase was shown to be intercellularly, and, more particularly, associated to extracellular matrix components. Thereby, calpain II could be involved in hydrolysis of pericellular matrix components such as fibronectin, which is known to play an important role in cellular differentiation. Our in vitro studies provide evidence that fibronectin is a potential substrate for calpain II. On cultured cells, our findings show that calpain II is able, on the one hand, to cleave the fibrillar network of fibronectin secreted by fibroblasts, and, on the other, to decrease dramatically the fibronectin amount secreted by myoblasts just before fusion. Moreover, following this treatment, myoblasts become spherical due to the cleavage of this attachment factor. However, these cells, plated on an appropriate substrate are still able to differentiate. Our results suggest that calpain II is indeed involved in myoblast fusion via the fibronectin cleavage since it is well established that myogenic lineages lose this glycoprotein at the time of fusion.

Animals↗

Quantitative measurement of calpain I and II mRNAs in differentiating rat muscle cells using a competitive polymerase chain reaction method.

Levels of calpain I and calpain II mRNAs were analyzed at different stages of rat skeletal myoblast differentiation using a competitive polymerase chain reaction method. The results provide evidence that only calpain II mRNAs were present in significant quantities on the second day while calpain I mRNAs were identified on the fourth day of differentiation. If there is no compelling reason to believe that synthesis of calpains I and II is regulated at the level of mRNA, our results suggest that calpain II will be more particularly involved in Ca(2+)-mediated events accompanying myoblast fusion. On the other hand, calpain I, because of its later appearance may probably act on specific substrates such as myofibrillar proteins, associated myofibrillar proteins or the control of enzyme metabolism. Added factors such as insulin, which is known to induce enhancement of myoblast growth or myoblast fusion, had a significant effect on the amounts of calpain I and II mRNAs. In the presence of TGF-beta, a potent inhibitor of myoblast fusion, calpain I and II mRNAs were decreased. These results confirm first that a Ca(2+)-dependent proteolytic system is positively correlated with myoblast fusion (via calpain II) and second, that transcriptional regulation of calpains I and II may be negatively modulated during myoblast differentiation.

Animals↗

[Giant cell chondroma of soft tissues. Apropos of a case and review of the literature].

Soft tissue chondroma is a benign cartilaginous tumour most often located at the extremity of the upper limbs. We report a very unusual case of soft tissue chondroma due to its location in the sole of the foot resulting in delayed diagnosis. Diagnosis of soft tissue chondroma was confirmed by microscopic examination and by immunohistochemistry showing S 100 protein in the cells of mature and immature areas. The presence of numerous giant cells is exceptional. Labelling of the giant cells by KP 1 protein in the present case suggest that they are derived from macrophages.

Adult↗

In vitro digestion of dystrophin by calcium-dependent proteases, calpains I and II.

Dystrophin is a cytoskeletal protein which is thought to play an important role in membrane physiology since its absence (due to gene deficiency) leads to the symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Some disruption in the regulation of intracellular free Ca2+ levels could lead to DMD-like symptoms. In this study, calpains, which are very active calcium-dependent proteases, were examined for their capacity to hydrolyse dystrophin in vitro. The results show that calpains are able to split dystrophin and produce breakdown products of different sizes (the degree of cleavage being dependent on the incubation time with proteases). The time-course of protease degradation was examined by Western immunoblot using three polyclonal sera which were characterized as being specific to the central (residues 1173-1728) and two distal parts of the molecule ie specific to the N-terminal (residues 43-760) or the C-terminal (residues 3357-3660) extremities of the dystrophin molecule. The cleavage patterns of dystrophin showed an accumulation of some major protease-resistant fragments of high relative molecular mass (250-370 kDa). These observations demonstrate that calpains digest dystrophin very rapidly when the calcium concentration is compatible with their activation. For instance, it is clear that calpains first give rise to large dystrophin products in which the C-terminal region is lacking. These observations suggest that dystrophin antibodies specific to the central domain of the molecule should be used to detect dystrophin for diagnostic purposes and before any conclusion as to the presence or absence of dystrophin can be deduced from results obtained using immunoanalyses of muscle biopsies.

Animals↗

Free calcium and calpain I activity.

Activation of purified calpain I proceeds through a Ca(2+)-induced autolysis from the 80 kDa catalytic subunit to a 76 kDa form via an intermediate 78 kDa form, and from a 30 kDa form to a 18 kDa form as the result of two autocatalytic processes (intra and intermolecular). The minimum Ca2+ requirements for autolysis and proteolysis have been determined by physico-chemical and electrophoretic methods in the presence or absence of a digestible substrate. According to our results the activation process needs less free Ca2+ than the proteolysis of a digestible substrate, which means that proteolysis is really subsequent to activation. For very low Ca2+ levels, a digestible substrate does not initiate the calpain I activation process. In the presence of phospholipid vesicles, such as PI, PS or a mixture of PI (20%), PS (20%) and PC (60%), the apparent kinetic constants of activation are greatly increased without any change in the initial velocity of the substrate proteolysis. Thus, enzyme activation and substrate proteolysis are observed as independent phenomena. These results obtained from experiments using low free Ca2+ concentrations enable us to propose a hypothesis for the mechanism of regulation by which the enzyme could be activated in the living cell.

Autolysis↗

Evidence for a Ca2+-independent association between calpain II and phospholipid vesicles.

Possible interactions between calpain II and phospholipids such as phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylcholine were studied using fluorescence and gel filtration techniques. Changes in fluorescence intensity of purified calpain II show that the enzyme strongly interacts with phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylserine and to a lesser extent with phosphatidylcholine. These results are corroborated by the gel filtration technique which permits the isolation of the enzyme phospholipid complex. Association between calpain II and various phospholipid vesicles can occur in the absence of calcium. Such binding occurs without any observable change of the molecular mass of the two subunits on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Animals↗

[Calpain II of rabbit skeletal muscle. Regulation of enzymatic activity: influence of the presence of membrane phospholipids on enzymatic autolysis in the presence or not of substrate].

A calcium activated neutral proteinase (calpain II) was prepared on a large scale at a high degree of purity from rabbit skeletal muscle using an original purification procedure. "In vitro" highly purified Calpain II was optimally activated by 2 mM Ca2+ and had two subunits with a molecular weight of 80 kDa and 28 kDa. The influence of membrane acid phospholipids (phosphatidyl inositol PI, phosphatidyl serine PS) and neutral phospholipids (phosphatidyl choline) on calcium enzymatic autolysis in the presence or not of substrate was electrophoretically studied. In the absence of a substrate no degradation of the catalytic subunit (80 kDa) was observed: phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidyl serine stimulated drastically the 28 kDa subunit degradation with a release of a common 18 kDa product. In the presence of substrate (beta-globin) the 28 kDa subunit was more protected against calcium autolysis. On the other hand, phosphatidyl serine seemed to induce simultaneously 80 and 28 kDa degradations: the released breakdown products were different from those obtained with phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidyl choline. In presence or absence of substrate, phosphatidyl choline did not affect significantly the calpain II calcium autolysis. Further studies on calpain II-membrane binding as well as its influence on calpain - activity are in progress.

Animals↗

[66% glucose, a safe sclerosant. Experimental study].

Although accidents due to the intra-arterial injection of detergent sclerosant are very rarely observed, they are dramatic in their effects and often result in amputations, a risk accepted with difficulty for a treatment with a functional aim. To avoid these incidents, which may occur even when treatment is applied by the most experienced surgeons, the authors have used 66% glucose solution without accident since 1948. To confirm efficacy of the method, an experimental study compared 66% glucose (66 G) with a very commonly used product, 1% sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STD), in the rabbit. Except when enormous doses of 66 G are employed, the only effect noted was eosinophilic necrosis of the vessel wall without clinical symptoms, whereas doses eight times lower of STD produced an irreversible ischemia from obliterating endarteritis of the branches of the vascular tree injected. The 66% glucose solution appears to be a very safe, gently acting sclerosant, and the product of choice for peri- and post-operative sclerosis, particularly in regions where accidental arterial puncture is anatomically possible.

Animals↗

Evidence for non-competitive inhibition between two calcium-dependent activated neutral proteinases and their specific inhibitor.

Two muscle thiol proteinases causing partial degradation of myofibrillar constituents were isolated and purified from skeletal muscle. The two proteinases that differ significantly in calcium requirements were designated respectively high- and low-Ca2+-requiring proteinase. Both are inhibited, in vitro, by a specific inhibitor which is a protein also isolated from skeletal muscle. Experiments using carboxymethylated monomeric proteinases and inhibitor-conjugated Sepharose were carried out in order to understand the mechanism of control of the proteinases by the inhibitor. The results using increasing inhibitor concentrations show a non-competitive inhibition for both enzymes. The Ki value for the low-Ca2+-requiring form was 0.3 microM, while the Ki value for the high-Ca2+-requiring form was 0.9 microM. Likewise, the low-Ca2+-requiring form needs about 3-fold more inhibitor than the high-Ca2+-requiring form for the same per cent inhibition.

Animals↗

Characterization and purification of a Ca2+ ion-activated neutral proteinase inhibitor in rabbit skeletal muscle.

This paper describes the isolation, purification and properties of a specific inhibitor of calcium-activated neutral proteinase (CaANP) in rabbit skeletal muscle. The inhibitor was a thermo-acid-stable protein degraded by trypsin and chymotrypsin and seemed to contain two polypeptide chains with molecular weights of 70 000 and 13 000 daltons. Maximal inhibitory activity was obtained at neutral pH. High salt concentrations were needed to suppressinhibition. Inhibitor concentration had no effect on the optimal Ca++ ion levels for CaANP. These experiments also show that enzyme inhibitor association was instantaneous and did not need any incubation.

Animals↗