Secretion of IL-1β triggered by dynasore in murine peritoneal macrophages.

The interaction of lipopolysaccharide-primed murine peritoneal macrophages with ivermectin, an antiparasite drug which potentiates P2X(4) receptors and dynasore which inhibits the GTPase activity of dynamin, a protein contributing to the internalization of plasma membrane proteins, was tested. Murine peritoneal macrophages express P2X(4) receptors which are mostly intracellular. In cells from P2X(7)-knockout mice (KO mice), 10 µm adenosine triphosphate (ATP) provoked a transient increase of the intracellular concentration of calcium. Ivermectin had no effect by itself but potentiated the increase of the intracellular concentration of calcium by ATP. The combination of ATP plus ivermectin also decreased the intracellular concentration of potassium and promoted the secretion of IL-1β. Concentrations of dynasore above 50 µm affected the integrity of mitochondria (MTT test) and of the plasma membrane (release of lactate dehydrogenase, LDH). At a 10 µm concentration, dynasore had no effect on the responses to ATP and on the internalization of P2X(4) receptors. By itself dynasore promoted the release of potassium and the secretion of IL-1β after activation of caspase-1. In conclusion, our results confirm that ivermectin potentiates the responses coupled to P2X(4) receptors probably by interaction with an allosteric site. We also show that this potentiation triggers the release of IL-1β by macrophages. As opposed to ivermectin, dynasore has no effect on P2X(4) receptors. This drug triggers a potassium efflux via a mechanism which does not involve purinergic receptors and generates, in consequence, the activation of caspase-1 and the secretion of IL-1β.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Studying purinoceptor cell-surface expression by protein biotinylation

Covalent labeling of protein with biotin (biotinylation) is a versatile technique which enables the capture and analysis of labeled protein with streptavidin-coated beads. It is particularly useful for detecting and quantifying the cell-surface expression of membrane proteins and widely used to analyze protein trafficking and the effect of mutations (particularly those which render the protein nonfunctional) on cell-surface expression. Here I describe the procedure for biotinylation and capture of cell-surface rat P2X2 receptors expressed in mammalian cells, and outline the steps in data analysis required to measure the proportion of cell-surface expressed protein of single point mutants relative to a wild-type control

TRPC1 forms the stretch-activated cation channel in vertebrate cells

The mechanosensitive cation channel (MscCa) transduces membrane stretch into cation (Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+) flux across the cell membrane, and is implicated in cell-volume regulation(1), cell locomotion(2), muscle dystrophy(3) and cardiac arrhythmias(4). However, the membrane protein(s) that form the MscCa in vertebrates remain unknown. Here, we use an identification strategy that is based on detergent solubilization of frog oocyte membrane proteins, followed by liposome reconstitution and evaluation by patch-clamp(5). The oocyte was chosen because it expresses the prototypical MscCa (greater than or equal to 10(7) MscCa/oocyte)(6) that is preserved in cytoskeleton-deficient membrane vesicles(7). We identified a membrane-protein fraction that reconstituted high MscCa activity and showed an abundance of a protein that had a relative molecular mass of 80,000 (M-r 80K). This protein was identified, by immunological techniques, as the canonical transient receptor potential channel 1 (TRPC1)(8-10). Heterologous expression of the human TRPC1 resulted in a > 1,000% increase in MscCa patch density, whereas injection of a TRPC1-specific antisense RNA abolished endogenous MscCa activity. Transfection of human TRPC1 into CHO-K1 cells also significantly increased MscCa expression. These observations indicate that TRPC1 is a component of the vertebrate MscCa, which is gated by tension developed in the lipid bilayer, as is the case in various prokaryotic mechanosensitive (Ms) channels(11)

Ivermectin-dependent release of IL-1beta in response to ATP by peritoneal macrophages from P2X7-KO mice

The response to ATP of peritoneal macrophages from wild-type (WT) and P2X7-invalidated (KO) mice was tested. Low concentrations (1–100 μM) of ATP transiently increased the intracellular concentration of calcium ([Ca2+]i) in cells from both mice. The inhibition of the polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C with U73122 inhibited this response especially in WT mice suggesting that the responses coupled to P2Y receptors were potentiated by the expression of P2X7 receptors. One millimolar ATP provoked a sustained increase in the [Ca2+]i only in WT mice. The response to 10 μM ATP was potentiated and prolonged by ivermectin in both mice. One millimolar ATP increased the influx of extracellular calcium, decreased the intracellular concentration of potassium ([K+]i) and stimulated the secretion of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) only in cells from WT mice. Ten micromolar ATP in combination with 3 μM ivermectin reproduced these responses both in WT and KO mice. The secretion of IL-1β was also increased by nigericin in WT mice and the secretory effect of a combination of ivermectin with ATP in KO mice was suppressed in a medium containing a high concentration of potassium. In WT mice, 150 μM BzATP stimulated the uptake of YOPRO-1. Incubation of macrophages from WT and KO mice with 10 μM ATP resulted in a small increase of YOPRO-1 uptake, which was potentiated by addition of 3 μM ivermectin. The uptake of this dye was unaffected by pannexin-1 blockers. In conclusion, prolonged stimulation of P2X4 receptors by a combination of low concentrations of ATP plus ivermectin produced a sustained activation of the non-selective cation channel coupled to this receptor. The ensuing variations of the [K+]i triggered the secretion of IL-1β. Pore formation was also triggered by activation of P2X4 receptors. Higher concentrations of ATP elicited similar responses after binding to P2X7 receptors. The expression of the P2X7 receptors was also coupled to a better response to P2Y receptors