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S Mochida

Publications and source records attributed to S Mochida.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Clostridial neurotoxins: from toxins to therapeutic tools?

Tetanus toxin and botulinum toxins are powerful neurotoxins which block neurotransmitter release through an unknown mechanism my means of their light chains. The heavy chains provide the machinery for neuroselective binding, internalization, retrograde intraaxonal transport, and translocation of the L-chains into the cytosole. We have cloned and sequenced the structural genes of tetanus toxin and of five serologically distinct botulinum toxins to identify structurally and functionally conserved subdomains. The minimum essential domains of the L-chains of tetanus and botulinum toxin type A were identified by combined in vitro transcription and microinjection of L-chain specific mRNA into identified presynaptic neurons of Aplysia californica. In addition, a nontoxic mutant of tetanus was generated by replacing histidine(237) by a proline residue. The development of nontoxic neuroselective transporter molecules carrying various marker enzymes is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Postsynaptic long-term enhancement (LTE) by dopamine may be mediated by Ca2+ and calmodulin.

Long-term enhancement (LTE), of postsynaptic slow depolarizing responses to a muscarinic agonist (MCh), follows a brief exposure of the rabbit superior cervical ganglion to another transmitter, dopamine (DA). Either reduction of external Ca2+ (to 1.0 mM or 0.2 mM) or presence of a specific calmodulin antagonist (calmidazolium at 5 microM) blocked DA induction of this LTE. However, unlike LTP in hippocampus, induction of LTE is not mediated by depolarization-dependent influx of Ca2+.

Action Potentials↗

Provocation of massive hepatic necrosis by endotoxin after partial hepatectomy in rats.

When rats received endotoxin 48 hours after two-thirds liver resection, 50% of them died within 12 hours with massive hepatic necrosis at a dose that did not affect sham-operated rats. In the hepatic sinusoids, fibrin deposition and endothelial cell destruction occurred 5 hours after endotoxin administration. When antithrombin III concentrate was infused concomitantly with endotoxin administration, all rats survived 12 hours, and the extent of hepatic necrosis and the deranged serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase values were significantly attenuated at 5 hours compared with those in the control rats. Similar improvements in the incidence of mortality and liver injury were observed after treatment with gum arabic before hepatectomy. The stimulatory state of Kupffer cells based on the ability to produce superoxide anions estimated by formazan deposition after liver perfusion with nitro blue tetrazolium and phorbol myristate acetate was increased between 24 and 72 hours after operation. This increase disappeared after gum arabic treatment. It is concluded that massive hepatic necrosis can occur as a result of sinusoidal fibrin deposition provoked by endotoxin in partially hepatectomized rats. Activated Kupffer cells may contribute to this provocation.

Animals↗

Exogenous mRNA encoding tetanus or botulinum neurotoxins expressed in Aplysia neurons.

Injection of exogenous mRNA purified from various tissue preparations into cellular translation systems such as Xenopus oocytes has allowed expression of complex proteins (e.g., receptors for neurotransmitters). No evidence for expression of injected exogenous mRNA, however, has been reported in terminally differentiated neurons. If achieved, it would allow the study of long-lasting changes of properties of nerve cells in their functional context. To obtain evidence of such expression, we chose two proteins that produce a detectable effect even at very low intracellular concentrations. Tetanus toxin and botulinum neurotoxin fulfill this criterion, being the most potent neurotoxins known. Both toxins block neurotransmitter release at nanomolar intracellular concentrations. These di-chain proteins, consisting of a light chain and a heavy chain, have recently been sequenced. Their active sites are located (or partly located) on the light chain. mRNAs encoding the light chain of either toxin were transcribed in vitro from the cloned and specifically truncated genes of Clostridium tetani and Clostridium botulinum, respectively, and injected into presynaptic cholinergic neurons of the buccal ganglia of Aplysia californica. Depression of neurotransmitter release appeared in less than 1 hr, demonstrating successful expression of foreign mRNA injected into a neuron in situ.

Animals↗

Acetylcholine elicits metabolically mediated M2-muscarinic hyperpolarization in isolated rabbit sympathetic neurons.

Topically applied acetylcholine elicited a hyperpolarizing (ACh-HP) response in about 2/3 of the principal neurons of rabbit superior cervical ganglia isolated in a culture medium for several days. Membrane changes responsible for the ACh-HP were multiple and varied with the level of membrane potential (Vm): At, or less negative than, resting Vm (about -60 mV), membrane conductance (Gm) was increased; at Vm more negative than -70 mV, Gm either increased, decreased, or remained unchanged. The effect of altering extracellular K+ and Ca2+ concentrations suggest that a Ca2(+)-dependent increase in K+ conductance contributes to ACh-HP; however, drugs reported to block such channels (D-tubocurarine at 30 microM or apamin at 200 nM) shortened duration of the ACh-HP but did not depress peak amplitude. The ACh-HP was depressed by the M2-muscarinic antagonist AF-DX 116 and blocked by an intracellular administration of guanosine-5'-o-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP-beta-S) or by preincubation with pertussis toxin. Intracellularly injected inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) elicited a hyperpolarization associated with an increase in Gm at any Vms. Activators of protein kinase C applied extracellularly, 1,2-oleoylacetylglycerol (OAG) or phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (Pb(Bu)2) elicited a hyperpolarization with a decrease in Gm at Vms more negative than -50 mV and a reversal potential close to Ec1. In the presence of Li+, ACh-HP was smaller after a repetitive stimulation with ACh. These results suggest that, in these neurons, ACh can directly activate M2-muscarinic receptors coupled to GTP-binding proteins, which leads to both an increase in Ca2(+)-sensitive K+ conductance mediated by the intracellular messenger IP3 and a decrease in a conductance, possibly Gc1, through another phosphatidylinositide pathway.

Acetylcholine↗

Inhibition of neurotransmitter release by botulinum neurotoxins and tetanus toxin at Aplysia synapses: role of the constituent chains.

1. The effects on the release of transmitter by botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT; types A, B, E), tetanus toxin (TeTx), constituent chains or fragments were studied on identified cholinergic and non-cholinergic synapses in Aplysia. 2. Cholinergic synapses in the buccal ganglion were found to be greater than 100 fold more sensitive to extracellular application of BoNT than to TeTx whereas in non-cholinergic synapses of the cerebral ganglion the potencies of the toxins were reversed. When intracellularly applied TeTx and BoNT were found nearly equipotent. This disparity in the susceptibilities of BoNT and TeTx to inhibit transmission was attributed to differences in the toxin's acceptors or uptake systems in the two neurone types. 3. Micro-injection into cholinergic neurones of the isolated renatured toxins' chains showed that both light and heavy chains of BoNT are intracellularly required whereas the light chain of TeTx alone is sufficient. 4. The heavy chain of BoNT as well as that of TeTx were found to mediate internalization of active moieties via its amino-terminal half. Furthermore the heavy chain of one toxin could internalize the light chain of the other.

Animals↗

Molecular biology of Clostridial toxins: expression of mRNAs encoding tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins in Aplysia neurons.

mRNAs encoding the light chain of tetanus and botulinum neurotoxins were transcribed, in vitro, from the cloned and specifically truncated genes of Clostridium tetani and Clostridium botulinum, respectively, and injected into presynaptic identified cholinergic neurons of the buccal ganglia of Aplysia californica. The size of the current response measured in the voltage clamped postsynaptic neuron was taken as indicator of the quantity of acetylcholine released. Depression of neurotransmitter release similar to that observed when native light chains of the two toxins were injected but needing an additional delay of 30 to 40 minutes, demonstrated a successful expression of a foreign mRNA injected into a neuron in situ.

Acetylcholine↗

Multiple domains of botulinum neurotoxin contribute to its inhibition of transmitter release in Aplysia neurons.

The binding, internalization, and inhibition of transmitter release by botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) was investigated using the intact toxin, its heavy (HC) or light (LC) chains, and a proteolytic fragment thereof. In Aplysia neurons, blockade of acetylcholine release upon external application of BoNT types A or E was prevented by reducing the temperature to 10 degrees C, due to arresting intoxication at the membrane binding step. At this low temperature, type A HC, H2 (comprised of the N-terminal of HC), or H2L (H2 disulfide-linked to LC) antagonized the neuroparalytic action of BoNT A or E, indicating that the latter bind saturably to common ecto-acceptor via the H2 region. In contrast, H2L was unable to counteract BoNT-induced paralysis at the murine neuromuscular junction. In accordance with this species difference, unlike native BoNT, saturable binding of 125I-labeled H2L could not be detected in mammalian peripheral or central nerve terminals. Possibly, more stringent structural requirements form the basis of the toxin's greater effectiveness in inhibiting neurotransmission at mouse nerve muscle synapses than Aplysia nerve terminals. In further identification of functional domains in the toxin, an unprocessed single-chain form of BoNT type E was found to be ineffective when applied extra- or intracellularly to Aplysia neurons. Notably, bath application of the latter to a neuron preinjected with HC, but not H2L or LC, resulted in a blockade of release. This shows that the single-chain species can become internalized and requires, not only LC, but also processed HC for its inhibitory action; consistently, the proteolyzed form of BoNT E was active.

Acetylcholine↗

Light chain of tetanus toxin intracellularly inhibits acetylcholine release at neuro-neuronal synapses, and its internalization is mediated by heavy chain.

The ability of the two-chain form of tetanus toxin (TeTx), its constituent light (LC) or heavy (HC) chains, and papain fragment to block evoked acetylcholine (ACh) release in the buccal ganglia of Aplysia californica was studied electrophysiologically. Extracellularly applied, TeTx or its B fragment (consisting of LC and beta 2, the amino-terminal portion of HC) blocked ACh release, whereas LC, HC, or the beta 2 fragment did not affect it. Toxicity was restored when LC was bath applied together with HC or the beta 2 fragment. When injected into the presynaptic neuron, TeTx, the B fragment or LC, but not HC, induced inhibition of ACh release. These results indicate that the blockade of ACh release by TeTx is mimicked by intracellular action of LC, the internalization of which is mediated by the HC via its amino-terminal moiety.

Acetylcholine↗

In situ evaluation of the stimulatory state of hepatic macrophages based on their ability to produce superoxide anions in rats.

When a liver perfusion with nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was performed in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-intoxicated rats, formazan deposition was remarkable in macrophages in the necrotic areas of the liver, its intensity varying with the extent of injury. The deposits almost disappeared after addition of Cu(Lys)2, a scavenger of intra- and extracellular superoxide, but were not affected by superoxide dismutase (SOD), which acts extracellularly. The formazan content after incubation with NBT and PMA was higher in macrophages isolated from CCl4-intoxicated liver than in those from normal liver, though their PMA-induced chemiluminescence did not differ. In Corynebacterium parvum-treated liver, both Cu(Lys)2 and SOD reduced the deposits. This method can estimate in situ the ability of hepatic macrophages to produce superoxide and the cellular sites of its production.

Animals↗

Intravascular coagulation in the development of massive hepatic necrosis induced by Corynebacterium parvum and endotoxin in rats.

When Escherichia coli endotoxin was intravenously injected into rats given killed Corynebacterium parvum 6 days previously, fibrin deposition and endothelial cell injury occurred in hepatic sinusoids at 1.5 h and were intensified thereafter. Serum alanine aminotransferase values were increased along with prothrombin time and decreased plasma levels of antithrombin III and coagulation factor VIII:C at 5 h. Antithrombin III concentrate (plus heparin) or superoxide dismutase infused concurrently with injection of endotoxin significantly attenuated the derangements of these variables and the histologic extent of liver injury at 5 h. Intravascular coagulation, probably developing through the action of superoxide anion, may contribute to the development of massive hepatic necrosis induced by C. parvum and endotoxin in rats.

Angiotensin III↗

Long-term enhancement (LTE) of postsynaptic potentials following neural conditioning, in mammalian sympathetic ganglia.

Orthodromic, preganglionic conditioning stimulation can consistently induce long-term enhancement (LTE) (greater than 3 h) of the muscarinically mediated slow excitatory postsynaptic potential and the slow inhibitory postsynaptic potential. This was shown for superior cervical ganglia of rabbit and rat. Effective conditioning stimuli are in a physiologically observed range (3/s for 7 min, 5/s for 4 min, 10/s for 2 min, 20/s for 1 min). LTE was producible both homosynaptically and heterosynaptically. LTE can thus be associative, with conditioning synaptic input in one line inducing long-term changes in postsynaptic responses to another (heterosynaptic) input. The dopamine antagonist butaclamol depressed LTE, particularly that following the initial postconditioning period of 30 min. Adrenergic antagonists had no effect. This pharmacological evidence, coupled with the heterosynaptic induction of LTE, supports the view that neurally induced LTE may be at least partly mediated by endogenous dopamine. Another non-cholinergic but non-adrenergic transmitter (possibly a peptide) might contribute to the LTE seen in the initial 30 min postconditioning. The present, orthodromically induced LTE is clearly different from the long-term potentiation widely studied in hippocampus, etc., in the modes of induction and synaptic mediation.

Animals↗

GTP-binding proteins mediate the M2-muscarinic effect on the action potential in isolated sympathetic neurons of rabbits.

Activation of M2-muscarinic receptors alters the configuration of the action potential due to depression of the calcium-dependent components, the shoulder in the falling phase and the afterhyperpolarization, in isolated superior cervical ganglionic neurons of rabbits. This effect was inhibited by preincubation of the cells with pertussis toxin, or by the intracellular administration of guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP-beta-S). The muscarinic effect persisted in the cells loaded with guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S). Intracellular application of cAMP and 3-isobutyl-l-methylxanthine did not change the muscarinic effect. The results suggest that a GTP-binding protein is involved in the cAMP-independent, M2-muscarinic receptor-mediated regulation of action potential firing in sympathetic neurons.

Acetylcholine↗

Dual synaptic effects of activating M1-muscarinic receptors, in superior cervical ganglia of rabbits.

Postsynaptic potentials elicited by various muscarinic agonists and by preganglionic stimuli in the presence of such agonists were recorded from rabbit superior cervical ganglia using sucrose-gap and air-gap methods. While methacholine and bethanechol (both at 10(-4) M) induced biphasic potential changes, McN-A-343 and a novel synthetic compound AF-102B (10(-7) M-10(-5) M) produced only a depolarizing response which was depressed by the M1-antagonist pirenzepine (10(-7) M), but not by the M2 antagonist AF-DX 116 (same concentration), indicating that these compounds act purely as M1-muscarinic agonists in this system. These agonists selectively depressed the orthodromic slow excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) in a dose-dependent manner without substantially affecting the fast EPSP; this is in accord with the view that their depolarizing action is on the same postsynaptic muscarinic receptor that mediates the slow EPSP. The slow inhibitory post synaptic potential (IPSP), on the other hand, was found potentiated in the presence of these agonists. This potentiation was antagonized not only by pirenzepine but also by yohimbine; the potentiation was itself enlarged by nomifensine (a dopamine-uptake inhibitor). We postulate that M1-muscarinic receptors are present not only on the postganglionic principal cells but also on the interneurons; the former were already known to be responsible for the generation of slow EPSP, but the latter may be on terminals of dopamine-containing small intensely fluorescent cells and regulate the orthodromic release of dopamine and are to be distinguished from the M2-receptors.

(4-(m-Chlorophenylcarbamoyloxy)-2-butynyl)trimethy↗

Protein kinase C activators mimic the M2-muscarinic receptor-mediated effects on the action potential in isolated sympathetic neurons of rabbits.

Protein kinase C activators 1,2-oleoylacetylglycerol (OAG, 0.5-50 microM), a synthetic diacylglycerol analog, and phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (Pb(Bu)2, 0.016-1.6 microM) depressed the calcium (Ca)-dependent components of action potentials in isolated superior cervical ganglion cells of rabbits. Similar depressions were elicited when the M2-muscarinic receptors were activated. This muscarinic modification of the action potential was obscured after the perfusion with protein kinase C inhibitor 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7, 50 microM). It seems that protein kinase C is an intermediator between the M2-muscarinic receptors and the Ca channels regulating the firing rate of the postganglionic cells.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗

A novel muscarinic receptor antagonist AF-DX 116 differentially blocks slow inhibitory and slow excitatory postsynaptic potentials in the rabbit sympathetic ganglia.

Muscarinic, slow postsynaptic potentials (s-epsp and s-ipsp) in the rabbit superior cervical ganglia were shown to be differentially depressed by a novel cardioselective M2-type antagonist AF-DX 116: it antagonized the s-ipsp with IC50 value of 1.5 X 10(-7) M, which is 16-fold more potent in depressing the s-ipsp than the s-epsp. A hyperpolarizing component in the biphasic potential changes induced by a muscarinic agonist, methacholine, was selectively eliminated by this antagonist. AF-DX 116 was thus shown to be an useful tool for discriminating the M2-type muscarinic responses from those of M1-type in the nervous system.

Action Potentials↗