Should pharmacologists care about alternative splicing? IUPHAR Review 4

Pleiotropic pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP): Novel insights into the role of PACAP in eating and drug intake

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) was discovered thirty years ago, but its role in eating and drug use disorders has only recently begun to be investigated. The present review develops the hypothesis that, although PACAP normally functions to tightly regulate intake, inhibiting it through negative feedback, this relationship can become dysregulated with the development of dependence, such that PACAP instead acts through positive feedback to promote excessive intake. We propose that repeated exposure to palatable food and drugs of abuse can alter the downstream responses of specific populations of neurons to stimulation by PACAP, leading to the perpetuation of the addiction cycle. Thus, this review will first describe published literature on homeostatic food intake, which shows that PACAP suppresses food intake, while its levels are themselves increased by overfeeding. Next, it will present literature on palatable food, cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine, which overall demonstrates that PACAP in specific limbic brain regions can promote their seeking and intake and itself is stimulated by their intake. Then, it will present literature on affective behavior, which shows that chronic stress increases levels of PACAP, which then promotes anxiety and depression, factors that can trigger substance seeking. Finally, the review will address mechanisms through which chronic substance exposure may dysregulate the PACAP system, proposing that it alters expression of PACAP receptor splice variants. While many questions remain to be addressed, the current evidence suggests that PACAP could be a viable medication target for the treatment of binge eating and drug and alcohol use disorders.

Conformations of JNK3α splice variants analyzed by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry

c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family that regulate apoptosis, inflammation, cytokine production, and metabolism. MAPKs undergo various splicing within their kinase domains. Unlike other MAPKs, JNKs have alternative splicing at the C-terminus, resulting in long and short variants. Functional or conformational effects due to the elongated C-terminal tail in the long splice variants have not been investigated nor has the conformation of the C-terminal tail been analyzed. Here, we analyzed the conformation of the elongated C-terminal tail and investigated conformational differences between long and short splice variants of JNKs using JNK3α2 and JNK3α1 as models. We adopted hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to analyze the conformation. HDX-MS revealed that the C-terminal tail is mostly intrinsically disordered, and that the conformation of the kinase domain of JNK3α2 is more dynamic than that of JNK3α1. The different conformation dynamics between long and short splice variants of JNK3α might affect the cellular functions of JNK3.

Molecular identification of the dominant-negative, splicing isoform of the two-pore domain K(+) channel K(2P)5.1 in lymphoid cells and enhancement of its expression by splicing inhibition

The two-pore domain background K(+) channel K2P5.1 is expected as a possible therapeutic target for autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and cancers because it plays an important role in maintaining the resting membrane potential and regulation of Ca(2+) signaling in T lymphocytes and cancer cells. However, the lack of selective K2P5.1 blockers has led to difficulties conducting experimental studies on this K(+) channel. We identified a novel splicing isoform of K2P5.1, K2P5.1B from the mammalian spleen, which lacked the N-terminus of full-length K2P5.1A. A co-immunoprecipitation assay using mice spleen lysates revealed an interaction between K2P5.1A and K2P5.1B in the cytoplasmic C-terminal domain. In a heterologous HEK293 expression system, K2P5.1B inhibited the trafficking of K2P5.1A to the plasma membrane. The alkaline pHe-induced hyperpolarizing response was significantly suppressed in K2P5.1B-transfected human leukemia K562 cells. Enhancement in cell proliferation by the overexpression of K2P5.1A in K562 was significantly prevented by the transfection of K2P5.1B. The spliceosome inhibitor pladienolide B significantly enhanced the relative expression of K2P5.1B in K562, resulting in decreases in the activity of K2P5.1A. K2P5.1B suppresses the function of the K2P5.1 K(+) channel in a dominant-negative manner, suggesting that the mRNA splicing mechanisms underlying the transcriptional regulation of K2P5.1B may be a new therapeutic strategy for autoimmune and inflammatory disorders and cancers.