KR-31378, a potassium-channel opener, induces the protection of retinal ganglion cells in rat retinal ischemic models.

KR-31378 is a newly developed K(ATP)-channel opener. To investigate the ability of KR-31378 to protect retinal ganglion cells (RGC), experiments were conducted using two retinal ischemia models. Retinal ischemia was induced by transient high intraocular pressure (IOP) for acute ischemia and by three episcleral vein occlusion for chronic retinal ischemia. KR-31378 was injected intraperitoneally and administered orally in the acute and chronic ischemia models, respectively. Under the condition of chronic ischemia, RGC density in the KR-31378-treated group was statistically higher than that in the non-treated group, and IOP was reduced. In the acute retinal ischemia model, 90% of RGC were degenerated after one week in non-treated retina, but, RGC in KR-31378-treated retina were protected from ischemic damage in a dose-dependent manner and showed inhibited glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression. Furthermore, the KR-31378 protective effect was inhibited by glibenclamide treatment in acute ischemia. These findings indicate that systemic KR-31378 treatment may protect against ischemic injury-induced ganglion cell loss in glaucoma.

Inhibition of electrical activity by retroviral infection with Kir2.1 transgenes disrupts electrical differentiation of motoneurons.

Network-driven spontaneous electrical activity in the chicken spinal cord regulates a variety of developmental processes including neuronal differentiation and formation of neuromuscular structures. In this study we have examined the effect of chronic inhibition of spinal cord activity on motoneuron survival and differentiation. Early spinal cord activity in chick embryos was blocked using an avian replication-competent retroviral vector RCASBP (B) carrying the inward rectifier potassium channel Kir2.1. Chicken embryos were infected with one of the following constructs: RCASBP(B), RCASBP(B)-Kir2.1, or RCASBP(B)-GFP. Infection of chicken embryos at E2 resulted in widespread expression of the viral protein marker p27 gag throughout the spinal cord. Electrophysiological recordings revealed the presence of functional Kir2.1 channels in RCASBP(B)-Kir2.1 but not in RCASBP(B)-infected embryos. Kir2.1 expression significantly reduced the generation of spontaneous motor movements in chicken embryos developing in ovo. Suppression of spontaneous electrical activity was not due to a reduction in the number of surviving motoneurons or the number of synapses in hindlimb muscle tissue. Disruption of the normal pattern of activity in chicken embryos resulted in a significant downregulation in the functional expression of large-conductance Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) channels. Reduction of spinal cord activity also generates a significant acceleration in the inactivation rate of A-type K(+) currents without any significant change in current density. Kir2.1 expression did not affect the expression of voltage-gated Na(+) channels or cell capacitance. These experiments demonstrate that chronic inhibition of chicken spinal cord activity causes a significant change in the electrical properties of developing motoneurons.

FasL shedding is reduced by hypothermia in experimental stroke.

Protection by mild hypothermia has previously been associated with better mitochondrial preservation and suppression of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. It is also known that the brain may undergo apoptotic death via extrinsic, or receptor-mediated pathways, such as that triggered by Fas/FasL. Male Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion with 2 h intraischemic mild hypothermia (33 degrees C) were assayed for Fas, FasL and caspase-8 expression. Ischemia increased Fas, but decreased FasL by approximately 50-60% at 6 and 24 h post-insult. Mild hypothermia significantly reduced expression of Fas and processed caspase-8 both by approximately 50%, but prevented ischemia-induced FasL decreases. Fractionation revealed that soluble/shed FasL (sFasL) was decreased by hypothermia, while membrane-bound FasL (mFasL) increased. To more directly assess the significance of the Fas/FasL pathway in ischemic stroke, primary neuron cultures were exposed to oxygen glucose deprivation. Since FasL is cleaved by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and mild hypothermia decreases MMP expression, treatment with a pan-MMP inhibitor also decreased sFasL. Thus, mild hypothermia is associated with reduced Fas expression and caspase-8 activation. Hypothermia prevented total FasL decreases, and most of it remained membrane-bound. These findings reveal new observations regarding the effect of mild hypothermia on the Fas/FasL and MMP systems.

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 expression by zinc-chelator in retinal ischemia.

The zinc ion (Zn2+) is abundant in neurons. However, excessive Zn2+ can induce neuronal cell death. This study examined the role of Zn2+ in transient retinal ischemia in adult male rats. The rats were sacrificed 4-24 h after retinal ischemia by high intra-ocular pressure, and the retinas were prepared for microscopic examination of retinal cell degeneration, and fluorescence microscopy using zinquin ethyl ester as the zinc ion-specific probe. Moreover, COX-2 expression was observed by Western blotting. In control retinas, there was a low Zn2+ concentration in the inner plexiform layer (IPL), a high Zn2+ concentration in the outer plexiform layer (OPL), and no detectable Zn2+ in either the ganglion cell layer (GCL) or the inner nuclear layer (INL). In contrast, in the retinas exposed to ischemia without the administration of the zinc ion chelators (Ca2+-EDTA and TPEN), Zn2+ deposits were found in the IPL and INL beginning 4 h after ischemia and degeneration of neurons was found in the GCL and INL. Less Zn2+ accumulation in the IPL and INL and less neuronal degeneration in the GCL and INL were found in the retinas treated with Ca2+-EDTA or TPEN before ischemia. Furthermore, the COX-2 protein levels increased 4-8 h after retinal ischemia, and chelation of zinc ion inhibited this effect. These results suggest that the accumulation of Zn2+ following an ischemic insult can cause retinal degeneration and induce abnormal COX-2 expression.

Reduction in levels of matrix metalloproteinases and increased expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 in response to mild hypothermia therapy in experimental stroke.

OBJECT: Mild hypothermia is a robust neuroprotectant, and the results of prospective clinical trials have indicated that it may improve neurological outcome in certain instances. One aspect of this protection has been associated with the prevention of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in BBB disruption because they can degrade the extracellular matrix. In this study the authors explored the relationship between hypothermia and MMPs and whether BBB preservation resulting from mild hypothermia therapy is due to alterations in MMP expression. METHODS: Rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion for 2 hours; the animals were maintained in a state of normothermia or mild hypothermia (33 degrees C) immediately after the onset of ischemia. The animals' brains were collected 2, 6, and 24 hours after ischemia began. Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 24 hours to assess the extent of BBB disruption. Consistent with prior reports, areas of BBB disruption detected on T1-weighted images were smaller in the brains of rats maintained in a state of hypothermia (normothermia group 8.6 +/- 3% of the brain; hypothermia group 0.2 +/-0.1% of the brain; p < 0.01). Expression of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 at the transcriptional and translational levels was reduced in hypothermic brains at 6 hours and 24 hours after ischemic injury. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 was primarily localized to cells of monocytic origin but was also observed in neurons and astrocytes. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 was found in some neurons and astrocytes but not in inflammatory cells. In addition, hypothermia increased the levels of the endogenous MMP inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that mild hypothermia attenuates BBB disruption, decreases MMP expression, and suppresses MMP activity.