T-wave Ion Mobility-mass Spectrometry: Basic Experimental Procedures for Protein Complex Analysis

Ion mobility (IM) is a method that measures the time taken for an ion to travel through a pressurized cell under the influence of a weak electric field. The speed by which the ions traverse the drift region depends on their size: large ions will experience a greater number of collisions with the background inert gas (usually N2) and thus travel more slowly through the IM device than those ions that comprise a smaller cross-section. In general, the time it takes for the ions to migrate though the dense gas phase separates them, according to their collision cross-section (Ω)

Implantation of 3D Constructs Embedded with Oral Mucosa-Derived Cells Induces Functional Recovery in Rats with Complete Spinal Cord Transection

Spinal cord injury (SCI), involving damaged axons and glial scar tissue, often culminates in irreversible impairments. Achieving substantial recovery following complete spinal cord transection remains an unmet challenge. Here, we report of implantation of an engineered 3D construct embedded with human oral mucosa stem cells (hOMSC) induced to secrete neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, and axonal elongation-associated factors, in a complete spinal cord transection rat model. Rats implanted with induced tissue engineering constructs regained fine motor control, coordination and walking pattern in sharp contrast to the untreated group that remained paralyzed (42 vs. 0%). Immunofluorescence, CLARITY, MRI, and electrophysiological assessments demonstrated a reconnection bridging the injured area, as well as presence of increased number of myelinated axons, neural precursors, and reduced glial scar tissue in recovered animals treated with the induced cell-embedded constructs. Finally, this construct is made of bio-compatible, clinically approved materials and utilizes a safe and easily extractable cell population. The results warrant further research with regards to the effectiveness of this treatment in addressing spinal cord injury

Social rank-associated stress vulnerability predisposes individuals to cocaine attraction

Abstract Studies of personality have suggested that dissimilarities in ability to cope with stressful situations results in differing tendency to develop addictive behaviors. The present study used selectively bred stress-resilient, socially-dominant (Dom) and stress-vulnerable, socially-submissive (Sub) mice to investigate the interaction between environmental stress and inbred predisposition to develop addictive behavior to cocaine. In a Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) paradigm using cocaine, Sub mice displayed an aversion to drug, whereas Dom mice displayed drug attraction. Following a 4-week regimen of Chronic Mild Stress (CMS), Sub mice in CPP displayed a marked increase (>400%) in cocaine attraction, whereas Dom mice did not differ in attraction from their non-stressed state. Examination of hippocampal gene expression revealed in Sub mice, exposure to external stimuli, stress or cocaine, increased CRH expression (>100%), which was evoked in Dom mice only by cocaine exposure. Further, stress-induced decreases in DRD1 (>60%) and DRD2 (>50%) expression in Sub mice differed markedly from a complete lack of change in Dom mice. From our findings, we propose that social stratification dictates vulnerability to stress-induced attraction that may lead to addiction via differential regulation of hippocampal response to dopaminergic input, which in turn may influence differing tendency to develop addictive behaviors

Rearrangements in the Relative Orientation of Cytoplasmic Domains Induced by a Membrane-anchored Protein Mediate Modulations in Kv Channel Gating*

Interdomain interactions between intracellular N and C termini have been described for various K+ channels, including the voltage-gated Kv2.1, and suggested to affect channel gating. However, no channel regulatory protein directly affecting N/C interactions has been demonstrated. Most Kv2.1 channel interactions with regulatory factors occur at its C terminus. The vesicular SNARE that is also present at a high concentration in the neuronal plasma membrane, VAMP2, is the only protein documented to affect Kv2.1 gating by binding to its N terminus. As its binding target has been mapped near a site implicated in Kv2.1 N/C interactions, we hypothesized that VAMP2 binding to the N terminus requires concomitant conformational changes in the C terminus, which wraps around the N terminus from the outside, to give VAMP2 access. Here, we first determined that the Kv2.1 N terminus, although crucial, is not sufficient to convey functional interaction with VAMP2, and that, concomitant to its binding to the “docking loop” at the Kv2.1 N terminus, VAMP2 binds to the proximal part of the Kv2.1 C terminus, C1a. Next, using computational biology approaches (ab initio modeling, docking, and molecular dynamics simulations) supported by molecular biology, biochemical, electrophysiological, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer analyses, we mapped the interaction sites on both VAMP2 and Kv2.1 and found that this interaction is accompanied by rearrangements in the relative orientation of Kv2.1 cytoplasmic domains. We propose that VAMP2 modulates Kv2.1 inactivation by interfering with the interaction between the docking loop and C1a, a mechanism for gating regulation that may pertain also to other Kv channels