A novel nonpeptidic caspase-3/7 inhibitor, (S)-(+)-5-[1-(2-methoxymethylpyrrolidinyl)sulfonyl]isatin reduces myocardial ischemic injury.

The efficacy of a novel, nonpeptidic, caspase 3/7-selective inhibitor, (S)-(+)-5-[1-(2-methoxymethylpyrrolidinyl)sulfonyl]isatin (MMPSI) for reducing ischemic injury in isolated rabbit hearts or cardiomyocytes was evaluated. MMPSI (0.1-10 microM) evoked a concentration-dependent reduction in infarct size (up to 56% vs.

Estrogen can prevent or reverse obesity and diabetes in mice expressing human islet amyloid polypeptide.

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by loss of beta-cell mass and concomitant deposition of amyloid derived from islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). Previously we have shown that expression of human IAPP (huIAPP) in islets of transgenic mice results in either a rapid onset of hyperglycemia in mice homozygous for the huIAPP transgene on a lean background (FVB/N) or a gradual hyperglycemia in mice hemizygous for the huIAPP transgene on an obese background (A(vy)/A). In both strains, only the males routinely develop diabetes.

Cartilage damage after intraarticular exposure to collagenase 3.

Objective: To determine the in vivo effects of intraarticular MMP-13.

Methods: Human recombinant MMP-13 was injected intraarticularly (i.a.

Detection of collagenase-induced damage of collagen by 9A4, a monoclonal C-terminal neoepitope antibody.

To determine whether the collagen network is compromised by collagenase during acute inflammation, a monoclonal antibody (9A4) was developed with specificity for the C-terminal neoepitope sequence generated by collagenase-cleavage of type II collagen (Gly-Pro-Pro-Gly-Pro-Gln-Gly-COOH). 9A4 was shown to detect the collagen collagenase-cleavage neoepitope with a K = 1.7 x 10(-7) M (type II) and K = 2 x 10(-6) M (type I).

Early eosinophil infiltration into the optic nerve of mice with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is a murine model of preclinical autoimmune disease that has pathologic similarities to multiple sclerosis (MS). Although CD4+ T cells have been shown to play a crucial role in the development of disease, we recently demonstrated a link between the development of paralysis and eosinophil infiltration into the spinal cord. As such, CD4+ cells may initiate disease, but eosinophils may be the actual effector cells responsible for causing damage to myelin and causing paralysis.

Inhibition of leukotriene B4-receptor interaction suppresses eosinophil infiltration and disease pathology in a murine model of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a chemotactic and cell-activating factor present at inflammatory sites in a variety of autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS). In this study, we used a murine model of MS, experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), to assess the potential role of LTB4 on cell infiltration and paralysis. Injection of encephalogenic T cells into naive animals induced paralysis and weight loss that was completely inhibited by treatment with the selective LTB4 receptor antagonist CP-105,696 (ED50= 8.

Glycemic improvement in diabetic db/db mice by overexpression of the human insulin-regulatable glucose transporter (GLUT4).

The effects of increased GLUT4 (insulin-regulatable muscle/fat glucose transporter) expression on glucose homeostasis in a genetic model of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were determined by expressing a human GLUT4 transgene (hGLUT4) in diabetic C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice. A genomic hGLUT4 construct was microinjected directly into pronuclear murine embryos of db/+ matings to maintain the inbred background. Four lines of hGLUT4 transgenic mice were bred to homozygosity at the db locus and all showed a marked reduction of both fasted and fed plasma glucose levels (to approximately 50 and 360 mg/dl, respectively) compared with age-matched nontransgenic db/db mice (approximately 215 and 550 mg/dl, respectively), as well as an enhanced disposal of an oral glucose challenge.

Enhanced peripheral glucose utilization in transgenic mice expressing the human GLUT4 gene.

Human GLUT4 protein expression in muscle and adipose tissues of transgenic mice decreases plasma insulin and glucose levels and improves glucose tolerance compared with nontransgenic controls (Liu, M.-L., Gibbs, E.

Transgenic mice expressing the human GLUT4/muscle-fat facilitative glucose transporter protein exhibit efficient glycemic control.

To examine the physiological role of the GLUT4/muscle-fat specific facilitative glucose transporter in regulating glucose homeostasis, we have generated transgenic mice expressing high levels of this protein in an appropriate tissue-specific manner. Examination of two independent founder lines demonstrated that high-level expression of GLUT4 protein resulted in a marked reduction of fasting glucose levels (approximately 70 mg/dl) compared to wild-type mice (approximately 130 mg/dl). Surprisingly, 30 min following an oral glucose challenge the GLUT4 transgenic mice had only a slight elevation in plasma glucose levels (approximately 90 mg/dl), whereas wild-type mice displayed a typical 2- to 3-fold increase (approximately 250-300 mg/dl).

Ca2+ stores in Purkinje neurons: endoplasmic reticulum subcompartments demonstrated by the heterogeneous distribution of the InsP3 receptor, Ca(2+)-ATPase, and calsequestrin.

The nature of second messenger-responsive intracellular Ca2+ stores in neurons remains open for discussion. Here, we demonstrate the existence in Purkinje cells (PCs) of endoplastic reticulum (ER) subcompartments characterized by an uneven distribution of three proteins involved in Ca2+ storage and release: the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) receptor, Ca(2+)-ATPase, and calsequestrin. Ca(2+)-ATPase and the InsP3 receptor have a widespread, although not identical, distribution throughout the ER.

Ultrastructural localization of albumin transport across the cerebral microvasculature during experimental meningitis in the rat.

Injury to the blood brain barrier (BBB) is a fundamental sequela of bacterial meningitis, yet the precise mechanism facilitating exudation of albumin across the endothelium of the cerebral microvasculature remains conjectural. After intracisternal inoculation of Escherichia coli (0111:B4) lipopolysaccharide in rats to elicit a reversible meningitis and BBB injury, we utilized in situ tracer perfusion and immunolabeling procedures to identify by transmission electron microscopy the precise topography and microvascular exit pathway(s) of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Results revealed that during meningitis there was: (a) an inducible increase in immunodetectable monomeric BSA binding to the luminal membrane of all microvascular segments in the pia-arachnoid and superficial brain cortex; (b) similar uptake of both colloidal Au-BSA (as well as monomeric BSA) by plasmalemmal vesicles but no detectable transcytosis to the abluminal side; and (c) predominant exit of both perfused Au-BSA and immunodetectable monomeric BSA through open intercellular junctions of venules in the pia-arachnoid.

Endocytosis of simian virus 40 into the endoplasmic reticulum.

The endocytosis of SV-40 into CV-1 cells we studied using biochemical and ultrastructural techniques. The half-time of binding of [35S]methionine-radiolabeled SV-40 to CV-1 cells was 25 min. Most of the incoming virus particles remained undegraded for several hours.

Synaptophysin is targeted to similar microvesicles in CHO and PC12 cells.

Synaptophysin, an integral membrane protein of small synaptic vesicles, was expressed by transfection in fibroblastic CHO-K1 cells. The properties and localization of synaptophysin were compared between transfected CHO-K1 cells and native neuroendocrine PC12 cells. Both cell types similarly glycosylate synaptophysin and sort it into indistinguishable microvesicles.

Interaction of angiotensin II with functional smooth muscle cells in culture.

In this study we report on the characterization of a highly enriched population of cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) prepared from collagenase-treated medial layer explant outgrowths of rabbit aortae. Studies done on cells from first passage explant outgrowths showed that the cells retain the fine structural features of vascular SMC in situ, can be immunostained with anti-smooth muscle myosin IgG, and bind [125I]angiotensin II (ANG II) in a specific and saturable manner with an apparent Kd of 1 nM. Addition of ANG II (0.

Transcytosis of albumin in capillary endothelium.

We have used a variety of immunocytochemical procedures to localize albumin in transit through the capillary endothelium of the murine myocardium and thereby identify endothelial cell structures involved in albumin efflux. The most informative results were obtained with a protocol that included (a) removal of endogenous albumin by perfusion of the heart with PBS supplemented with 14 mM glucose, (b) perfusion of the heart vasculature with exogenous (bovine) albumin for various short time periods, (c) fixation of the vessels by formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde mixtures, (d) processing of fixed myocardium specimens through L. R.

Protein p38: an integral membrane protein specific for small vesicles of neurons and neuroendocrine cells.

An intrinsic membrane protein of brain synaptic vesicles with Mr 38,000 (p38, synaptophysin) has recently been partially characterized (Jahn, R., W. Schiebler, C.

Epithelial polyanion (podocalyxin) is found on the sides but not the soles of the foot processes of the glomerular epithelium.

The distribution of podocalyxin was determined by several different immunoelectron microscopic methods, which included so-called diffusion methods carried out on cryostat sections and surface methods done on ultrathin sections. When localization was carried out by three different indirect immunogold methods (using ultrathin frozen sections, ultrathin sections cut from tissues embedded in Lowicryl K4M or LR White, or 20- mu cryostat sections for incubations), gold particles were found exclusively on the urinary surfaces of glomerular epithelial cells and, at a lower concentration, on the luminal surface of glomerular endothelial cells. No gold was bound to the basal surfaces (soles) of the epithelial foot processes, the filtration slit diaphragms, the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), or those regions of the endothelial plasmalemma that face the GBM.

Interaction of angiotensin II with dispersed cells from the anterior pituitary of the male rat.

Membranes from 6-week-old male rat anterior pituitaries possess saturable binding sites for angiotensin II (AII; Kd = approximately 2 X 10(-9) M). The binding is specific since it can be competed for with [Sar1,Leu8]AII and is unaffected by the presence of insulin or cholecystokinin octapeptide at nanomolar concentrations. To find out which cell types specifically interact with AII, rat anterior pituitaries were enzymatically dispersed and exposed to [125]iodo-AII (2 nM) in the absence or presence of [Sar1,Leu8]AII (400 nM).

An enhanced incorporation of fatty acid into phosphatidyl choline that parallels histamine discharge in mast cells.

Purified rat peritoneal and pleural mast cells preincubated briefly with radioactively labeled fatty acid were treated with A23187, which bypasses primary receptors in stimulating exocytosis. An enhanced incorporation of fatty acid into phosphatidyl choline (PC) that occurred in parallel with histamine release at 24-25 degrees C was observed and was initially proportional to the total amount of histamine discharged. Enhanced PC labeling and histamine secretion were also proportional at temperatures ranging from 17-37 degrees C.

An electron microscope autoradiographic study of the carbohydrate recognition systems in rat liver. II. Intracellular fates of the 125I-ligands.

Electron microscope autoradiographic and biochemical methods were used to study the intracellular fates of several 125I-glycoproteins, known to be specifically bound and internalized by the different cell types in the liver. At the earliest times examined (1--2 min), 125I-glycoproteins (ASGP) were localized predominantly along the sinusoidal front of hepatocytes. Analysis of the distribution of autoradiographic grains indicated that: (a) approximately 40--60% of the 125I-ligand could be ascribed to the plasmalemma; (b) a significant fraction had already been internalized; yet (c) very little 125I-ligand was present in the lysosome-Golgi region.

An electron microscope autoradiographic study of the carbohydrate recognition systems in rat liver. I. Distribution of 125I-ligands among the liver cell types.

Electron microscope autoradiography was used to study the cellular localization of seven glycoproteins rapidly cleared from the circulating plasma of rats and taken up by the liver. 1 and 15 min after intravenous administration of the 125I-glycoproteins, livers were fixed in situ by perfusion and processed for autoradiography. Autoradiographic grains in the developed sections were found to represent the intact 125I-ligand.