Use of r(+)-n-propargyl-1-aminoindan to treat or prevent hearing loss

A method of treating or inhibiting hearing loss in a mammalian subject, comprising administering to the subject an amount of R(+)-N-propargyl-1-aminoindan or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof effective to treat or inhibit the hearing loss in the subject

Inheritable Effect of Unpredictable Maternal Separation on Behavioral Responses in Mice

The long-term impact of early stress on behavior and emotions is well documented in humans, and can be modeled in experimental animals. In mice, maternal separation during early postnatal development induces poor and disorganized maternal care, and results in behavioral deficits that persist through adulthood. Here, we examined the long-term effect of unpredictable maternal separation combined with maternal stress on behavior and its transmissibility. We report that unpredictable maternal separation from birth to postnatal day 14 in C57Bl/6J mice has mild behavioral effects in the animals when adult, but that its combination with maternal stress exacerbates this effect. Further, the behavioral deficits are transmitted to the following generation through females, an effect that is independent of maternal care and is not affected by cross-fostering. The combined manipulation does not alter basic components of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis but decreases the expression of the corticotropin releasing factor receptor 2 (CRFR2) in several nuclei of the amygdala and the hypothalamus in the brain of maternal-separated females. These results suggest a non-genomic mode of transmission of the impact of early stress in mice

Kinetochore-localized PP1-Sds22 couples chromosome segregation to polar relaxation

Cell division requires the precise coordination of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. This coordination is achieved by the recruitment of an actomyosin regulator, Ect2, to overlapping microtubules at the centre of the elongating anaphase spindle. Ect2 then signals to the overlying cortex to promote the assembly and constriction of an actomyosin ring between segregating chromosomes. Here, by studying division in proliferating Drosophila and human cells, we demonstrate the existence of a second, parallel signalling pathway, which triggers the relaxation of the polar cell cortex at mid anaphase. This is independent of furrow formation, centrosomes and microtubules and, instead, depends on PP1 phosphatase and its regulatory subunit Sds22 (refs 2, 3). As separating chromosomes move towards the polar cortex at mid anaphase, kinetochore-localized PP1-Sds22 helps to break cortical symmetry by inducing the dephosphorylation and inactivation of ezrin/radixin/moesin proteins at cell poles. This promotes local softening of the cortex, facilitating anaphase elongation and orderly cell division. In summary, this identifies a conserved kinetochore-based phosphatase signal and substrate, which function together to link anaphase chromosome movements to cortical polarization, thereby coupling chromosome segregation to cell division

Cell-type-specific modulation of innate immune signalling by vitamin D in human mononuclear phagocytes

Vitamin D is widely reported to inhibit innate immune signalling and dendritic cell (DC) maturation as a potential immunoregulatory mechanism. It is not known whether vitamin D has global or gene-specific effects on transcriptional responses downstream of innate immune stimulation, or whether vitamin D inhibition of innate immune signalling is common to different cells. We confirmed vitamin D inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling in monocyte-derived DC (MDDC) stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This was associated with global but modest attenuation of LPS-induced transcriptional changes at genome-wide level. Surprisingly, vitamin D did not inhibit innate immune NF-κB activation in monocyte-derived macrophages. Consistent with our findings in MDDC, ex vivo vitamin D treatment of primary peripheral blood myeloid DC also led to significant inhibition of LPS-inducible NF-κB activation. Unexpectedly, in the same samples, vitamin D enhanced activation of both NF-κB and MAPK signalling in primary peripheral blood monocytes. In a cross-sectional clinical cohort, we found no relationship between peripheral blood vitamin D levels and LPS-inducible activation of NF-κB and MAPK pathways in monocytes of myeloid DC. Remarkably, however, in vivo supplementation of people with vitamin D deficiency in this clinical cohort also enhanced LPS-inducible MAPK signalling in peripheral blood monocytes. Therefore, we report that vitamin D differentially modulates the molecular response to innate immune stimulation in monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells. These results are of importance in the design of studies on vitamin D supplementation in infectious and immunological diseases

A Two-Tier Golgi-Based Control of Organelle Size Underpins the Functional Plasticity of Endothelial Cells

Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs), endothelial-specific secretory granules that are central to primary hemostasis and inflammation, occur in dimensions ranging between 0.5 and 5 μm. How their size is determined and whether it has a functional relevance are at present unknown. Here, we provide evidence for a dual role of the Golgi apparatus in controlling the size of these secretory carriers. At the ministack level, cisternae constrain the size of nanostructures (“quanta”) of von Willebrand factor (vWF), the main WPB cargo. The ribbon architecture of the Golgi then allows copackaging of a variable number of vWF quanta within the continuous lumen of the trans-Golgi network, thereby generating organelles of different sizes. Reducing the WPB size abates endothelial cell hemostatic function by drastically diminishing platelet recruitment, but, strikingly, the inflammatory response (the endothelial capacity to engage leukocytes) is unaltered. Size can thus confer functional plasticity to an organelle by differentially affecting its activities

G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 moderates recruitment of THP-1 cells to the endothelium by limiting histamine-invoked Weibel-Palade body exocytosis.

G protein-coupled receptors (GP-CRs) are a major family of signaling molecules, central to the regulation of inflammatory responses. Their activation upon agonist binding is attenuated by GPCR kinases (GRKs), which desensitize the receptors through phosphorylation. G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2(GRK2) down-regulation in leukocytes has been closely linked to the progression of chronic inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Because leukocytes must interact with the endothelium to infiltrate inflamed tissues, we hypothesized that GRK2 down-regulation in endothelial cells would also be pro-inflammatory