In silico insights of L-glutamate: structural features in vacuum and in complex with its receptor

Cross-fostering alleviates depression-like behavior mediated by EAAT2 and SNARE complex in prenatal stress offspring rat

Previous studies have shown that prenatal stress (PS) can potentially contribute to depression-like behavior in offspring and that this effect may be moderated by cross-fostering. However, the underlying mechanism of this effect remains to be determined. This study aimed to determine the effect of cross-fostering on the expression of EAAT2 and the SNARE complex in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of PS offspring rats and to demonstrate functional effects on depression-like behavior. The impacts of cross-fostering were functionally assessed using the sucrose preference test (SPT), the forced swimming test (FST) and the elevated plus maze (EPM). Quantitative real-time PCR was used to determine changes in the expression of EAAT2 and SNAREs mRNA in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of offspring rats. PS offspring rats showed significantly decreased sucrose preference and prolonged immobility time, while cross-fostering effectively increased sucrose preference and shorten the time of immobility. The expression of EAAT2 mRNA in PS offspring rats was markedly reduced, whilst the core mRNA expression of the SNARE complex increased. Our results provide strong evidence demonstrating that cross-fostering can alleviate depression-like behavior and regulate the abnormal expression levels of EAAT2 mRNA and SNARE complex in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex of PS offspring rats. Our findings contribute to further understanding of the pathogenesis of PS-induced depression and may help to inform the future development of novel treatment approaches.

Excitatory Amino Acid Transporters (EAATs): Glutamate Transport and Beyond

Na⁺-dependent excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) are the major transport mechanisms for extracellular glutamate removal in the central nervous system (CNS). The primary function assigned to EAATs is the maintenance of low extracellular glutamate levels, thus allowing glutamate to be used as a signaling molecule in the brain and to avoid excitotoxicity. However, glutamate has other recognized functions. For instance, it is a key anaplerotic substrate for the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, as it can be converted to α-ketoglutarate by transaminases or glutamate dehydrogenase. Furthermore, glutamate is a precursor of the main antioxidant glutathione, which plays a pivotal role in preventing oxidative cell death. Therefore, glutamate signaling/use is at the crossroad of multiple metabolic pathways and accordingly, it can influence a plethora of cell functions, both in health and disease. Here, we provide an overview of the main functions of glutamate and its transport systems, analyzing its role as a neurotransmitter and at the same time, the possible metabolic fates it can undergo in the intracellular milieu. Specifically, the metabolic role of glutamate and the molecular machinery proposed to metabolically support its transport will be further analyzed.

Protein modeling, molecular network and molecular dynamics study of newly sequenced interleukin-18 (IL-18) gene in Mus musculus

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) belongs to the superfamily of IL-1 protein and exerts a pleiotropic pro-inflammatory effect on the body. Generally, this protein is significantly involved in immune defense during infection in cells, but sometimes its anomalous activities produce some inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. In the present study, the IL-18 gene was isolated from mice and was subsequently cloned and sequenced. Further, the network analysis was carried out to explore the functional role of IL-18 protein in animals. The 3D protein structure of the IL-18 protein was generated and docked with appropriate 3-([3-cholamidopropyl]dimethylammonio)-1-propanesulfonate (CPS) ligand. Later the complex structure of the protein was subjected to molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) for 50 ns to determine the effect of ligand on protein. The network analysis explored the correlation of IL-18 protein with others proteins and their involvement in the different significant pathway to defend the cell from various diseases. As confirmed by MDS, the CPS:IL-18 complex was found to be highly stable. Our results further indicated that CPS ligand has the potential to act as a drug molecule, in future, for counteracting IL-18 activity. To date, no structural details were available for animal IL-18. Hence, the finding of this study will be useful in broadening the horizon towards a better understanding of the functional and structural aspects of IL-18 in animals.