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Biomedical subjects

Roger P Simon

Publications and source records attributed to Roger P Simon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Acid sensing ion channels--novel therapeutic targets for ischemic brain injury.

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in the United States. Unfortunately there is no effective therapeutic intervention other than the use of thrombolytics, which has a limited therapeutic time window of approximately 3 h and the potential side effect of intracranial hemorrhage. The absence of neuroprotective therapy is particularly apparent following the failure of multiple clinical trials using glutamate antagonists as therapeutic agents. Understanding the detailed biochemical changes associated with brain ischemia and the cellular mechanisms involved in ischemic brain injury are critical for establishing new and effective neuroprotective strategy. Dramatically decreased tissue pH, or acidosis, is a common feature of ischemic brain, and has been suggested to play a role in neuronal injury. However, the detailed cellular and molecular mechanisms of such acid induced injury remain elusive. The recent finding that acidosis activates a distinct family of cation channels, the acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), in both peripheral and central neurons has dramatically changed the landscape of brain ischemia neurochemistry and provided a novel therapeutic target. In CNS neurons, lowering extracellular pH to the level commonly seen in ischemic brain activates inward ASIC currents resulting in membrane depolarization. In the majority of these neurons, ASICs are also permeable to Ca2+. Therefore, activation of these channels induces an increase of [Ca2+]i. Incubation of neurons with acidic solutions reproduces Ca2+-dependent neuronal injury independent of glutamate receptor activation. The acid-induced currents, membrane depolarization, [Ca2+]i increase, and neuronal injury can be inhibited by the blockade of ASIC1a. In focal ischemia, ASIC1a blockade, or ASIC1a gene knockout both protect brain from injury. The blockers of ASIC1a also demonstrate a prolonged therapeutic time window, beyond that of the glutamate antagonists. Thus, Ca2+-permeable ASIC1a may represent a novel therapeutic target for ischemic brain injury.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels↗

Neuroprotection in ischemic mouse brain induced by stem cell-derived brain implants.

Protective mechanisms of the brain may reduce the extent of injury after focal cerebral ischemia. Here, we explored in a mouse model of focal cerebral ischemia potential synergistic neuroprotective effects of two mediators of neuroprotection: (i) neuronal or glial precursor cells and (ii) the inhibitory neuromodulator adenosine. Embryonic stem (ES) cells, engineered to release adenosine by biallelic disruption of the adenosine kinase gene, and respective wild-type cells were induced to differentiate into either neural or glial precursor cells and were injected into the striatum of mice 1 week before middle cerebral artery occlusion. All stem cell-derived graft recipients were characterized by a significant reduction in infarct volume, an effect that was augmented by the release of adenosine. Neuroprotection was strongest in adenosine-releasing glial precursor cell recipients, which were characterized by an 85% reduction of the infarct area. Graft-mediated neuroprotection correlated with a significant improvement of general and focal neurologic scores. Histologic analysis before and after ischemia revealed clusters of implanted cells within the striatum of all treated mice. We conclude that ES cell derived adenosine-releasing brain implants provide neuroprotection by synergism of endogenous precursor cell-mediated effects and paracrine adenosine release.

Adenosine↗

Prolonged activation of ASIC1a and the time window for neuroprotection in cerebral ischaemia.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), newly discovered members of epithelial Na+ channels/degenirin superfamily, are widely distributed throughout the mammalian peripheral and central nervous system and have been implicated in many physiological and pathophysiological processes. We have recently shown that activation of calcium-permeable ASIC1a is involved in acidosis-mediated, glutamate independent, ischaemic brain injury. In this study the neuroprotective time window for ASIC1a blockade in a mouse model of focal ischaemia is examined and the role of acidosis per se addressed by continuous pH measurements in penumbral cortex and post-ischaemic alkalization of brain. The effects of NMDA receptor blockade and ASIC1a blockade were compared. Specific ASIC1a blockade by the tarantula toxin psalmotoxin, PcTX, administered intracerebroventricularly as late as 5 h after 60 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) reduced infarct volume by >50%; the protection persisted for at least 7 days. Protection was also demonstrated after permanent MCAO. In penumbral cortex alkaline pH preceded acid pH and infarction. Attenuating brain acidosis by NaHCO3 or blocking ASIC1a with PcTX were both protective. NMDA blockade produced additive neuroprotection and the presence of PcTX prolonged the time window of effectiveness of NMDA blockade. Neuroprotection by PcTX was also achievable by intranasal administration. These findings further suggest that ASIC1a is a novel molecular target involved in ischaemic brain injury. Post-ischaemic administration of an ASIC1a blocker may prove to be an effective neuroprotective strategy for stroke patients.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels↗

Evidence of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 signaling in human temporal lobe epilepsy.

Seizures, particularly when prolonged, may cause neuronal loss within vulnerable brain structures such as the hippocampus, in part by activating programmed (apoptotic) cell death pathways. Experimental modeling suggests that seizures activate tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) and engage downstream pro- and anti-apoptotic signaling cascades. Whether such TNFR1-mediated signaling occurs in human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is unknown. Presently, we examined this pathway in hippocampus surgically obtained from refractory TLE patients and contrasted findings to matched autopsy controls. Western blotting established that total protein levels of the TNFR1 proximal signaling adaptor TNFR-associated protein with death domain (TRADD), cleaved initiator caspase-8 and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) were higher in TLE samples than controls. Intracellular distribution analyses revealed raised cytoplasmic levels of TNFR1, TRADD and the caspase-8 recruitment adaptor Fas-associated protein with death domain (FADD), and higher levels of TRADD and cleaved caspase-8 in the microsomal fraction, in TLE samples. Immunoprecipitation studies detected TRADD-FADD binding, and fluorescence microscopy revealed TRADD co-localization with FADD in TLE hippocampus. These data suggest that TNFR1 signaling is engaged in the hippocampus of patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy.

Adult↗

Modulation of acid-sensing ion channel currents, acid-induced increase of intracellular Ca2+, and acidosis-mediated neuronal injury by intracellular pH.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), activated by lowering extracellular pH (pH(o)), play an important role in normal synaptic transmission in brain and in the pathology of brain ischemia. Like pH(o), intracellular pH (pH(i)) changes dramatically in both physiological and pathological conditions. Although it is known that a drop in pH(o) activates the ASICs, it is not clear whether alterations of pH(i) have an effect on these channels. Here we demonstrate that the overall activities of ASICs, including channel activation, inactivation, and recovery from desensitization, are tightly regulated by pH(i). In cultured mouse cortical neurons, bath perfusion of the intracellular alkalizing agent quinine increased the amplitude of the ASIC current by approximately 50%. In contrast, intracellular acidification by withdrawal of NH(4)Cl or perfusion of propionate inhibited the current. Increasing pH buffering capacity in the pipette solution with 40 mm HEPES attenuated the effects of quinine and NH(4)Cl. The effects of intracellular alkalizing/acidifying agents were mimicked by using intracellular solutions with pH directly buffered at high/low values. Increasing pH(i) induced a shift in H(+) dose-response curve toward less acidic pH but a shift in the steady state inactivation curve toward more acidic pH. In addition, alkalizing pH(i) induced an increase in the recovery rate of ASICs from desensitization. Consistent with its effect on the ASIC current, changing pH(i) has a significant influence on the acid-induced increase of intracellular Ca(2+), membrane depolarization, and acidosis-mediated neuronal injury. Our findings suggest that changes in pH(i) may play an important role in determining the overall function of ASICs in both physiological and pathological conditions.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels↗

Transgenic overexpression of adenosine kinase aggravates cell death in ischemia.

Adenosine is an endogenous neuromodulator with anticonvulsive and neuroprotective activity. Adenosine levels are normally kept in the range of 20 to 200 nmol/L by low basal expression of its main metabolic enzyme, adenosine kinase (ADK). Dysfunction of the adenosinergic system has been demonstrated to contribute to epileptogenesis. To investigate whether upregulation of ADK may render the brain more susceptible to ischemic cell death, mutant mice overexpressing an Adk transgene in brain were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). One day after either 15 or 60 mins of MCAO, wild-type (WT) animals had infarct areas encompassing about 5% and 50% of their ischemic hemisphere, respectively. In marked contrast, the volume of the infarcts increased three-fold in Adk transgenic mutants after 15 mins of MCAO, and after 60 mins of MCAO all mutants died within 24 h. Pretreatment of the mutants with the ADK inhibitor 5-iodotubercidin led to lesions similar to those in WT mice. Thus, low levels of ADK are essential to maintain adenosine-mediated neuroprotection. We conclude that pathologic overexpression of ADK as in epilepsy may also render the brain more susceptible to injury from ischemia. Consequently, ADK emerges as a rational therapeutic target to enhance neuroprotection.

Adenosine↗

Ischemic preconditioning in the rat brain enhances the repair of endogenous oxidative DNA damage by activating the base-excision repair pathway.

The development of ischemic tolerance in the brain, whereby a brief period of sublethal 'preconditioning' ischemia attenuates injury from subsequent severe ischemia, may involve the activation of multiple intracellular signaling events that promote neuronal survival. In this study, the potential role of inducible DNA base-excision repair (BER), an endogenous adaptive response that prevents the detrimental effect of oxidative DNA damage, has been studied in the rat model of ischemic tolerance produced by three episodes of ischemic preconditioning (IP). This paradigm of IP, when applied 2 and 5 days before 2-h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), significantly decreased infarct volume in the frontal-parietal cortex 72 h later. Correlated with this protective effect, IP markedly attenuated the nuclear accumulations of several oxidative DNA lesions, including 8-oxodG, AP sites, and DNA strand breaks, after 2-h MCAO. Consequently, harmful DNA damage-responsive events, including NAD depletion and p53 activation, were reduced during postischemic reperfusion in preconditioned brains. The mechanism underlying the decreased DNA damage in preconditioned brain was then investigated by measuring BER activities in nuclear extracts. Beta-polymerase-mediated BER activity was markedly increased after IP, and this activation occurred before (24 h) and during the course of ischemic tolerance (48 to 72 h). In similar patterns, the activities for AP site and 8-oxodG incisions were also upregulated after IP. The upregulation of BER activities after IP was likely because of increased expression of repair enzymes beta-polymerase, AP endonuclease, and OGG1. These results suggest that the activation of the BER pathway may contribute to IP-induced neuroprotection by enhancing the repair of endogenous oxidative DNA damage after ischemic injury.

Animals↗

Caspase-3 cleavage and nuclear localization of caspase-activated DNase in human temporal lobe epilepsy.

Programmed cell death (apoptosis) signaling pathways have been implicated in seizure-induced neuronal death and the pathogenesis of human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). End-stage DNA fragmentation during cell death may be mediated by nucleases including caspase-activated DNase (CAD), apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and endonuclease G. In the present study, we investigated the subcellular localization of these nucleases in resected hippocampus from TLE patients and autopsy controls. Subcellular fractionation determined levels of CAD were significantly higher in the nuclear fraction of TLE samples compared with controls, and semiquantitative immunohistochemistry revealed cleaved caspase-3 positive cells in TLE sections but not controls. While mitochondrial levels of AIF and endonuclease G were higher in TLE samples than controls, nuclear localization of AIF was limited and restricted to cells that were negative for cleaved caspase-3. Nuclear accumulation of endonuclease G was not found in TLE samples. These data support ongoing caspase-dependent apoptosis signaling in human TLE and suggest that interventions targeting such pathways may have potential as adjunctive neuroprotective therapy in epilepsy.

Apoptosis↗

Neuroprotection by osteopontin in stroke.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted extracellular phosphoprotein involved in diverse biologic functions, including inflammation, cell migration, and antiapoptotic processes. Here we investigate the neuroprotective potential of OPN to reduce cell death using both in vitro and in vivo models of ischemia. We show that incubation of cortical neuron cultures with OPN protects against cell death from oxygen and glucose deprivation. The effect of OPN depends on the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-containing motif as the protective effect of OPN in vitro was blocked by an RGD-containing hexapeptide, which prevents integrin receptors binding to their ligands. Osteopontin treatment of cortical neuron cultures caused an increase in Akt and p42/p44 MAPK phosphorylation, which is consistent with OPN-inducing neuroprotection via the activation of these protein kinases. Indeed, the protective effect of OPN was reduced by inhibiting the activation of Akt and p42/p44 MAPK using LY294002 and U0126, respectively. The protective effect of OPN was also blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, suggesting that the neuroprotective effect of OPN required new protein synthesis. Finally, intracerebral ventricular administration of OPN caused a marked reduction in infarct size after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in a murine stroke model. These data suggest that OPN is a potent neuroprotectant against ischemic injury.

Animals↗

CREB-mediated Bcl-2 protein expression after ischemic preconditioning.

Bcl-2 plays a pivotal role in the control of cell death and is upregulated by ischemic tolerance. Because Bcl-2 expression is regulated by the transcription factor cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), we investigated the role of CREB activation in two models of ischemic preconditioning: focal ischemic tolerance after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and in vitro ischemic tolerance modeled by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). After preconditioning ischemia (30 minutes MCAO or 30 minutes OGD), phosphorylation of CREB was increased, and there was an increased interaction between the bcl-2 cyclic AMP-responsive element (CRE) promoter and nuclear proteins after preconditioning ischemia in vivo and in vitro. Chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed an increased interaction between CREB-binding protein and the bcl-2 CRE rather than CREB, after preconditioning ischemia. Ischemic tolerance was blocked by a CRE decoy oligonucleotide, which also blocked Bcl-2 expression. The protein kinase A inhibitor H89, the calcium/calmodulin kinase inhibitor KN62, and the MEK inhibitor U0126 blocked ischemic tolerance, but not the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002. H89, KN62, and U0126 reduced CREB activation and Bcl-2 expression. Taken together, these data suggest that after ischemic preconditioning CREB activation regulates the expression of the prosurvival protein Bcl-2.

Animals↗

Epilepsy and apoptosis pathways.

Epilepsy is a common, chronic neurologic disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. Experimental modeling and clinical neuroimaging of patients has shown that certain seizures are capable of causing neuronal death. Such brain injury may contribute to epileptogenesis, impairments in cognitive function or the epilepsy phenotype. Research into cell death after seizures has identified the induction of the molecular machinery of apoptosis. Here, the authors review the clinical and experimental evidence for apoptotic cell death pathway function in the wake of seizure activity. We summarize work showing intrinsic (mitochondrial) and extrinsic (death receptor) apoptotic pathway function after seizures, activation of the caspase and Bcl-2 families of cell death modulators and the acute and chronic neuropathologic impact of intervening in these molecular cascades. Finally, we describe evolving data on nonlethal roles for these proteins in neuronal restructuring and cell excitability that have implications for shaping the epilepsy phenotype. This review highlights the work to date on apoptosis pathway signaling during seizure-induced neuronal death and epileptogenesis, and speculates on how emerging roles in brain remodeling and excitability have enriched the number of therapeutic strategies for protection against seizure-damage and epileptogenesis.

Animals↗

Subunit-dependent high-affinity zinc inhibition of acid-sensing ion channels.

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), a novel class of ligand-gated cation channels activated by protons, are highly expressed in peripheral sensory and central neurons. Activation of ASICs may play an important role in physiological processes such as nociception, mechanosensation, and learning-memory, and in the pathology of neurological conditions such as brain ischemia. Modulation of the activities of ASICs is expected to have a significant influence on the roles that these channels can play in both physiological and/or pathological processes. Here we show that the divalent cation Zn2+, an endogenous trace element, dose-dependently inhibits ASIC currents in cultured mouse cortical neurons at nanomolar concentrations. With ASICs expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, Zn2+ inhibits currents mediated by homomeric ASIC1a and heteromeric ASIC1a-ASIC2a channels, without affecting currents mediated by homomeric ASIC1beta, ASIC2a, or ASIC3. Consistent with ASIC1a-specific modulation, high-affinity Zn2+ inhibition is absent in neurons from ASIC1a knock-out mice. Current-clamp recordings and Ca2+-imaging experiments demonstrated that Zn2+ inhibits acid-induced membrane depolarization and the increase of intracellular Ca2+. Mutation of lysine-133 in the extracellular domain of the ASIC1a subunit abolishes the high-affinity Zn2+ inhibition. Our studies suggest that Zn2+ may play an important role in a negative feedback system for preventing overexcitation of neurons during normal synaptic transmission and ASIC1a-mediated excitotoxicity in pathological conditions.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels↗

Genomics of preconditioning.

Brief episodes of ischemia can protect against subsequent damaging ischemic events; however, the molecular mechanisms responsible for protection are poorly understood. Identifying genes involved in this process could provide insight into cell survival and treatment of stroke. We developed a murine model of ischemic preconditioning and subsequent stroke and used gene expression profiling to identify genes that may be involved in neuroprotective pathways. Middle cerebral artery occlusions were performed in mice for 15 minutes. (preconditioning), 60 minutes (stroke), or 15 minutes, followed 72 hours later with 60 minutes (preconditioning plus stroke) of middle cerebral artery occlusions. RNA from a region of cortex that is protected by ischemic preconditioning was hybridized to oligonucleotide microarrays. Follow-up experiments used patch clamp to examine cell conductance in cultured neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation. Stroke, ischemic preconditioning, and ischemic preconditioning plus stroke all induced gene changes that overlapped little among conditions. Stroke induced robust upregulation of gene expression whereas preconditioning followed by stroke resulted in a marked downregulation. Genes upregulated by stroke suggested activation of stress/inflammatory pathways and increased metabolism and ion channel function. Preconditioning tended to decrease genes involved in these pathways. Follow-up experiments show that preconditioning decreased voltage-gated potassium currents in vitro and increased bleeding time. Preconditioning reprograms the response to ischemic injury via transcriptional changes that may suppress metabolic pathways and immune responses, reduce ion channel activity, and decrease blood coagulation. These changes resemble evolutionarily conserved responses to decreased blood flow and oxygen availability that occur during hibernation.

Animals↗

Neuroprotection in ischemia: blocking calcium-permeable acid-sensing ion channels.

Ca2+ toxicity remains the central focus of ischemic brain injury. The mechanism by which toxic Ca2+ loading of cells occurs in the ischemic brain has become less clear as multiple human trials of glutamate antagonists have failed to show effective neuroprotection in stroke. Acidosis is a common feature of ischemia and is assumed to play a critical role in brain injury; however, the mechanism(s) remain ill defined. Here, we show that acidosis activates Ca2+ -permeable acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), inducing glutamate receptor-independent, Ca2+ -dependent, neuronal injury inhibited by ASIC blockers. Cells lacking endogenous ASICs are resistant to acid injury, while transfection of Ca2+ -permeable ASIC1a establishes sensitivity. In focal ischemia, intracerebroventricular injection of ASIC1a blockers or knockout of the ASIC1a gene protects the brain from ischemic injury and does so more potently than glutamate antagonism. Thus, acidosis injures the brain via membrane receptor-based mechanisms with resultant toxicity of [Ca2+]i, disclosing new potential therapeutic targets for stroke.

Acid Sensing Ion Channels↗

Endotoxin preconditioning prevents cellular inflammatory response during ischemic neuroprotection in mice.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Tolerance to ischemic brain injury is induced by several preconditioning stimuli, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A small dose of LPS given systemically confers ischemic protection in the brain, a process that appears to involve activation of an inflammatory response before ischemia. We postulated that LPS preconditioning modulates the cellular inflammatory response after cerebral ischemia, resulting in neuroprotection. METHODS: Mice were treated with LPS (0.2 mg/kg) 48 hours before ischemia induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The infarct was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Microglia/macrophage responses after MCAO were assessed by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. The effect of MCAO on white blood cells in the brain and peripheral circulation was measured by flow cytometry 48 hours after MCAO. RESULTS: LPS preconditioning induced significant neuroprotection against MCAO. Administration of low-dose LPS before MCAO prevented the cellular inflammatory response in the brain and blood. Specifically, LPS preconditioning suppressed neutrophil infiltration into the brain and microglia/macrophage activation in the ischemic hemisphere, which was paralleled by suppressed monocyte activation in the peripheral blood. CONCLUSIONS: LPS preconditioning induces neuroprotection against ischemic brain injury in a mouse model of stroke. LPS preconditioning suppresses the cellular inflammatory response to ischemia in the brain and circulation. Diminished activation of cellular inflammatory responses that ordinarily exacerbate ischemic injury may contribute to neuroprotection induced by LPS preconditioning.

Animals↗

Cloning of a novel Apaf-1-interacting protein: a potent suppressor of apoptosis and ischemic neuronal cell death.

Cytochrome c-initiated activation of apoptotic protease activating factor-1 (Apaf-1) is a key step in the mitochondrial-signaling pathway for the activation of death-executing caspases in apoptosis. This signaling pathway has been implicated in the pathophysiology of various neurological disorders, including ischemic brain injury. In this study, we have cloned a novel rat gene product, designated as Apaf-1-interacting protein (AIP), which functions as a dominant-negative inhibitor of the Apaf-1-caspase-9 pathway. AIP is constitutively expressed in the brain, but at substantially lower levels than Apaf-1 and caspase-9. AIP can directly bind to Apaf-1 in vitro through its N-terminal caspase-recruiting domain, and this protein interaction was increased in cells undergoing apoptosis. Cytosolic extracts from cells overexpressing AIP were highly resistant to cytochrome c- dATP-induced activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. Gene transfection of AIP into cell lines, including the neuronal-differentiated PC12 cells, potently suppressed apoptosis induced by various pro-apoptotic stimuli. To further investigate the functional role of AIP in primary neurons and in the brain, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector carrying the AIP cDNA was constructed. AAV-mediated overexpression of AIP in primary cortical- hippocampal neurons markedly reduced cell death and caspase-3 activation triggered by protein kinase C inhibition, DNA damage, or oxygen- glucose deprivation. Moreover, intracerebral infusion of the AAV vector resulted in robust AIP expression in the hippocampus and significantly promoted CA1 neuronal survival after transient global cerebral ischemia. These results suggest that molecular targeting of the Apaf-1-caspase-9 signaling pathway may be a feasible neuroprotective strategy to enhance the endogenous threshold for caspase activation and prevent neuronal loss in stroke and related disorders.

Animals↗

Development of a model of seizure-induced hippocampal injury with features of programmed cell death in the BALB/c mouse.

Although mice are amenable to gene knockout, they have not been exploited in the setting of seizure-induced neurodegeneration due to the resistance to injury of key mouse strains. We refined and developed models of seizure-induced neuronal death in the C57BL/6 and BALB/c strains by focally evoking seizures using intra-amygdala kainic acid. Seizures in adult male BALB/c mice, or C57BL/6 mice as reference, caused ipsilateral death of CA1 and CA3 neurons within the hippocampus. Termination of seizures by lorazepam was more effective than diazepam in both strains, largely restricting neuronal loss to the CA3 sector. Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings defined injurious and non-injurious seizure patterns, which could not be separated adequately by behavioral observation alone. Degenerating neurons in the hippocampus were positive for DNA fragmentation and approximately a third of these exhibited morphologic features of programmed cell death. Western blot analysis revealed the cleavage of caspase-8 after seizures in both strains. These data refine our C57BL/6 model and establish a companion model of focally evoked limbic seizures in the BALB/c mouse that provides further evidence for activation of programmed cell death after seizures.

Animals↗