EEG-β/γ spectral power elevation in rat: a translatable biomarker elicited by GABA(Aα2/3)-positive allosteric modulators at nonsedating anxiolytic doses.

Benzodiazepine drugs, through interaction with GABA(Aα1), GABA(Aα2,3), and GABA(Aα5) subunits, modulate cortical network oscillations, as reflected by a complex signature in the EEG power spectrum. Recent drug discovery efforts have developed GABA(Aα2,3)-subunit-selective partial modulators in an effort to dissociate the side effect liabilities from the efficacy imparted by benzodiazepines. Here, we evaluated rat EEG and behavioral end points during dosing of nine chemically distinct compounds that we confirmed statistically to selectively to enhance GABA(Aα2,3)-mediated vs.

Development and SAR of functionally selective allosteric modulators of GABAA receptors.

Positive modulators at the benzodiazepine site of α2- and α3-containing GABA(A) receptors are believed to be anxiolytic. Through oocyte voltage clamp studies, we have discovered two series of compounds that are positive modulators at α2-/α3-containing GABA(A) receptors and that show no functional activity at α1-containing GABA(A) receptors. We report studies to improve this functional selectivity and ultimately deliver clinical candidates.

Developing dual functional allosteric modulators of GABA(A) receptors.

Positive modulators at benzodiazepine sites of α2- and α3-containing GABA(A) receptors are believed to be anxiolytic. Negative allosteric modulators of α5-containing GABA(A) receptors enhance cognition. By oocyte two-electrode voltage clamp and subsequent structure-activity relationship studies, we discovered cinnoline and quinoline derivatives that were both positive modulators at α2-/α3-containing GABA(A) receptors and negative modulators at α5-containing GABA(A) receptors.

Reversal of ketamine-induced working memory impairments by the GABAAalpha2/3 agonist TPA023.

Background: Ketamine has been used to model cognitive and behavioral symptoms of schizophrenia. Current hypotheses state that inadequate glutamatergic transmission in schizophrenia leads to a deficiency in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inhibitory mechanisms and treatment with a GABA type A receptor subunits alpha2/alpha3 (GABA(Aalpha2/3)) modulator improved working memory performance in a preliminary study in patients. Here, we used ketamine to impair spatial working memory and disrupt behavior to examine the capacity for the GABA(Aalpha2/3) agonist 7-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-6-(2-ethyl-2H-1,2,4-triazol-3-ylmethoxy)-3-(2-fluorophenyl)-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-b]pyridazine (TPA023) to reverse these symptoms.

Parkin suppresses wild-type alpha-synuclein-induced toxicity in SHSY-5Y cells.

Current hypotheses concerning the mechanism of neuronal cell death in Parkinson's disease (PD) and related synucleopathies propose a functional interaction between parkin and alpha-synuclein (alphaS). Recently parkin was shown to suppress mutant alphaS-induced toxicity in primary neurons, providing a basis for an association between these proteins and neuronal loss [Neuron 36 (2000) 1007-1019]. We have asked if a similar association could be made between wild-type (wt) alphaS and parkin.

Localization and function of five glutamate transporters cloned from the salamander retina.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate retina. Native glutamate transporters have been well characterized in several retinal neurons, particularly from the salamander retina. We have cloned five distinct glutamate transporters from the salamander retina and examined their localization and functional properties: sEAAT1, sEEAAT2A, sEAAT2B, sEAAT5A and sEAAT5B.

Excitatory amino acid transporters of the salamander retina: identification, localization, and function.

The rapid re-uptake of extracellular glutamate mediated by a family of high-affinity glutamate transporter proteins is essential to continued glutamatergic signaling and neuronal viability, but the contributions of individual transporter subtypes toward cellular physiology are poorly understood. Because the physiology of glutamate transport in the salamander retina has been well described, we have examined the expression and function of glutamate transporter subtypes in this preparation. cDNAs encoding five distinct salamander excitatory amino acid transporter (sEAAT) subtypes were isolated, and their molecular properties and distributions of expression were compared.

Excitatory amino acid transporter 5, a retinal glutamate transporter coupled to a chloride conductance.

Although a glutamate-gated chloride conductance with the properties of a sodium-dependent glutamate transporter has been described in vertebrate retinal photoreceptors and bipolar cells, the molecular species underlying this conductance has not yet been identified. We now report the cloning and functional characterization of a human excitatory amino acid transporter, EAAT5, expressed primarily in retina. Although EAAT5 shares the structural homologies of the EAAT gene family, one novel feature of the EAAT5 sequence is a carboxy-terminal motif identified previously in N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and potassium channels and shown to confer interactions with a family of synaptic proteins that promote ion channel clustering.

Constitutive ion fluxes and substrate binding domains of human glutamate transporters.

Application of L-glutamate activates ionic currents in voltage-clamped Xenopus oocytes expressing cloned human excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs). However, even in the absence of L-glutamate, the membrane conductance of oocytes expressing EAAT1 was significantly increased relative to oocytes expressing EAAT2 or control oocytes. Whereas transport mediated by EAAT2 is blocked by the non-transported competitive glutamate analog kainate (Ki = 14 microM), EAAT1 is relatively insensitive (Ki > 3 mM).

An excitatory amino-acid transporter with properties of a ligand-gated chloride channel.

Excitatory amino-acid transporters (EAATs) in the central nervous system maintain extracellular glutamate concentrations below excitotoxic levels and may limit the activation of glutamate receptors. Here we report the cloning of a novel human aspartate/glutamate transporter, EAAT4, which is expressed predominantly in the cerebellum. The transport activity encoded by EAAT4 has high apparent affinity for L-aspartate and L-glutamate, and has a pharmacological profile consistent with previously described cerebellar transport activities.

Kinetics of a human glutamate transporter.

Currents mediated by a glutamate transporter cloned from human motor cortex were measured in Xenopus oocytes. In the absence of glutamate, voltage jumps induced Na(+)-dependent capacitive currents that were blocked by kainate, a competitive transport antagonist. The pre-steady-state currents can be described by an ordered binding model in which a voltage-dependent Na+ binding is followed by a voltage-independent kainate binding.

Differential modulation of human glutamate transporter subtypes by arachidonic acid.

Arachidonic acid has been proposed to be a messenger molecule released following synaptic activation of glutamate receptors and during ischemia. Here we demonstrate that micromolar levels of arachidonic acid inhibit glutamate uptake mediated by EAAT1, a human excitatory amino acid transporter widely expressed in brain and cerebellum, by reducing the maximal transport rate approximately 30%. In contrast, arachidonic acid increased transport mediated by EAAT2, a subtype abundantly expressed in forebrain and midbrain, by causing the apparent affinity for glutamate to increase more than 2-fold.

Functional comparisons of three glutamate transporter subtypes cloned from human motor cortex.

Reuptake plays an important role in regulating synaptic and extracellular concentrations of glutamate. Three glutamate transporters expressed in human motor cortex, termed EAAT1, EAAT2, and EAAT3 (for excitatory amino acid transporter), have been characterized by their molecular cloning and functional expression. Each EAAT subtype mRNA was found in all human brain regions analyzed.

The mouse and human excitatory amino acid transporter gene (EAAT1) maps to mouse chromosome 15 and a region of syntenic homology on human chromosome 5.

The gene for human excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT1) was localized to the distal region of human chromosome 5p13 by in situ hybridization of metaphase chromosome spreads. Interspecific back-cross analysis identified the mouse Eaat1 locus in a region of 5p13 homology on mouse chromosome 15. Markers that are linked with EAAT1 on both human and mouse chromosomes include the receptors for leukemia inhibitory factor, interleukin-7, and prolactin.

Cloning and expression of a human neutral amino acid transporter with structural similarity to the glutamate transporter gene family.

A cDNA was isolated from human brain that encodes an amino acid sequence 34-39% identical to previously published glutamate transporter sequences. Injection of RNA transcribed from this cDNA into Xenopus oocytes resulted in expression of a transport activity with the properties of the neutral amino acid uptake system ASC. Superfusion of alanine, serine, and cysteine evoked sodium-dependent inward currents in voltage-clamped oocytes expressing the transporter.

Neurotransmitter transporters: three distinct gene families.

Our understanding of the plasma membrane and vesicular transport systems that mediate neurotransmitter re-uptake has been greatly enhanced in the past year by the cloning and characterization of two additional gene families involved in this process, the excitatory amino acid transporters and the vesicular amine transporters. Additional members of the previously defined family of Na+/Cl(-)-dependent transporters continue to be identified.

Transactivation and synergistic properties of the mineralocorticoid receptor: relationship to the glucocorticoid receptor.

The human mineralocorticoid (hMR) and glucocorticoid (hGR) receptors mediate biological responses to adrenal corticosteroids and synthetic ligands. In transient transfection studies, corticosteroid-responsive promoters were used to monitor the hormone-dependent transcriptional regulatory properties of both receptors. The hMR mediates a lower stimulation of the transcription rate than the hGR and does not show cooperative activity on promoters containing multiple palindromic glucocorticoid-responsive elements.

Characterization of alpha 2-adrenergic receptor subtype-specific antibodies.

Subtypes of alpha 2-adrenergic receptors have been defined pharmacologically in a variety of mammalian tissues. The alpha 2A, alpha 2B, alpha 2C, and most recently alpha 2D subtypes have been characterized by their affinities for selective receptor antagonists and agonists. The genes that may encode the alpha 2A, alpha 2B, and alpha 2C subtypes have been identified in human and rat.

A beta-adrenergic receptor kinase-like enzyme is involved in olfactory signal termination.

We have previously shown that second-messenger-dependent kinases (cAMP-dependent kinase, protein kinase C) in the olfactory system are essential in terminating second-messenger signaling in response to odorants. We now document that subtype 2 of the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK) is also involved in this process. By using subtype-specific antibodies to beta ARK-1 and beta ARK-2, we show that beta ARK-2 is preferentially expressed in the olfactory epithelium in contrast to findings in most other tissues.

Beta-adrenergic receptor kinase-2 and beta-arrestin-2 as mediators of odorant-induced desensitization.

beta-Adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK) and beta-arrestin function in the homologous or agonist-activated desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors. The isoforms beta ARK-2 and beta-arrestin-2 are highly enriched in and localized to the dendritic knobs and cilia of the olfactory receptor neurons where the initial events of olfactory signal transduction occur. Odorants induce a rapid and transient elevation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP), which activates a nonspecific cation channel and produces membrane depolarization.

Electrogenic uptake of gamma-aminobutyric acid by a cloned transporter expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

GAT-1, a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter cloned from rat brain, was expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Voltage-clamp measurements showed concentration-dependent, inward currents in response to GABA (K0.5 4.

The G-protein-coupled receptor kinases beta ARK1 and beta ARK2 are widely distributed at synapses in rat brain.

The beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK) phosphorylates the agonist-occupied beta-adrenergic receptor to promote rapid receptor uncoupling from Gs, thereby attenuating adenylyl cyclase activity. Beta ARK-mediated receptor desensitization may reflect a general molecular mechanism operative on many G-protein-coupled receptor systems and, particularly, synaptic neurotransmitter receptors. Two distinct cDNAs encoding beta ARK isozymes were isolated from rat brain and sequenced.

Beta-arrestin2, a novel member of the arrestin/beta-arrestin gene family.

Homologous or agonist-specific desensitization of beta 2-adrenergic receptors (beta 2AR) is mediated by the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK) which specifically phosphorylates the agonist-occupied form of the receptor. However, the capacity of beta ARK-phosphorylated beta 2AR to stimulate Gs in a reconstituted system is only minimally impaired. Recently, a protein termed beta-arrestin, was cloned from a bovine brain cDNA library and found to quench phosphorylated beta 2AR-coupling to Gs.

Role of beta gamma subunits of G proteins in targeting the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase to membrane-bound receptors.

The rate and extent of the agonist-dependent phosphorylation of beta 2-adrenergic receptors and rhodopsin by beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK) are markedly enhanced on addition of G protein beta gamma subunits. With a model peptide substrate it was demonstrated that direct activation of the kinase could not account for this effect. G protein beta gamma subunits were shown to interact directly with the COOH-terminal region of beta ARK, and formation of this beta ARK-beta gamma complex resulted in receptor-facilitated membrane localization of the enzyme.

Cloning, expression, and chromosomal localization of beta-adrenergic receptor kinase 2. A new member of the receptor kinase family.

The beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK) specifically phosphorylates the agonist-occupied form of the beta-adrenergic and related G protein-coupled receptors. Structural features of this enzyme have been elucidated recently by the isolation of a cDNA that encodes bovine beta ARK. Utilizing a catalytic domain fragment of the beta ARK cDNA to screen a bovine brain cDNA library we have isolated a clone encoding a beta ARK-related enzyme which we have termed beta ARK2.