The phosphoinositide signalling system. I. Historical background. II. Effects of lithium on the accumulation of second messenger inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate in brain cortex slices

Characterization of Substance P processing in mouse spinal cord S9 fractions using high-resolution Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry

Tachykinins are a family of pronociceptive neuropeptides with a specific role in pain and inflammation. Several mechanisms regulate endogenous tachykinins and Substance P (SP) levels, including the differential expression of protachykinin mRNA and the controlled secretion of tachykinins from neurons. Proteolysis is suspected to regulate extracellular SP concentrations but few studies were conducted on the metabolism of proneuropeptides and neuropeptides. Here, we provide evidence that proteolysis controls SP levels in the spinal cord leading to the formation of active C-terminal fragments. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, specific tachykinins fragments were characterized and quantified. The metabolic stability of β-Tachykinin_58-71 and SP were very short resulting in half-life of 5.7 and 3.5min respectively. Several C-terminal fragments were identified, including SP_3-11, SP_5-11 and SP_8-11, which conserve affinity for the Neurokinin 1 receptor. Interestingly, the metabolic stability of C-terminal fragments was significantly superior. Two specific Prolyl endopeptidase inhibitors were used and showed a significant reduction in the rate of formation of SP_3-11 and SP_5-11 providing strong evidence that Prolyl endopeptidase is involved into N-terminal processing of SP in the spinal cord.

Targeted liquid chromatography quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry analysis of tachykinin related peptides reveals significant expression differences in a rat model of neuropathic pain

Animal models are widely used to perform basic scientific research in pain. The rodent chronic constriction injury (CCI) model is widely used to study neuropathic pain. Animals were tested prior and after CCI surgery using behavioral tests (von Frey filaments and Hargreaves test) to evaluate pain. The brain and the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord were collected from neuropathic and normal animals. Tachykinin related peptides were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry. Our results reveal that the β-tachykinin₅₈₋₇₁, SP and SP₃₋₁₁ up-regulation are closely related to pain behavior. The spinal β-tachykinin₅₈₋₇₁, SP and SP₃₋₁₁ concentrations were significantly up-regulated in neuropathic animals compared with normal animals (p<0.001; p<0.001 and p<0.05, respectively). In contrast, the spinal SP5₅₋₁₁ concentration in neuropathic animals revealed a significant down-regulation compared with normal animals (p<0.05). The brain β-tachykinin₅₈₋₇₁ and SP concentrations were significantly up-regulated (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). Interestingly, no significant concentration differences were observed in the spinal cord and brain for NKA, β-tachykinin₅₈₋₇₁, SP₁₋₇ and SP₆₋₁₁ (p>0.05). The β-tachykinin₅₈₋₇₁, SP and C-terminal SP metabolites could potentially serve as biomarkers in early drug discovery.

Bipolar disorder and mechanisms of action of mood stabilizers

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major medical and social burden, whose cause, pathophysiology and treatment are not agreed on. It is characterized by recurrent periods of mania and depression (Bipolar I) or of hypomania and depression (Bipolar II). Its inheritance is polygenic, with evidence of a neurotransmission imbalance and disease progression. Patients often take multiple agents concurrently, with incomplete therapeutic success, particularly with regard to depression. Suicide is common. Of the hypotheses regarding the action of mood stabilizers in BD, the "arachidonic acid (AA) cascade" hypothesis is presented in detail in this review. It is based on evidence that chronic administration of lithium, carbamazepine, sodium valproate, or lamotrigine to rats downregulated AA turnover in brain phospholipids, formation of prostaglandin E(2), and/or expression of AA cascade enzymes, including cytosolic phospholipase A(2), cyclooxygenase-2 and/or acyl-CoA synthetase. The changes were selective for AA, since brain docosahexaenoic or palmitic acid metabolism, when measured, was unaffected, and topiramate, ineffective in BD, did not modify the rat brain AA cascade. Downregulation of the cascade by the mood stabilizers corresponded to inhibition of AA neurotransmission via dopaminergic D(2)-like and glutamatergic NMDA receptors. Unlike the mood stabilizers, antidepressants that increase switching of bipolar depression to mania upregulated the rat brain AA cascade. These observations suggest that the brain AA cascade is a common target of mood stabilizers, and that bipolar symptoms, particularly mania, are associated with an upregulated cascade and excess AA signaling via D(2)-like and NMDA receptors. This review presents ways to test these suggestions.

Pharmacogenetics in model systems: defining a common mechanism of action for mood stabilisers

Defining the underlying causes of psychiatric disorders has provided an ongoing and intractable problem. The analysis of the genetic basis of manic depression, in particular, has been impeded by the absence of a suitable model system and by the lack of candidate causative genes. One recent approach to overcome these problems has involved identifying those genes which control the sensitivity to anti-manic drugs in a model organism. Characterisation of the role of these genes and their encoded proteins in this model has allowed the analysis of their mammalian homologues to elucidate the therapeutic role of these drugs and the possible aetiology of manic depression. This approach has been used successfully with the cellular slime mould, Dictyostelium discoideum. This article introduces the use of model systems for pharmacogenetics research. It describes the identification of prolyl oligopeptidase in D. discoideum as a modulator of inositol phosphate signalling, and the subsequent identification of a common mechanism of action of three anti-manic drugs in mammalian neurons. The use of pharmacogenetics in model systems will provide a powerful tool for the ongoing analysis of both the treatment and cause of psychiatric disorders.

Energy consumption by phospholipid metabolism in mammalian brain

Until recently, brain phospholipid metabolism was thought to consume only 2% of the ATP consumed by the mammalian brain as a whole. In this paper, however, we calculate that 1.4% of total brain ATP consumption is consumed for the de novo synthesis of ether phospholipids and that another 5% is allocated to the phosphatidylinositide cycle. When added to previous estimates that fatty acid recycling within brain phospholipids and maintenance of membrane lipid asymmetries of acidic phospholipids consume, respectively, 5% and 8% of net brain ATP consumption, it appears that phospholipid metabolism can consume up to 20% of net brain ATP consumption. This new estimate is consistent with recent evidence that phospholipids actively participate in brain signaling and membrane remodeling, among other processes.

Interactions between calcium release pathways: multiple messengers and multiple stores

The discovery of cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose (cADPR) and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) as Ca(2+) releasing messengers has provided additional insight into how complex Ca(2+) signalling patterns are generated. There is mounting evidence that these molecules along with the more established messenger, myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)), have a widespread messenger role in shaping Ca(2+) signals in many cell types. These molecules have distinct structures and act on specific Ca(2+) release mechanisms. Emerging principles are that cADPR enhances the Ca(2+) sensitivity of ryanodine receptors (RYRs) to produce prolonged Ca(2+) signals through Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release (CICR), while NAADP acts on a novel Ca(2+) release mechanism to produce a local trigger Ca(2+) signal which can be amplified by CICR by recruiting other Ca(2+) release mechanisms. Whilst IP(3) and cADPR mobilise Ca(2+) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), recent evidence from the sea urchin egg suggests that the major NAADP-sensitive Ca(2+) stores are reserve granules, acidic lysosomal-related organelles. In this review we summarise the role of multiple Ca(2+) mobilising messengers, Ca(2+) release channels and Ca(2+) stores, and the interplay between them, in the generation of specific Ca(2+) signals. Focusing upon cADPR and NAADP, we discuss how cellular stimuli may draw upon different combinations of these messengers to produce distinct Ca(2+) signalling signatures.

Cholinergic neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity concerning memory processing

The brain is able to change the synaptic strength in response to stimuli that leave a memory trace. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are forms of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity proposed to underlie memory. The induction of LTP appears mediated by glutamate acting on AMPA and then on NMDA receptors. Cholinergic muscarinic agonists facilitate learning and memory. Acetylcholine depolarizes pyramidal neurons, reduces inhibition, upregulates NMDA channels and activates the phosphoinositide cascade. Postsynaptic Ca2+ rises and stimulates Ca-dependent PK, promoting synaptic changes. Electroencephalographic desynchronization and hippocampal theta rhythm are related to learning and memory, are inducible by cholinergic agonists and elicited by hippocampal cholinergic terminals. Their loss results in memory deficits. Hence, cholinergic pathways may act synergically with glutamatergic transmission, regulating and leading to synaptic plasticity. The stimulation that induces plasticity in vivo has not been established. The patterns for LTP/LTD induction in vitro may be due to the loss of ascending cholinergic inputs. As a rat explores pyramidal cells fire bursts that could be relevant to plasticity.

Additive effects of glyburide and antidepressants in the forced swimming test: evidence for the involvement of potassium channel blockade

Evidence in the literature suggests that the modulatory effects of antidepressant drugs (ADS) on neuronal excitability, via the inhibition of K+ channels, may be the final common pathway of pharmacological action. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that combining the ATP-sensitive K+ channel blocker glyburide with a variety of ADS would produce an additive effect and decrease the immobility time of mice in the forced swimming test (FST). Glyburide (GLY, IP, 30 and 50 mg/kg) and subactive doses of ADS were administered 45 and 30 min, respectively, prior to behavioral testing. Results showed that when combined with GLY, ADS whose main pharmacological effect is one of 5-HT uptake blockade (imipramine, amitriptyline, citalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine, and fluvoxamine) were more effective in decreasing the amount of time mice were immobile, than when these drugs were administered alone. Some noradrenaline uptake inhibiting ADS (desipramine and viloxazine, but not maprotiline) were also significantly more effective in decreasing immobility time when combined with GLY than when administered alone. Pretreatment with GLY was found to have no effect on the dopamine uptake inhibitor bupropion, and out of the atypical ADS tested (trazodone, mianserine and iprindole), only coadministration with iprindole decreased the immobility time. Only the specific MAO-A inhibitor moclobemide was observed to have an antiimmobility effect when combined with GLY. Neither MAO-B specific (RO 16 6491) nor mixed MAO inhibitors (nialamide and pargyline) interacted with GLY to produce antiimmobility effects. These results corroborate and extend our previous report of the ADS enhancing effects of quinine in the same behavioral model, and suggest that the additive effects of quinine and GLY on ADS in FST are a result of K+ channel blockade.

Lithium stimulates glutamate "release" and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate accumulation via activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in monkey and mouse cerebral cortex slices

Beginning at therapeutic concentrations (1-1.5 mM), the anti-manic-depressive drug lithium stimulated the release of glutamate, a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, in monkey cerebral cortex slices in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, and this was associated with increased inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3] accumulation. (+/-)-3-(2-Carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphoric acid (CPP), dizocilpine (MK-801), ketamine, and Mg(2+)-antagonists to the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor/channel complex selectively inhibited lithium-stimulated Ins(1,4,5)P3 accumulation. Antagonists to cholinergic-muscarinic, alpha 1-adrenergic, 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (serotoninergic), and H1 histaminergic receptors had no effect. Antagonists to non-NMDA glutamate receptors had no effect on lithium-stimulated Ins(1,4,5)P3 accumulation. Possible reasons for this are discussed. Similar results were obtained in mouse cerebral cortex slices. Carbetapentane, which inhibits glutamate release, inhibited lithium-induced Ins(1,4,5)P3 accumulation in this model. It is concluded that the primary effect of lithium in the cerebral cortex slice model is stimulation of glutamate release, which, presumably via activation of the NMDA receptor, leads to Ca2+ entry. Ins(1,4,5)P3 accumulation increases due to the presumed increased influx of intracellular Ca2+, which activates phospholipase C. These effects may have relevance to the therapeutic action of lithium in the treatment of manic depression as well as its toxic effects, especially at lithium blood levels above 1.5 mM.