Inhibition of α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors prevents chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain

Opioids are first-line drugs for moderate to severe acute pain and cancer pain. However, these medications are associated with severe side effects, and whether they are efficacious in treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain remains controversial. Medications that act through alternative molecular mechanisms are critically needed. Antagonists of α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been proposed as an important nonopioid mechanism based on studies demonstrating prevention of neuropathology after trauma-induced nerve injury. However, the key α9α10 ligands characterized to date are at least two orders of magnitude less potent on human vs. rodent nAChRs, limiting their translational application. Furthermore, an alternative proposal that these ligands achieve their beneficial effects by acting as agonists of GABA(B) receptors has caused confusion over whether blockade of α9α10 nAChRs is the fundamental underlying mechanism. To address these issues definitively, we developed RgIA4, a peptide that exhibits high potency for both human and rodent α9α10 nAChRs, and was at least 1,000-fold more selective for α9α10 nAChRs vs. all other molecular targets tested, including opioid and GABA(B) receptors. A daily s.c. dose of RgIA4 prevented chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain in rats. In wild-type mice, oxaliplatin treatment produced cold allodynia that could be prevented by RgIA4. Additionally, in α9 KO mice, chemotherapy-induced development of cold allodynia was attenuated and the milder, temporary cold allodynia was not relieved by RgIA4. These findings establish blockade of α9-containing nAChRs as the basis for the efficacy of RgIA4, and that α9-containing nAChRs are a critical target for prevention of chronic cancer chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain

An associativity requirement for locus coeruleus-induced long-term potentiation in the dentate gyrus of the urethane-anesthetized rat.

Contains fulltext : 88103reid.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Norepinephrine has been hypothesized to provide a learning and memory signal. Norepinephrine long-term potentiation of perforant path input to the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus provides a model for norepinephrine initiated memory processes. However, in vitro, the pairing of perforant path stimulation and norepinephrine is not required for the occurrence of norepinephrine-dependent long-term potentiation. Since bath application of norepinephrine induces long-term changes in 2nd messenger signalling and differs in a number of ways from physiological norepinephrine release, the present study is an in vivo test of the associative requirement for the pairing of perforant path input with norepinephrine to induce long-term potentiation. Phasic activation of the locus coeruleus is provided by glutamate infusion into the locus coeruleus to initiate transient norepinephrine release in the hippocampus of urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Perforant path stimulation (0.067 Hz) was given throughout the experiment in the paired condition. In the unpaired condition perforant path stimulation was interrupted 10 min prior to locus coeruleus activation and resumed 10 min after locus coeruleus activation. Locus coeruleus-induced long-term potentiation of both EPSP slope and population spike only occurred in the pairing condition. This result argues that, in vivo, temporal proximity of locus coeruleus-associated norepinephrine release and perforant path stimulation are required to induce long-term plasticity. The associativity requirement for locus coeruleus activation and perforant path stimulation in vivo is consistent with the hypothesis that norepinephrine can initiate circuit changes supporting learning and memory.1 januari 201

Functional analysis of a potassium-chloride co-transporter 3 (SLC12A6) promoter polymorphism leading to an additional DNA methylation site

The human potassium-chloride co-transporter 3 (KCC3, SLC12A6) is involved in cell proliferation and in electro-neutral movement of ions across the cell membrane. The gene (SLC12A6) is located on chromosome 15q14, a region that has previously shown linkage with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, rolandic epilepsy, idiopathic generalized epilepsy, autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Furthermore, recessively inherited mutations of SLC12A6 cause Andermann syndrome, characterized by agenesis of the corpus callosum, which is associated with peripheral neuropathy and psychoses. Recently, we have demonstrated the association of two G/A promoter polymorphisms of SLC12A6 with bipolar disorder in a case–control study, and familial segregation of the rare variants as well as a trend toward association with schizophrenia. To investigate functional consequences of these polymorphisms, lymphocyte DNA was extracted, bisulfite modified, and subsequently sequenced. To investigate SLC12A6 promoter activity, various promoter constructs were generated and analyzed by luciferase reporter gene assays. We provide evidence that the G- allele showed a significant reduction of reporter gene expression. In human lymphocytes, the allele harboring the rare upstream G nucleotide was found to be methylated at the adjacent C position, possibly accountable for tissue-specific reduction in gene expression in vivo. Here we demonstrate functionality of an SNP associated with psychiatric disease and our results may represent a functional link between genetic variation and an epigenetic modification

G protein inhibition of CaV2 calcium channels

Voltage-gated Ca2+ channels translate the electrical inputs of excitable cells into biochemical outputs by controlling influx of the ubiquitous second messenger Ca2+. As such the channels play pivotal roles in many cellular functions including the triggering of neurotransmitter and hormone release by CaV2.1 (P/Q-type) and CaV2.2 (N-type) channels. It is well established that G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) orchestrate precise regulation neurotransmitter and hormone release through inhibition of CaV2 channels. Although the GPCRs recruit a number of different pathways, perhaps the most prominent, and certainly most studied among these is the so-called voltage-dependent inhibition mediated by direct binding of Gβγ to the α1 subunit of CaV2 channels. This article will review the basics of Ca2+-channels and G protein signaling, and the functional impact of this now classical inhibitory mechanism on channel function. It will also provide an update on more recent developments in the field, both related to functional effects and crosstalk with other signaling pathways, and advances made toward understanding the molecular interactions that underlie binding of Gβγ to the channel and the voltage-dependence that is a signature characteristic of this mechanism