scholarly journals Diagnostic and Treatment Approaches Involving Transthyretin in Amyloidogenic Diseases

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gil Yong Park ◽  
Angelo Jamerlan ◽  
Kyu Hwan Shim ◽  
Seong Soo A. An

Transthyretin (TTR) is a thyroid hormone-binding protein which transports thyroxine from the bloodstream to the brain. The structural stability of TTR in tetrameric form is crucial for maintaining its original functions in blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The altered structure of TTR due to genetic mutations or its deposits due to aggregation could cause several deadly diseases such as cardiomyopathy and neuropathy in autonomic, motor, and sensory systems. The early diagnoses for hereditary amyloid TTR with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) and wild-type amyloid TTR (ATTRwt) amyloidosis, which result from amyloid TTR (ATTR) deposition, are difficult to distinguish due to the close similarities of symptoms. Thus, many researchers investigated the role of ATTR as a biomarker, especially its potential for differential diagnosis due to its varying pathogenic involvement in hereditary ATTR-CM and ATTRwt amyloidosis. As a result, the detection of ATTR became valuable in the diagnosis and determination of the best course of treatment for ATTR amyloidoses. Assessing the extent of ATTR deposition and genetic analysis could help in determining disease progression, and thus survival rate could be improved following the determination of the appropriate course of treatment for the patient. Here, the perspectives of ATTR in various diseases were presented.

1969 ◽  
Vol 21 (02) ◽  
pp. 294-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Mihara ◽  
T Fujii ◽  
S Okamoto

SummaryBlood was injected into the brains of dogs to produce artificial haematomas, and paraffin injected to produce intracerebral paraffin masses. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood samples were withdrawn at regular intervals and their fibrinolytic activities estimated by the fibrin plate method. Trans-form aminomethylcyclohexane-carboxylic acid (t-AMCHA) was administered to some individuals. Genera] relationships were found between changes in CSF fibrinolytic activity, area of tissue damage and survival time. t-AMCHA was clearly beneficial to those animals given a programme of administration. Tissue activator was extracted from the brain tissue after death or sacrifice for haematoma examination. The possible role of tissue activator in relation to haematoma development, and clinical implications of the results, are discussed.


Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063-1075
Author(s):  
M.C. Lienhard ◽  
R.F. Stocker

The development of the sensory neuron pattern in the antennal disc of Drosophila melanogaster was studied with a neuron-specific monoclonal antibody (22C10). In the wild type, the earliest neurons become visible 3 h after pupariation, much later than in other imaginal discs. They lie in the center of the disc and correspond to the neurons of the adult aristal sensillum. Their axons join the larval antennal nerve and seem to establish the first connection towards the brain. Later on, three clusters of neurons appear in the periphery of the disc. Two of them most likely give rise to the Johnston's organ in the second antennal segment. Neurons of the olfactory third antennal segment are formed only after eversion of the antennal disc (clusters t1-t3). The adult pattern of antennal neurons is established at about 27% of metamorphosis. In the mutant lozenge3 (lz3), which lacks basiconic antennal sensilla, cluster t3 fails to develop. This indicates that, in the wild type, a homogeneous group of basiconic sensilla is formed by cluster t3. The possible role of the lozenge gene in sensillar determination is discussed. The homeotic mutant spineless-aristapedia (ssa) transforms the arista into a leg-like tarsus. Unlike leg discs, neurons are missing in the larval antennal disc of ssa. However, the first neurons differentiate earlier than in normal antennal discs. Despite these changes, the pattern of afferents in the ectopic tarsus appears leg specific, whereas in the non-transformed antennal segments a normal antennal pattern is formed. This suggests that neither larval leg neurons nor early aristal neurons are essential for the outgrowth of subsequent afferents.


Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohan U Parekh ◽  
Abdel A Abdel-rahman ◽  
Srinivas Sriramula

Hyperactivity of the orexin system contributes to several animal models of hypertension and enhances arginine vasopressin (AVP) release. We previously reported higher neuronal kinin B1 receptor (B1R) expression and brain AVP levels in hypertensive mice. However, the role of B1R and its interaction with orexin system in neurogenic hypertension have not been studied. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that kinin B1R contributes to hypertension by upregulation of orexin-AVP signaling in the brain. Deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt treatment (1 mg/g body weight DOCA, 1% saline in drinking water, 3 weeks) of wild-type (WT) male mice produced a significant increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP; radio-telemetry) (138 ±3 mmHg, n=8, p<0.01) that was blunted in B1R knockout mice (121±2 mmHg, P <0.05 vs. WT+DOCA). In WT mice, DOCA-salt, compared to vehicle, increased mRNA levels of orexin receptor 1 (2.5 fold, n=9, p<0.001), orexin receptor 2 (3 fold, n=9, p<0.001) and AVP (3 fold, n=9, p<0.01) in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and these DOCA-salt evoked effects were attenuated in B1RKO mice. Similarly, DOCA-salt evoked increases in protein expression of orexin receptor 1 and 2 in the hypothalamic PVN of WT mice were attenuated by 25±5% and 33±5% (p<0.05), respectively, in B1RKO vs WT+DOCA mice. Furthermore, DOCA-salt treatment increased plasma AVP levels in WT mice compared to vehicle treated mice (13.69±1.1 vs. 47.86±8.7 pg/ml, p<0.05), but not in B1RKO mice. Together, these data provide novel evidence that kinin B1R plays an important role in mediating DOCA-salt induced hypertension possibly via upregulating the orexin-AVP signaling in the brain.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taeyeop Park ◽  
Huazhen Chen ◽  
Hee-Yong Kim

Abstract Background Neuroinflammation is a widely accepted underlying condition for various pathological processes in the brain. In a recent study, synaptamide, an endogenous metabolite derived from docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), was identified as a specific ligand to orphan adhesion G-protein-coupled receptor 110 (GPR110, ADGRF1). Synaptamide has been shown to suppress lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation in mice, but involvement of GPR110 in this process has not been established. In this study, we investigated the possible immune regulatory role of GPR110 in mediating the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of synaptamide under a systemic inflammatory condition. Methods For in vitro studies, we assessed the role of GPR110 in synaptamide effects on LPS-induced inflammatory responses in adult primary mouse microglia, immortalized murine microglial cells (BV2), primary neutrophil, and peritoneal macrophage by using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as well as neutrophil migration and ROS production assays. To evaluate in vivo effects, wild-type (WT) and GPR110 knock-out (KO) mice were injected with LPS intraperitoneally (i.p.) or TNF intravenously (i.v.) followed by synaptamide (i.p.), and expression of proinflammatory mediators was measured by qPCR, ELISA, and western blot analysis. Activated microglia in the brain and NF-kB activation in cells were examined microscopically after immunostaining for Iba-1 and RelA, respectively. Results Intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of LPS increased TNF and IL-1β in the blood and induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the brain. Subsequent i.p. injection of the GPR110 ligand synaptamide significantly reduced LPS-induced inflammatory responses in wild-type (WT) but not in GPR110 knock-out (KO) mice. In cultured microglia, synaptamide increased cAMP and inhibited LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine expression by inhibiting the translocation of NF-κB subunit RelA into the nucleus. These effects were abolished by blocking synaptamide binding to GPR110 using an N-terminal targeting antibody. GPR110 expression was found to be high in neutrophils and macrophages where synaptamide also caused a GPR110-dependent increase in cAMP and inhibition of LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mediator expression. Intravenous injection of TNF, a pro-inflammatory cytokine that increases in the circulation after LPS treatment, elicited inflammatory responses in the brain which were dampened by the subsequent injection (i.p.) of synaptamide in a GPR110-dependent manner. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the immune-regulatory function of GPR110 in both brain and periphery, collectively contributing to the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of synaptamide under a systemic inflammatory condition. We suggest GPR110 activation as a novel therapeutic strategy to ameliorate inflammation in the brain as well as periphery.


2008 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 768-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Tachikawa ◽  
Jun Fujinawa ◽  
Masato Takahashi ◽  
Yasuyuki Kasai ◽  
Masahiro Fukaya ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 327 (3) ◽  
pp. 877-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junutula Reddy JAGATH ◽  
Naropantul APPAJI RAO ◽  
Handanahal SubbaRao SAVITHRI

In an attempt to identify the arginine residue involved in binding of the carboxylate group of serine to mammalian serine hydroxymethyltransferase, a highly conserved Arg-401 was mutated to Ala by site-directed mutagenesis. The mutant enzyme had a characteristic visible absorbance at 425 nm indicative of the presence of bound pyridoxal 5ʹ-phosphate as an internal aldimine with a lysine residue. However, it had only 0.003% of the catalytic activity of the wild-type enzyme. It was also unable to perform reactions with glycine, β-phenylserine or D-alanine, suggesting that the binding of these substrates to the mutant enzyme was affected. This was also evident from the interaction of amino-oxyacetic acid, which was very slow (8.4×10-4 s-1 at 50 μM) for the R401A mutant enzyme compared with the wild-type enzyme (44.6 s-1 at 50 μM). In contrast, methoxyamine (which lacks the carboxy group) reacted with the mutant enzyme (1.72 s-1 at 250 μM) more rapidly than the wild-type enzyme (0.2 s-1 at 250 μM). Further, both wild-type and the mutant enzymes were capable of forming unique quinonoid intermediates absorbing at 440 and 464 nm on interaction with thiosemicarbazide, which also does not have a carboxy group. These results implicate Arg-401 in the binding of the substrate carboxy group. In addition, gel-filtration profiles of the apoenzyme and the reconstituted holoenzyme of R401A and the wild-type enzyme showed that the mutant enzyme remained in a tetrameric form even when the cofactor had been removed. However, the wild-type enzyme underwent partial dissociation to a dimer, suggesting that the oligomeric structure was rendered more stable by the mutation of Arg-401. The increased stability of the mutant enzyme was also reflected in the higher apparent melting temperature (Tm) (61 °C) than that of the wild-type enzyme (56 °C). The addition of serine or serinamide did not change the apparent Tm of R401A mutant enzyme. These results suggest that the mutant enzyme might be in a permanently ‘open’ form and the increased apparent Tm could be due to enhanced subunit interactions.


Blood ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 580-580
Author(s):  
Irina Portier ◽  
Frederik Denorme ◽  
Kimberly A Queisser ◽  
Yasuhiro Kosaka ◽  
Aaron C Petrey ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Cerebral malaria is a highly prevalent infectious disease in Sub-Saharan Africa caused by the Plasmodium parasite. The pathogenesis of cerebral malaria results from damaged vascular endothelium induced by parasite sequestration, inflammatory cytokine production and vascular leakage, which results in increased brain permeability and death. While maladaptive responses from immune cells are thought to contribute, growing evidence suggests a crucial role of platelets in malaria pathophysiology. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is critical in regulating outcomes in malaria. Previous studies have demonstrated an mTOR specific inhibitor, rapamycin, is protective in a mouse model of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). However, if the mTOR pathway in platelets specifically contributes to the pathogenesis of malaria is unknown. Methods: Platelet-specific mTOR-deficient (mTOR plt-/-) mice and littermate controls were subjected to a well-established model of ECM, using Plasmodium berghei ANKA. In addition, platelets isolated from human malaria patients were examined for differential regulation of the mTOR pathway using RNA-seq. Results: Platelet RNA-seq and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis from patients infected with P. vivax demonstrated enrichment of mTOR-associated pathways in platelets, such as mTOR signaling and p70S6K signaling, indicating mTOR associated genes are upregulated in human platelets during malaria infection. In mice infected with P. berghei ANKA, the mTOR pathway was activated in bone marrow-megakaryocytes and platelets based on phosphorylation of mTOR and its downstream effector, 4E-BP1. As the mTOR pathway regulates protein translation in platelets, we examined de novo protein synthesis and observed increased protein translation in platelets isolated from mice infected with P. berghei ANKA compared to uninfected controls. To study the specific role of platelet mTOR during ECM pathogenesis, mTOR plt-/- mice and wild-type controls (mTOR plt+/+), were infected with P. berghei ANKA. Platelet deficient-mTOR mice had significantly (p=0.0336) prolonged survival compared to wild-type mice. Increased survival was independent of parasitemia, suggesting platelets did not alter parasite reproduction. While thrombocytopenia and anemia were similar in both genotypes, mTOR plt-/- mice had significantly reduced brain (p=0.0067) and lung (p&lt;0.0001) vascular permeability during late-stage ECM. Interestingly, flow cytometric assessment of leukocyte recruitment to the brain demonstrated a 1.7-fold (p=0.0442) reduction in inflammatory monocytes in platelet-deficient mTOR mice. However, mTOR plt-/- mice had significantly (1.4-fold, p=0.007) more inflammatory monocytes in the blood. Interestingly, circulating platelet-monocytes aggregates were significantly less in mTOR plt-/- compared to mTOR plt+/+ (p=0.0433). Taken together, these results suggest that platelets assist in the recruitment of leukocytes to the brain vasculature during ECM, which is impaired when mTOR is ablated. Conclusions: Our data demonstrates that the mTOR pathway in platelets plays a significant role in malaria pathogenesis. Deletion of platelet mTOR reduces vascular permeability and prolongs survival during ECM. We hypothesize that altered platelet-inflammatory monocyte interactions drive this phenotype. Disclosures Rondina: Platelet Transcriptomics: Patents & Royalties; Acticor Biotech: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Platelet Biogenesis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Research Funding.


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