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Zhu LJ, Li F, Zhu DY. nNOS and Neurological, Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A 20-Year Story. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:1439-1453. [PMID: 37074530 PMCID: PMC10113738 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-023-01060-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023] Open
Abstract
In the central nervous system, nitric oxide (NO), a free gas with multitudinous bioactivities, is mainly produced from the oxidation of L-arginine by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). In the past 20 years, the studies in our group and other laboratories have suggested a significant involvement of nNOS in a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, the interactions between the PDZ domain of nNOS and its adaptor proteins, including post-synaptic density 95, the carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand of nNOS, and the serotonin transporter, significantly influence the subcellular localization and functions of nNOS in the brain. The nNOS-mediated protein-protein interactions provide new attractive targets and guide the discovery of therapeutic drugs for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we summarize the work on the roles of nNOS and its association with multiple adaptor proteins on neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Juan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Diseases, Ministry of Education, Department of Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China
| | - Fei Li
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Dong-Ya Zhu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
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Zeng J, Su P, Li F, Yun Y, Liang H, Qu K, Fan Y, Zhang M, Song J, Yao Y, Shen H, Jiang N, Li R, Zhu D. An Injectable Hydrogel for Treatment of Chronic Neuropathic Pain. Macromol Biosci 2022; 22:e2100529. [PMID: 35362658 DOI: 10.1002/mabi.202100529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Current treatments for chronic neuropathic pain often fall short. A small-molecular compound ZL006 can suppress N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-mediated neuropathic pain behaviors without blocking essential NMDAR function and brings new hope for neuropathic pain therapy. The persistent nature of neuropathic pain mandates the long-term treatment. However, similar to existing analgesics, ZL006 has only a short duration of action. To unleash the therapeutic potential of ZL006, the stability of ZL006 in aqueous solutions is investigated, and a ZL006-incorporated P407-based thermo-responsive injectable hydrogel is developed. The computational analysis is performed to help achieve the desired ZL006-loaded hydrogel system and elucidate the gelation mechanism. The hydrogel matrix can be loaded with ZL006 in an aqueous phase at room temperature without costly specialized equipment and no organic solvent, where the sol is formed and injectable. On subcutaneous administration and subsequent rapid warming to physiological temperature, the sol is converted to a gel. The thermo-responsive hydrogel at body temperature enables the extended release of encapsulated ZL006, and therefore a single subcutaneous injection of ZL006-hydrogel produces a prolonged and stable analgesic action in mice with spinal nerve ligation. Our study provides a practical chronic neuropathic pain therapy and a new perspective on future applications of ZL006. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Zeng
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Ping Su
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Fei Li
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Yangfang Yun
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Haiying Liang
- Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Longyan, 364000, China
| | - Kerun Qu
- Department of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, 211198, China
| | - Yuanyuan Fan
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Mingwan Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310 012, China
| | - Jiamei Song
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Yuan Yao
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Hong Shen
- Neuro-psychiatric Institute, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Nan Jiang
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Rui Li
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Dongya Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Medicine, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
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Yang K, Wang Y, Li YW, Chen YG, Xing N, Lin HB, Zhou P, Yu XP. Progress in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Pharmacotherapy 2022; 148:112717. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.112717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Intrathecally administered pizotifen alleviates neuropathic and inflammatory pain in mice by enhancing GABAergic inhibition. Neurosci Lett 2022; 775:136545. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Squillace S, Salvemini D. Nitroxidative stress in pain and opioid-induced adverse effects: therapeutic opportunities. Pain 2022; 163:205-213. [PMID: 34145168 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Squillace
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Henry and Amelia Nasrallah Center for Neuroscience, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
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Wei W, Liu W, Du S, Govindarajalu G, Irungu A, Bekker A, Tao YX. A Compound Mitigates Cancer Pain and Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain by Dually Targeting nNOS-PSD-95 Interaction and GABA A Receptor. Neurotherapeutics 2021; 18:2436-2448. [PMID: 34796458 PMCID: PMC8804143 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-021-01158-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Metastatic bone pain and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathic pain are the most common clinical symptoms in cancer patients. The current clinical management of these two disorders is ineffective and/or produces severe side effects. The present study employed a dual-target compound named as ZL006-05 and examined the effect of systemic administration of ZL006-05 on RM-1-induced bone cancer pain and paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain. Intravenous injection of ZL006-05 dose-dependently alleviated RM-1-induced mechanical allodynia, heat hyperalgesia, cold hyperalgesia, and spontaneously ongoing nociceptive responses during both induction and maintenance periods, without analgesic tolerance, affecting basal/acute pain and locomotor function. Similar behavioral results were observed in paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain. This injection also decreased neuronal and astrocyte hyperactivities in the lumbar dorsal horn after RM-1 tibial inoculation or paclitaxel intraperitoneal injection. Mechanistically, intravenous injection of ZL006-05 potentiated the GABAA receptor agonist-evoked currents in the neurons of the dorsal horn and anterior cingulate cortex and also blocked the paclitaxel-induced increase in postsynaptic density-95-neuronal nitric oxide synthase interaction in dorsal horn. Our findings strongly suggest that ZL006-05 may be a new candidate for the management of cancer pain and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wei
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Weili Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Shibin Du
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Gokulapriya Govindarajalu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Antony Irungu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Alex Bekker
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA
| | - Yuan-Xiang Tao
- Department of Anesthesiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, 185 S. Orange Ave., MSB, F-661, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
- Department of Physiology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
- Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA.
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Li J, Zhang L, Xu C, Shen YY, Lin YH, Zhang Y, Wu HY, Chang L, Zhang YD, Chen R, Zhang ZP, Luo CX, Li F, Zhu DY. A pain killer without analgesic tolerance designed by co-targeting PSD-95-nNOS interaction and α2-containning GABA ARs. Am J Cancer Res 2021; 11:5970-5985. [PMID: 33897893 PMCID: PMC8058733 DOI: 10.7150/thno.58364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Overactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) in the spinal cord dorsal horn (SDH) in the setting of injury represents a key mechanism of neuropathic pain. However, directly blocking NMDAR or its downstream signaling, interaction between postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), causes analgesic tolerance, mainly due to GABAergic disinhibition. The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of preventing analgesic tolerance through co-targeting NMDAR downstream signaling and γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs). Methods: Mechanical/thermal hyperalgesia were quantified to assess analgesic effects. Miniature postsynaptic currents were tested by patch-clamp recording to evaluate synaptic transmission in the SDH. GABA-evoked currents were tested on HEK293 cells expressing different subtypes of recombinant GABAARs to assess the selectivity of (+)-borneol and ZL006-05. The expression of α2 and α3 subunits of GABAARs and BDNF, and nNOS-PSD-95 complex levels were analyzed by western blotting and coimmunoprecipitation respectively. Open field test, rotarod test and Morris water maze task were conducted to evaluate the side-effect of ZL006-05. Results: (+)-Borneol selectively potentiated α2- and α3-containing GABAARs and prevented the disinhibition of laminae I excitatory neurons in the SDH and analgesic tolerance caused by chronic use of ZL006, a nNOS-PSD-95 blocker. A dual-target compound ZL006-05 produced by linking ZL006 and (+)-borneol through an ester bond blocked nNOS-PSD-95 interaction and potentiated α2-containing GABAAR selectively. Chronic use of ZL006-05 did not produce analgesic tolerance and unwanted side effects. Conclusion: By targeting nNOS-PSD-95 interaction and α2-containing GABAAR simultaneously, chronic use of ZL006-05 can avoid analgesic tolerance and unwanted side effects. Therefore, we offer a novel candidate drug without analgesic tolerance for treating neuropathic pain.
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Gu Y, Zhu D. nNOS-mediated protein-protein interactions: promising targets for treating neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. J Biomed Res 2020; 35:1-10. [PMID: 33402546 PMCID: PMC7874267 DOI: 10.7555/jbr.34.20200108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders are one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and affect the health of billions of people. Nitric oxide (NO), a free gas with multitudinous bioactivities, is mainly produced from the oxidation of L-arginine by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the brain. Inhibiting nNOS benefits a variety of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including stroke, depression and anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, chronic pain, and drug addiction. Due to critical roles of nNOS in learning and memory and synaptic plasticity, direct inhibition of nNOS may cause severe side effects. Importantly, interactions of several proteins, including post-synaptic density 95 (PSD-95), carboxy-terminal PDZ ligand of nNOS (CAPON) and serotonin transporter (SERT), with the PSD/Disc-large/ZO-1 homologous (PDZ) domain of nNOS have been demonstrated to influence the subcellular distribution and activity of the enzyme in the brain. Therefore, it will be a preferable means to interfere with nNOS-mediated protein-protein interactions (PPIs), which do not lead to undesirable effects. Herein, we summarize the current literatures on nNOS-mediated PPIs involved in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, and the discovery of drugs targeting the PPIs, which is expected to provide potential targets for developing novel drugs and new strategy for the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Gu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, China
| | - Dongya Zhu
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, China.,Institution of Stem Cell and Neuroregeneration, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211166, China
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Sang CN, Schmidt WK. Aligning New Approaches to Accelerate the Development of Non-opioid Analgesic Therapies. Neurotherapeutics 2020; 17:765-769. [PMID: 33058022 PMCID: PMC7609808 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-020-00935-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Christine N Sang
- Translational Pain Research, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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