Simultaneous assessment of rodent behavior and neurochemistry using a miniature positron emission tomograph

Positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging and behavioral assays in rodents are widely used in neuroscience. PET gives insights into the molecular processes of neuronal communication, and behavioral methods analyze the actions that are associated with such processes. These methods have not been directly integrated, because PET studies in animals have until now required general anesthesia to immobilize the subject, which precludes behavioral studies. We present a method for imaging awake, behaving rats with PET that allows the simultaneous study of behavior. Key components include the 'rat conscious animal PET' or RatCAP, a miniature portable PET scanner that is mounted on the rat's head, a mobility system that allows considerable freedom of movement, radiotracer administration techniques and methods for quantifying behavior and correlating the two data sets. The simultaneity of the PET and behavioral data provides a multidimensional tool for studying the functions of different brain regions and their molecular constituents. © 2011 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved

Unifying view of mechanical and functional hotspots across class A GPCRs

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest superfamily of signaling proteins. Their activation process is accompanied by conformational changes that have not yet been fully uncovered. Here, we carry out a novel comparative analysis of internal structural fluctuations across a variety of receptors from class A GPCRs, which currently has the richest structural coverage. We infer the local mechanical couplings underpinning the receptors' functional dynamics and finally identify those amino acids whose virtual deletion causes a significant softening of the mechanical network. The relevance of these amino acids is demonstrated by their overlap with those known to be crucial for GPCR function, based on static structural criteria. The differences with the latter set allow us to identify those sites whose functional role is more clearly detected by considering dynamical and mechanical properties. Of these sites with a genuine mechanical/dynamical character, the top ranking is amino acid 7x52, a previously unexplored, and experimentally verifiable key site for GPCR conformational response to ligand binding. \ua9 2017 Ponzoni et al

Chemogenomic Analysis of G-Protein Coupled Receptors and Their Ligands Deciphers Locks and Keys Governing Diverse Aspects of Signalling

Understanding the molecular mechanism of signalling in the important super-family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) is causally related to questions of how and where these receptors can be activated or inhibited. In this context, it is of great interest to unravel the common molecular features of GPCRs as well as those related to an active or inactive state or to subtype specific G-protein coupling. In our underlying chemogenomics study, we analyse for the first time the statistical link between the properties of G-protein-coupled receptors and GPCR ligands. The technique of mutual information (MI) is able to reveal statistical inter-dependence between variations in amino acid residues on the one hand and variations in ligand molecular descriptors on the other. Although this MI analysis uses novel information that differs from the results of known site-directed mutagenesis studies or published GPCR crystal structures, the method is capable of identifying the well-known common ligand binding region of GPCRs between the upper part of the seven transmembrane helices and the second extracellular loop. The analysis shows amino acid positions that are sensitive to either stimulating (agonistic) or inhibitory (antagonistic) ligand effects or both. It appears that amino acid positions for antagonistic and agonistic effects are both concentrated around the extracellular region, but selective agonistic effects are cumulated between transmembrane helices (TMHs) 2, 3, and ECL2, while selective residues for antagonistic effects are located at the top of helices 5 and 6. Above all, the MI analysis provides detailed indications about amino acids located in the transmembrane region of these receptors that determine G-protein signalling pathway preferences

Development of robotic plasma radiochemical assays for positron emission tomography

A commercial laboratory robot system (Zymate PyTechnology II Laboratory Automation System; Zymark Corporation, Hopkinton, MA) was interfaced to standard and custom laboratory equipment and programmed to perform rapid radiochemical analyses for quantitative PET studies. A Zymark XP robot arm was used to carry out the determination of unchanged (parent) radiotracer in plasma using only solid phase extraction methods. Robotic throughput for the assay of parent radiotracer in plasma is 4--6 samples/hour depending on the radiotracer. Robotic assays of parent compound in plasma were validated for the radiotracers [{sup 11}C]Benztropine, [{sup 11}C]cocaine, [{sup 11}C]clorgyline, [{sup 11}C]deprenyl, [{sup 11}C]methadone, [{sup 11}C]methylphenidate, [{sup 11}C]raclorpride, and [{sup 11}C]SR46349B. A simple robot-assisted methods development strategy has been implemented to facilitate the automation of plasma assays of new radiotracers

Simulation of Proton Therapy Treatment Verification via PET imaging of Induced Positron-Emitters

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Comparison of the Time-resolved Absorption and Phosphorescence from the Tryptophan Triplet State in Proteins in Solution

Measurement of the room temperature Trp triplet state lifetime in proteins by time-resolved phosphorescence can provide valuable information on the structure and dynamics of proteins in solution. Our time-resolved absorption measurements on the long-lived states resulting from electronic excitation of the chromophore demonstrate the presence of more complex behavior than revealed by time-resolved phosphorescence. To provide additional insight into this behavior, a comparative study of time-resolved transient absorption and time-resolved phosphorescence of proteins in solution was carried out. The results show that the time evolution of the long-lived states observed through transient absorption often differs considerably from that observed in time-resolved phosphorescence. In some proteins, the presence of competing reactions complicates the interpretation of the transient absorption measurements (which may affect the phosphorescence yield). A more complete characterization of these processes will likely prove useful in the study of protein structure and dynamics in solution.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71681/1/j.1751-1097.1998.tb05216.x.pd