Inverse agonism and neutral antagonism at a constitutively active alpha-1a adrenoceptor.

We have studied the antagonist action of prazosin and KMD-3213 in a constitutively active mutant of the human alpha-1a adrenoceptor in which Ala(271) was substituted to Thr and was expressed in CHO cells. Inverse agonism was characterized by up-regulation of receptor density, a decrease in basal GTPgammaS binding, and a reduction in basal inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)) level. According to the above criteria, prazosin acted as an inverse agonist, whilst KMD-3213 behaved as a neutral antagonist. Compared with the wild-type receptor, mutant receptor exhibited single affinity sites for [(3)H]-prazosin, [(3)H]-KMD and the non-radioactive ligands tested, and displayed significantly higher affinities for several agonists but not for the two antagonists. Administration of KMD-3213 to prazosin-treated CHO cells expressing the mutant receptor reversed the inverse agonism of prazosin resulting in rapid increases in cellular IP(3), in intracellular [Ca(2+)] and in the rate of extracellular acidification. These results indicated that a neutral antagonist can reverse the action of an inverse agonist at the receptor site. The distinct properties of inverse agonist and neutral antagonist in affecting receptor function may be important for the clinical use of such antagonists.

Splice isoforms of alpha(1a)-adrenoceptor in rabbit.

Two splice isoforms of rabbit alpha(1a)-adrenergic receptor (AR), (named alpha(1a)-OCU.2-AR and alpha(1a)-OCU.3-AR) have been isolated from the liver cDNA library in addition to the previously reported isoform (alpha(1a)-OCU.1-AR). Although they have the identical splice position with human alpha(1a)-AR isoforms, the C-terminal sequences are distinct from those of human isoforms. Among these rabbit alpha(1a)-AR isoforms, there are no significant differences in pharmacological properties: high affinity for prazosin, WB4101, KMD-3213 and YM617 and low affinity for BMY7378, using COS-7 cells expressing each isoform by radioligand binding assay. Competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT - PCR) analysis revealed that mRNA of alpha(1a)-ARs was expressed in liver, thoracic aorta, brain stem and thalamus of rabbit. The splice isoforms exhibited a distinct distribution pattern in rabbit; alpha(1a)-OCU. 1-AR was expressed most abundantly in those tissues. CHO clones, stably expressing each isoforms with receptor density 740 fmol mg(-1) protein in alpha(1a)-OCU.1-AR, 1200 fmol mg(-1) in alpha(1a)-OCU.2-AR and 570 fmol mg(-1) in alpha(1a)-OCU.3-AR, respectively, showed a noradrenaline-induced increase in inositol trisphosphate which was suppressed by prazosin. Noradrenaline elicited a concentration-dependent increase in extracellular acidification rate (EAR) in the CHO clones with pEC(50) values of 6. 19 for alpha(1a)-OCU.1-AR, 6.49 for alpha(1a)-OCU.2-AR and 6.58 for alpha(1a)-OCU.3-AR, respectively. Noradrenaline caused a concentration-dependent increase in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) in the CHO clones with pEC(50) values of 6. 14 for alpha(1a)-OCU.1-AR, 7.25 for alpha(1a)-OCU.2-AR and 7.70 for alpha(1a)-OCU.3-AR, respectively. In conclusion, the present study shows the occurrence of three splice isoforms of rabbit alpha(1a)-AR, which are unique in C-terminal sequence and in tissue distribution. They show similar pharmacological profiles in binding studies but alpha(1a)-OCU.3-AR had the highest potency of noradrenaline in functional studies in spite of the lowest receptor density. These findings suggest that the structure of C-terminus of alpha(1a)-ARs may give the characteristic functional profile.

Cell migration from the ganglionic eminence to the neocortex investigated by labeling nuclei with UV irradiation via a fiber-optic cable.

Recent studies have shown that the ganglionic eminence is one of the sources of tangentially migrating cells in the developing neocortex. Since the migration of the DiI-labeled cells from the ganglionic eminence to the neocortex was not monitored by videomicroscopy in these reports, we devised a novel method to study cell migration in vitro and in vivo. The new method involves ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of the cells through a fiber-optic cable and subsequent identification of the irradiated cells on the basis of the formation of thymine dimers in the nuclei. First, we tested the new method (UV-thymine dimer-labeling method) by applying it to monitor the cell migration of neuronal precursor cells in the rostral migratory stream in the neonatal rat telencephalon. In vitro, UV irradiation for 1 s through the fiber-optic cable resulted in the formation of sufficient thymine dimers as to allow immunohistochemical detection after 6 h of incubation; a significant proportion of the irradiated cells continued to migrate in the same direction and at the same speed as those before irradiation. There was no significant difference in the cell migration distance over 6 h between cells exposed and not exposed to the UV irradiation in vitro. In vivo, this method revealed that three times as many cells in the subventricular zone of the olfactory bulb migrated rostrally as caudally. The new method also allowed us to measure the speed of cell migration, which was estimated to be about 70 microm/h at the maximum in the rostral direction. After these examinations of reliability of the method, we applied it to the rat embryo brain. One day after UV irradiation of the ganglionic eminence, labeled migrating cells were found in the striatum, in the internal capsule, and in the intermediate zone of the neocortex. The observation period of cell migration to the neocortex was extended by the use of a xeroderma pigmentosum group A gene mutant mouse, which lacked an ability to remove thymine dimer from the UV-irradiated nuclei. Two days after the UV irradiation, labeled migrating cells from the ganglionic eminence of the mutant mouse embryos were found both in the cortical plate and in the intermediate zone of the neocortex.

[Two-phase responses of acid expulsion triggered by alpha-1a adrenoceptor in CHO cell].

Using microphysiometer, we have investigated acid expulsion from CHO cells expressing human alpha-1a adrenoceptor. Time course of extracellular acidification rate after noradrenaline stimulation had two phases; one with a peak within 10 s reached several folds of base rate, and another increased gradually to two folds of base rate and reached plateau around two min. Both phases showed concentration-dependent increase of acidification rates in response to noradrenaline but had distinct pEC50 values; 6.0 for rapid phase and 6.6 for late phase. Amiloride and its analogs inhibited both phases entirely, suggesting that Na/H exchanger mainly mediated these acid expulsion responses. Elimination of Ca by BAPTA/EGTA treatment resulted in extensive reductions of the rapid phase response but small decrease of the late phase response. Several Ca channel blockers, Ni and LOE908 also suppressed the rapid phase while nifedipine, verapamil, SKF96365 and omega-conotoxin GIVA did not. Repeated stimulation with noradrenaline enhanced inhibitory effect of blockers. These results indicate that Ca is one of the elements in the rapid phase but not in the late phase of acid expulsion from CHO cells in response to alpha-1 adrenoceptor stimulation and suggest that Ca from both intracellular storage and some type of Ca channel dominantly participates in the rapid phase.

Origin and route of tangentially migrating neurons in the developing neocortical intermediate zone.

Neuroblasts produced in the ventricular zone of the neocortex migrate radially and form the cortical plate, settling in an inside-out order. It is also well known that the tangential cell migration is not negligible in the embryonic neocortex. To have a better understanding of the tangential cell migration in the cortex, we disturbed the migration by making a cut in the neocortex, and we labeled the migrating cells with 1,1'-dioctodecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) in vivo and in vitro. We also determined the birth dates of the cells. Disturbance of tangential cell migration caused an accumulation and disappearance of microtubule-associated protein 2 immunoreactive (MAP2-IR) cells on the ventral and dorsal side of the cut, respectively, which indicated that most of the MAP2-IR cells in the intermediate zone (IZ) were migrating toward the dorsal cortex. The DiI injection study in vivo confirmed the tendency of the direction of cell migration and suggested the origin of the cells to be in the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE). DiI injection into the LGE in vitro confirmed that the LGE cells cross the corticostriatal boundary and enter the IZ of the neocortex. The migrating cells acquired multipolar shape in the IZ of the dorsal cortex and seemed to reside there. A 5-bromo-deoxyuridine incorporation study revealed that the migrating MAP2-IR cells in the IZ were early-generated neurons. We concluded that the majority of tangentially migrating cells were generated in the LGE and identified as a distinct population that was assumed not to have joined the cortical plate.

Intracellular pharmacodynamics of ara-C and flowcytometric analysis of cell cycle progression in leukemia chemotherapy.

To establish the most effective and reasonable mode of combining and administrering ara-C with other antileukemic agents in chemotherapy for acute leukemia, the action mechanisms of ara-C was investigated in terms of intracellular pharmacodynamics and the biochemical action mechanism of ara-C was investigated in leukemic cell. Rensonable methods of administering the agent was considered as follows. 1. A low level of ara-C in the incubation medium induced a higher concentration of ara-CTP in leukemic cells. Therefore, maintenance of even a low plasma ara-C level after ara-C therapy could enhance the antileukemic effect of the agent. 2. Ara-C activation was increased in the presence of 6MP by suppressing elevation of deaminase activity in the cell suspection medium. Therefore, administration of 6MP prior to ara-C therapy could enhance the antileukemic effect of the agent. 3. Ten micrograms/ml of ara-C, corresponding to intermediate dose ara-C therapy, induced rapid endonuclease activation, DNA ladder fragmentation and subsequent apoptosis in large numbers of leukemic cells, suggesting that intermediate dose ara-C therapy is effective in reducing residual leukemic cells after therapy. 4. Blood transfusion for patients with high grade anemia prior to bebenoyl ara-C therapy prolonged higher and longer plasma drug maintenance. 5. Flowcytometry of cell cycle progression of L1210 cells treated by ara-C and daunorubicin revealed that a combination of ara-C first and daunorubicin second was superior to the reverse sequential combination. These improvements in the mode of administering ara-C could provide better results following chemotherapy for leukemia.

A procedure for in situ hybridization combined with retrograde labeling of neurons: application to the study of cell adhesion molecule expression in Dil-labeled rat pyramidal neurons.

We have devised a simple method that combines retrograde labeling of projecting neurons and in situ hybridization histochemistry to examine mRNA expression in the retrogradely labeled neurons. First, projecting neurons were retrogradely labeled in vivo by injection of the lipophilic neuronal tracer Dil. The fluorescence of the labeled neurons in the brain slices was photoconverted into stable DAB precipitate by green light illumination. The slices were cut into thinner sections and processed for detection of specific mRNA by in situ hybridization. Using this highly sensitive method, we demonstrate here that the corticospinal tract neurons in newborn rats express mRNA for the cell adhesion molecule L1. TAG-1 mRNA was not detected in these neurons. Therefore, the present method provides an important tool to study the molecular expression of projection neurons during the development of neuronal circuitry.

Intermediate zone and intermediate zone neurons. Do IZ neurons acts as pioneers for layer V neurons in rats?

It is assumed that pioneer neurons will predominantly show path finding ability, and that other neurons only follow the pioneer fibers. Here, tracers were injected into the newborn rat spinal cord followed by a search for labeled cells other than those in layer V. In all cases, neurons in the lower intermediate zone (IZ) of the dorsomedial cortex were retrogradely labeled. The IZ neurons have several characteristics required for pioneer neurons and project to the spinal cord first. Thus, the IZ neurons may function as pioneer neurons of the corticospinal projection and help in the formation of the permanent tract in rats.

Role of serine and ICE-like proteases in induction of apoptosis by etoposide in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

This study was undertaken to examine the role of proteases in etoposide-induced apoptosis of human leukemia HL-60 cells. We found the potent activity to produce internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in a 150 000 g supernatant of cell lysate which was prepared from etoposide-treated HL-60 cells undergoing apoptosis. This nuclear-DNA fragmenting activity could be detected when the supernatant was incubated with isolated nuclei under Mg2+-dependent conditions. On the other hand, we could not detect such activity in the supernatant of cell lysate from non-treated HL-60 cells. Treatment of the supernatant with a serine protease inhibitor, N-tosyl-L-phenylala-nylchloromethyl ketone (TPCK), abolished the DNA fragmenting activity. An inhibitor of interleukin 1-beta-converting enzyme (ICE), Z-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone (VAD-FMK), had no effect on this DNA fragmenting activity in vitro. However, when the cells were incubated with etoposide in the presence of VAD-FMK, the formation of TPCK-sensitive DNA fragmenting activity was blocked. Our data indicate that serine and ICE-like proteases may be involved in etoposide-induced apoptosis at the different stages, and especially a serine protease may be closely associated with the final step for induction of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation during apoptosis in HL-60 cells.

Enhancement of Ca(2+)-dependent endonuclease activity in L1210 cells during apoptosis induced by 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine: possible involvement of activating factor(s).

Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and morphological changes in nuclei typical of apoptosis were observed in L1210 cells incubated with 1.0 micrograms/ml of 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C). To investigate the mechanisms involved, we examined the activities of endogenous endonucleases in nuclei and cytoplasm. Both fractions of control cells contained Ca(2+)-dependent endonuclease which was capable of mediating internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. The assay system using two kinds of target substrates, i.e., nuclear chromatin of CCRF-CEM cells and naked DNA purified from the same cells, revealed that the activity of Ca(2+)-dependent endonuclease was enhanced in the crude nuclear extracts of cells treated with 1.0 microgram/ml of ara-C for 24 h or 48 h. The activity was extracted more easily from ara-C-treated cells than control cells without sonication of the nuclear fraction. On the other hand, in the cytoplasmic fraction of the cells, the activity towards naked DNA was unchanged, whereas that towards nuclear chromatin was clearly enhanced. These results suggest that internucleosomal DNA fragmentation induced by ara-C treatment is associated with enhancement and activation of constitutively expressed Ca(2+)-dependent endonuclease in L1210 cells.

Role of calcium ion in induction of apoptosis by etoposide in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

The epipodophyllotoxin derivative etoposide, an inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase II, has been found to induce internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, characteristic of apoptosis. In the present study, we examined the effect of Ca2+ depletion on VP-16-induced endonucleolytic DNA cleavage in HL-60 cells. VP-16-induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation could not be blocked by the extracellular Ca2+ chelator EGTA. However, an intracellular Ca2+ chelator BAPTA-AM, which was added after treatment with VP-16, abolished both internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and the morphologic features of apoptosis. No significant increase of intracellular Ca2+ was found after VP-16 treatment. We demonstrate for the first time that preexisting intracellular Ca2+ plays an essential role in induction of apoptosis by VP-16 in HL-60 cells.

Enhancement of cytosine arabinoside cytotoxicity by granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in a human myeloblastic leukemia cell line.

Enhancement of the cytotoxicity of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) by granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and the mechanisms involved, were studied in the AML-193 human leukemia cell line. AML-193 cells require GM-CSF and G-CSF(CSFs) for optimum growth, and 24 h deprivation of CSFs decreased DNA synthesis measured in terms of 3H-thymidine incorporation. The DNA synthesis gradually recovered upon addition of CSFs. To examine the sensitivity to ara-C under different growth conditions, two groups of cell suspensions, one pretreated with CSFs after 24 h deprivation (CSFs(+) cells), and the other held continuously under CSFs-free conditions (CSFs(-) cells), were exposed to 1.0 microgram/ml of ara-C for 16 h. In clonogenic assays, CSFs(+) cells showed higher sensitivity to ara-C than CSFs(-) cells. These cell groups showed no significant difference in ara-C triphosphate accumulation or retention, though the amount of ara-C incorporated into the acid-insoluble fraction was two times greater in CSFs(+) cells than CSFs(-) cells, and that difference became even clearer in the retention pools. These data suggest that the enhancement of cytotoxicity by CSFs was due to the promotion of ara-C incorporation into DNA as a result of an increase of the cell fraction in the S phase.