Ca(2+)-dependent enhancement of [3H]dopamine uptake in rat striatum: possible involvement of calmodulin-dependent kinases.

We studied effects of Ca2+ in the incubation medium on [3H]dopamine ([3H]DA) uptake by rat striatal synaptosomes. Both the duration of the preincubation period with Ca2+ (0-30 min) and Ca2+ concentration (0-10 mM) in Krebs-Ringer medium affected [3H]DA uptake by the synaptosomes. The increase was maximal at a concentration of 1 mM Ca2+ after a 10-min preincubation (2.4 times larger than the uptake measured without preincubation), which reflected an increase in Vmax of the [3H]DA uptake process. On the other hand, [3H]DA uptake decreased rapidly after addition of ionomycin in the presence of 1 mM Ca2+. The Ca(2+)-dependent enhancement of the uptake was still maintained after washing synaptosomes with Ca(2+)-free medium following preincubation with 1 mM Ca2+. Protein kinase C inhibitors did not affect apparently Ca(2+)-dependent enhancement of the uptake, whereas 1(-)[N,O-bis(1,5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-N-methyl-L- tyrosyl]-4-phenylpiperazine (KN-62; a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II inhibitor) and wortmannin (a myosin light chain kinase inhibitor) significantly reduced it. Inhibitory effects of KN-62 and wortmannin appeared to be additive. N-(6-Aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide hydrochloride (W-7; a calmodulin antagonist) also remarkably inhibited the enhancement. These results suggest that Ca(2+)-dependent enhancement of [3H]DA uptake is mediated by activation of calmodulin-dependent protein kinases.

[Increase in extracellular levels of serotonin and amino acids in the rat brain following cyanide-induced energy failure].

We studied the effects of ATP depletion on neurotransmitter release in the rat brain using the microdialysis method. Ringer's solution containing 2 mM sodium cyanide (NaCN) was perfused into the hippocampus and striatum for 60 min via a microdialysis probe, and changes in serotonin (5-HT) and amino acids (glutamate, aspartate and taurine) levels in dialysates were investigated. NaCN perfusion induced a transient 3.9-fold increase in 5-HT levels in the hippocampal dialysate. Amino acid levels in dialysates also increased during NaCN perfusion, but differently in the striatum and hippocampus (glutamate: 1.3- and 2.4-fold, taurine: 2.3- and 1.3-fold, respectively). Perfusion of Ca(2+)-free Ringer's solution remarkably suppressed the NaCN-induced increase in 5-HT but not the increases in amino acid levels. Depolarization by 100 mM KCl perfusion could induce increases in 5-HT and amino acids in dialysates at 3 hr after NaCN perfusion similarly with that of control. These findings indicate that the sensitivity of nerve terminals to energy failure are different between neurons containing different neurotransmitters and also between brain regions, and suggest that this regionally different sensitivity of amino acid neurons might be involved in the underlying mechanism of the localized vulnerability to transient ischemia.

Preparation of soluble murine IL-6 receptor and anti-murine IL-6 receptor antibodies.

Starting with a previously isolated cDNA clone encoding murine IL-6R, a stable transformed Chinese hamster ovary cell line constitutively expressing soluble murine IL-6R (smIL-6R) has been established. The smIL-6R was purified to homogeneity by sequential filtration and chromatography of culture medium. The smIL-6R augmented the sensitivity of M1 cells to IL-6 in their growth inhibition in a dose-response manner. Rat hybridomas producing mAb specific to murine IL-6R were also established. One of the clones, RS13, produced IgG2a isotype that was capable of inhibiting IL-6 activity. ELISA for the quantitation of smIL-6R was established, which could detect smIL-6R in a quantity as low as 1 ng/ml.