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T M Dawson

Publications and source records attributed to T M Dawson.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Huntingtin-associated protein (HAP1): discrete neuronal localizations in the brain resemble those of neuronal nitric oxide synthase.

Huntington disease stems from a mutation of the protein huntingtin and is characterized by selective loss of discrete neuronal populations in the brain. Despite a massive loss of neurons in the corpus striatum, NO-generating neurons are intact. We recently identified a brain-specific protein that associates with huntingtin and is designated huntingtin-associated protein (HAP1). We now describe selective neuronal localizations of HAP1. In situ hybridization studies reveal a resemblance of HAP1 and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) mRNA localizations with dramatic enrichment of both in the pedunculopontine nuclei, the accessory olfactory bulb, and the supraoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus. Both nNOS and HAP1 are enriched in subcellular fractions containing synaptic vesicles. Immunocytochemical studies indicate colocalizations of HAP1 and nNOS in some neurons. The possible relationship of HAP1 and nNOS in the brain is reminiscent of the relationship of dystrophin and nNOS in skeletal muscle and suggests a role of NO in Huntington disease, analogous to its postulated role in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Expansion of polyglutamine repeat in huntingtin leads to abnormal protein interactions involving calmodulin.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder associated with expansion of a CAG repeat in the IT15 gene. The IT15 gene is translated to a protein product termed huntingtin that contains a polyglutamine (polyGln) tract. Recent investigations indicate that the cause of HD is expansion of the polyGln tract. However, the function of huntingtin and how the expanded polyGln tract causes HD is not known. We investigate potential protein-protein interactions of huntingtin using affinity resins. Huntingtin from brain extracts is retained on calmodulin(CAM)-Sepharose in a calcium-dependent fashion. We purify rat huntingtin to apparent homogeneity using a combination of DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and preparative SDS/PAGE. Purified rat huntingtin does not interact with CAM directly as revealed by 125I-CAM overlay. Huntingtin forms a large CAM-containing complex of over 1,000 kDa in the presence of calcium, which partially disassociates in the absence of calcium. Furthermore, an increased amount of mutant huntingtin from HD patient brains is retained on CAM-Sepharose compared to normal huntingtin from control patient brains, and the mutant allele is preferentially retained on CAM-Sepharose in the absence of calcium. These results suggest that huntingtin interacts with other proteins including CAM and that the expansion of polyGln alters this interaction.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Resistance to neurotoxicity in cortical cultures from neuronal nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice.

In addition to its functions as a neuronal messenger molecule, nitric oxide (NO) has also been implicated in playing a major role in ischemic damage and glutamate neurotoxicity. Using primary cortical cultures from transgenic neuronal NO synthase (NOS) null (nNOS-) mice, we definitively establish NO as a mediator of NMDA and hypoxic neurotoxicity. Neurotoxicity elicited by NMDA is markedly attenuated in nNOS- cortical cultures compared with wild-type cultures. The NOS inhibitor nitro-L-arginine is neuroprotective in wild-type but not nNOS-cultures, confirming the role of nNOS-derived NO in glutamate neurotoxicity. Confirming that the nNOS- cultures lack NMDA-stimulated nNOS activity, NMDA did not stimulate the formation of cGMP in nNOS- cultures, but markedly elevates cGMP in wild-type cultures. Both wild-type and nNOS- cultures are sensitive to toxicity induced by NO donors, indicating that pathways stimulated by NO that result in neuronal cell death are still intact in the transgenic mice. Superoxide dismutase is neuroprotective against NMDA and NO neurotoxicity in both wild-type and nNOS- cultures, highlighting the importance of superoxide anion in subsequent neuronal damage. The unknown cellular factors that endow differential resistance to NMDA neurotoxicity and differential susceptibility to quisqualate neurotoxicity remain intact in the nNOS- cultures, because the response of somatostatin-immunopositive neurons in nNOS- cultures to high-dose NMDA and low-dose quisqualate is identical to the response of NOS-immunopositive neurons in the wild-type cultures. There is no difference in susceptibility to kainate neurotoxicity between nNOS- and wild-type cultures and only a modest resistance to quisqualate neurotoxicity, confirming observations that NO-mediated neurotoxicity is associated primarily with activation of the NMDA receptor. The nNOS- cultures are markedly protected from 60 min of combined oxygen-glucose deprivation neurotoxicity compared with wild-type cultures. Wild-type cultures are protected from neuronal cell death by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 and the NOS inhibitor L-nitroarginine methyl ester, but not its inactive stereoisomer D-nitroarginine methyl ester. nNOS- cultures were not additionally protected. These data confirm that activation of NMDA receptors and production of NO are primary mediators of neuronal damage after ischemic insult.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in schizophrenia: increases in cerebellar vermis.

A high proportion of neurons in the cerebellum and in cholinergic brainstem nuclei stain positive for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPHd), which is a nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia may involve increased numbers of NADPHd-stained neurons in different areas of the subcortex. This led us to examine the actual concentration of NOS in postmortem brain specimens of cerebellum, and the relevant regions of brainstem tegmentum, to see if NOS concentrations were also increased in schizophrenia. Postmortem brain tissue was obtained at autopsy from schizophrenics and controls who did not have other brain disease. In patients with schizophrenia, NOS concentration was higher.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Nitric oxide actions in neurochemistry.

The discovery of the role of nitric oxide (NO) as a messenger molecule in the central nervous system has radically altered our conception of neuronal communication. Information has been generated at a rapid pace in the last few years regarding the biochemistry, enzymatic activity and molecular characteristics of NO synthase (NOS) and NO synthesis, and the biological consequences of NO production. The full scope of the biological consequences of NO production is unknown but putative cellular targets of NO are rapidly being discovered as well as potential physiological and pathophysiological roles in the nervous system. Roles for NO have been identified in neurotransmitter release, morphogenesis, synaptic plasticity, regulation of gene expression, as well as mediation of inhibitory processes associated with sexual and aggressive behaviour. Inappropriate formation of NO is emerging as an important factor in the neurotoxicity associated with a variety of central nervous system disorders. The current information on the various roles of NO as a neuronal messenger molecule as well as a neurotoxin are reviewed in this article.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Nitric oxide neurotoxicity.

Derangements in glutamate neurotransmission have been implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders including, stroke, epilepsy, Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subtype of glutamate receptors results in the influx of calcium which binds calmodulin and activates neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), to convent L-arginine to citrulline and nitric oxide (NO). NO has many roles in the central nervous system as a messenger molecule, however, when generated in excess NO can be neurotoxic. Excess NO is in part responsible for glutamate neurotoxicity in primary neuronal cell culture and in animal models of stroke. It is likely that most of the neurotoxic actions of NO are mediated by peroxynitrite (ONOO-), the reaction product from NO and superoxide anion. In pathologic conditions, peroxynitrite and oxygen free radicals can be generated in excess of a cell antioxidant capacity resulting in severe damage to cellular constituents including proteins, DNA and lipids. The inherent biochemical and physiological characteristics of the brain, including high lipid concentrations and energy requirements, make it particularly susceptible to free radical and oxidant mediated insult. Increasing evidence indicates that many neurologic disorders may have components of free radical and oxidative stress induced injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Nitric oxide synthase: role as a transmitter/mediator in the brain and endocrine system.

Nitric oxide is a unique biological messenger molecule. It is produced by endothelial cells to mediate blood vessel relaxation; it mediates, in part, the immune functions of activated macrophages; and in the central and peripheral nervous system it serves as a neurotransmitter. In the nervous system, nitric oxide may regulate neurotransmitter release, it may play a key role in synaptic plasticity and morphogenesis, and it may regulate sexual and aggressive behavior. Under conditions of excessive formation, nitric oxide is emerging as an important neurotoxin.

Aggression↗
PubMed1996

Neurobiology of nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide is a ubiquitous and unique biological messenger molecule. It mediates blood vessel relaxation by endothelium, immune function of macrophages, and neurotransmission of central and peripheral nervous systems. Endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide synthases are constitutively expressed and activated by calcium entry into cells, whereas the macrophage nitric oxide synthase is inducible with new RNA and protein synthesis upon immune stimulation. Nitric oxide may play a role in the neurotransmitter release, neural development, synaptic plasticity, and regulation of gene expression. Excessive production of nitric oxide is neurotoxic and is implicated in a variety of neurological disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Loss of nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in cerebral vasospasm.

To determine the distribution of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the primate cerebral artery nervi vasorum and to examine the potential role of NOS in cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in primates, the distribution of NOS immunoreactivity (NOS-IR) in the major cerebral arteries was examined immunohistochemically in cynomolgus monkeys by the use of whole, mounted preparations of the circle of Willis. In four normal monkeys, NOS-IR was localized to the endothelial and adventitial layers of the large cerebral arteries. On the abluminal side, NOS-IR staining was densely concentrated in perivascular nerve fibers (nervi vasorum) of the anterior circulation. Staining was less prominent in the posterior circulation. In six monkeys with vasospasm on Day 7 after placement of preclotted arterial blood to form an SAH around the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) (42% +/- 8.3% decrease of MCA area, mean +/- standard deviation), NOS-IR was virtually absent in nerve fibers around the spastic right MCA but was normal on the contralateral side. In five monkeys in which vasospasm resolved by Day 14 after SAH (36% +/- 14% decrease of right MCA area on Day 7, and 5% +/- 14% decrease on Day 14), NOS-IR was also absent in the right MCA adventitial nerve fibers and remained normal in the left MCA. Adventitial NOS-IR was also normal in cerebral vessels of a sham-operated, nonspastic monkey. These findings provide further evidence that nitric oxide (NO) functions as a neuronal transmitter to mediate vasodilation in primates and indicate a role for adventitial NO in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm after SAH in humans.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1996

Nitric oxide in neuronal degeneration.

NO has clearly revolutionized our thinking about aspects of neurotransmission and neuronal signaling. NO is emerging as an important regulator of a variety of physiologic processes; however, under conditions of excessive or inappropriate formation, NO is also emerging as an important mediator of pathologic nervous tissue damage. Uncovering and understanding the targets of NO that contribute to the neuropathologic process will hopefully lead to the development of selective therapeutic agents and to a better understanding of basic processes underlying normal and pathological neuronal functions.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Free radicals and neuronal cell death.

Production of oxygen free radicals is a natural consequence of aerobic metabolism and they are constantly generated in vivo by chemical reactions and metabolic processes. Antioxidant defence systems scavenge and minimise the formation of oxygen-radical-derived biochemical products, however, these defences are not completely effective even under normal physiological conditions. In pathologic situations, oxygen free radicals can be generated in excess of a cell's antioxidant capacity resulting in severe damage to cellular constituents including proteins, DNA and lipids. The inherent biochemical and physiological charateristics of the brain, including high lipid concentrations and energy requirements, make it particularly susceptible to free radical mediated insult. Increasing evidence indicates that many neurological disorders may have components of free radical and oxidative stress induce injury.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Nitric oxide-dependent penile erection in mice lacking neuronal nitric oxide synthase.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated as a mediator of penile erection, because the neuronal isoform of NO synthase (NOS) is localized to the penile innervation and NOS inhibitors selectively block erections. NO can also be formed by two other NOS isoforms derived from distinct genes, inducible NOS (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS). To clarify the source of NO in penile function, we have examined mice with targeted deletion of the nNOS gene (nNOS- mice). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mating behavior, electrophysiologically induced penile erection, isolated erectile tissue isometric tension, and eNOS localization by immunohistochemistry and Western blot were performed on nNOS- mice and wild-type controls. RESULTS: Both intact animal penile erections and isolated erectile tissue function are maintained in nNOS mice, in agreement with demonstrated normal sexual behaviors, but is stereospecifically blocked by the NOS inhibitor, L-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME). eNOS is abundantly present in endothelium of penile vasculature and sinusoidal endothelium within the corpora cavemosa, with levels that are significantly higher in nNOS- mice than in wild-type controls. CONCLUSIONS: eNOS mediates NO-dependent penile erection in nNOS- animals and normal penile erection. These data clarify the role of nitric oxide in penile erection and may have implications for therapeutic agents with selective effects on NOS isoforms.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Immunophilin regulation of neurotransmitter release.

BACKGROUND: The immunophilins are proteins that mediate actions of immunosuppressant drugs such as FK506 and cyclosporin A by binding to calcineurin, inhibiting its phosphatase activity, and increasing the phosphorylation level of transcription factors required for interleukin 2 formation. Though concentrations in the brain greatly exceed levels in immune tissues, no function has been previously established for nervous system immunophilins. Nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in neurotransmitter release. FK506 appears to inhibit NO production by maintaining NO synthase in a highly phosphorylated and thereby inactivated state. Accordingly, we examined effects of FK506 and cyclosporin A on neurotransmitter release in PC12 cells treated with nerve growth factor (NGF) and in rat brain striatal synaptosomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We monitored effects of immunophilin ligands on [3H]-neurotransmitter release from PC12 cells differentiated with NGF. Rat brain striatal synaptosomes were loaded with radiolabeled transmitters and treated with FK506 or cyclosporin A prior to initiating neurotransmitter release with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or potassium depolarization. Striatal synaptosomes were also loaded with 32P-orthophosphate and treated with FK506. 32P-labeled synaptic vesicle proteins were isolated from these synaptosomes in an attempt to relate specific FK506-dependent phosphorylation of vesicle proteins with the effects of FK506 on neurotransmitter release. Identification of proteins targetted by FK506 was made by immunoblot analysis and immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: Low nanomolar concentrations of the immunosuppressant drugs FK506 and cyclosporin A (CsA) inhibit transmitter release from PC-12 cells and from NMDA-stimulated brain synaptosomes. By contrast, the immunosuppressants augment depolarization-induced transmitter release from synaptosomes. Synapsin I, a synaptic vesicle phosphoprotein, displays enhanced phosphorylation in the presence of FK506. CONCLUSIONS: Inhibition of transmitter release in PC-12 cells and NMDA-treated synaptosomes by immunosuppressants may reflect augmented phosphorylation of NO synthase, reducing its catalytic activity. This fits with the requirement of NO for transmitter release in PC12 cells and NMDA-treated synaptosomes. Stimulation by immunosuppressants of transmitter release in potassium depolarized synaptosomes may result from augmented phosphorylation of synapsin I, whose phosphorylation is known to facilitate transmitter release. Thus, immunophilins may modulate release of numerous neurotransmitters both by influencing NO formation and the phosphorylation state of synaptic vesicle-associated proteins.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1996

Neurovirulent simian immunodeficiency virus infection induces neuronal, endothelial, and glial apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: Studies of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) associated dementia have shown neuronal loss in discrete areas. The presence and mechanism of neuronal death, however, has remained quite elusive. One mechanism of cell death, apoptosis, has been clearly demonstrated outside the central nervous system (CNS) in HIV-1 infection but has not been firmly established within the CNS. Therefore, we set out to ascertain whether neuronal cell loss in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) encephalitis, an animal model of HIV-1-associated dementia, is a result of apoptosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: With the aid of an in situ technique for identifying the 3'-OH ends of newly fragmented DNA characteristic of apoptosis, in conjunction with specific detected morphological criteria via light microscopy, we have examined encephalitic and nonencephalitic brains of macaques infected with a neurovirulent, neuroendotheliotropic strain of SIV to see if virus is spatially associated with apoptosis of neurons and non-neuronal cell types. RESULTS: We demonstrate the presence of DNA damage, indicative of apoptosis, in neurons, endothelial cells, and glial cells of the CNS of SIV-infected macaques. Furthermore, we observe an association between the localization of cells with significant DNA fragmentation and perivascular inflammatory cell infiltrates containing SIV-infected macrophages and multinucleated giant cells. Quantitative analysis reveals significantly more cells with DNA fragmentation in the CNS of macaques infected with neurovirulent, neuroendotheliotropic SIV strains as compared with strictly lymphocyte-tropic SIV strains and SIV negative controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings of apoptosis in SIV-infected CNS may potentially lead to a better understanding of the AIDS dementia complex, ultimately providing a basis for better treatments.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Behavioural abnormalities in male mice lacking neuronal nitric oxide synthase.

In addition to its role in blood vessel and macrophage function, nitric oxide (NO) is a neurotransmitter found in high densities in emotion-regulating brain regions. Mice with targeted disruption of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) display grossly normal appearance, locomotor activity, breeding, long-term potentiation and long-term depression. The nNOS- mice are resistant to neural stroke damage following middle cerebral artery ligation. Although CO2-induced cerebral vasodilatation in wild-type mice is NO-dependent, in nNOS- mice this vasodilation is unaffected by NOS inhibitors. Establishing a behavioural role for NO has, until now, not been feasible, as NOS inhibitor drugs can only be administered acutely and because their pronounced effects on blood pressure and other body functions obfuscate behavioural interpretations. We now report a large increase in aggressive behaviour and excess, inappropriate sexual behaviour in nNOS- mice.

Aggression↗