Comparative Embryonic Spatio-Temporal Expression Profile Map of the Xenopus P2X Receptor Family

The role of purinergic signaling in acupuncture-mediated relief of neuropathic and inflammatory pain

Acupuncture is a traditional medicinal practice in China that has been increasingly recognized in other countries in recent decades. Notably, several reports have demonstrated that acupuncture can effectively aid in pain management. However, the analgesic mechanisms through which acupuncture provides such benefits remain poorly understood. Purinergic signaling, which is mediated by purine nucleotides and purinergic receptors, has been proposed to play a central role in acupuncture analgesia. On the one hand, acupuncture affects the transmission of nociception by increasing adenosine triphosphate dephosphorylation and thereby decreasing downstream P2X3, P2X4, and P2X7 receptors signaling activity, regulating the levels of inflammatory factors, neurotrophic factors, and synapsin I. On the other hand, acupuncture exerts analgesic effects by promoting the production of adenosine, enhancing the expression of downstream adenosine A1 and A2A receptors, and regulating downstream inflammatory factors or synaptic plasticity. Together, this systematic overview of the field provides a sound, evidence-based foundation for future research focused on the application of acupuncture as a means of relieving pain.

Embryos assist morphogenesis of others through calcium and ATP signaling mechanisms in collective teratogen resistance

Information for organismal patterning can come from a variety of sources. We investigate the possibility that instructive influences for normal embryonic development are provided not only at the level of cells within the embryo, but also via interactions between embryos. To explore this, we challenge groups of embryos with disruptors of normal development while varying group size. Here, we show that Xenopus laevis embryos are much more sensitive to a diverse set of chemical and molecular-biological perturbations when allowed to develop alone or in small groups, than in large groups. Keeping per-embryo exposure constant, we find that increasing the number of exposed embryos in a cohort increases the rate of survival while incidence of defects decreases. This inter-embryo assistance effect is mediated by short-range diffusible signals and involves the P2 ATP receptor. Our data and computational model emphasize that morphogenesis is a collective phenomenon not only at the level of cells, but also of whole bodies, and that cohort size is a crucial variable in studies of ecotoxicology, teratogenesis, and developmental plasticity.

Purine Biosynthesis Pathways Are Required for Myogenesis in Xenopus laevis

Purines are required for fundamental biological processes and alterations in their metabolism lead to severe genetic diseases associated with developmental defects whose etiology remains unclear. Here, we studied the developmental requirements for purine metabolism using the amphibian Xenopus laevis as a vertebrate model. We provide the first functional characterization of purine pathway genes and show that these genes are mainly expressed in nervous and muscular embryonic tissues. Morphants were generated to decipher the functions of these genes, with a focus on the adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL), which is an enzyme required for both salvage and de novo purine pathways. adsl.L knockdown led to a severe reduction in the expression of the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs: Myod1, Myf5 and Myogenin), thus resulting in defects in somite formation and, at later stages, the development and/or migration of both craniofacial and hypaxial muscle progenitors. The reduced expressions of hprt1.L and ppat, which are two genes specific to the salvage and de novo pathways, respectively, resulted in similar alterations. In conclusion, our data show for the first time that de novo and recycling purine pathways are essential for myogenesis and highlight new mechanisms in the regulation of MRF gene expression.

P2 receptor-mediated signaling in the physiological and pathological brain: From development to aging and disease

The purinergic pathway mediates both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses, whereas the breakdown of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is in a critical equilibrium. Under physiological conditions, extracellular ATP is maintained at a nanomolar concentration. Whether released into the medium following tissue damage, inflammation, or hypoxia, ATP is considered a clear indicator of cell damage and a marker of pathological conditions. In this overview, we provide an update on the participation of P2 receptor-mediated purinergic signaling in normal and pathological brain development, with special emphasis on neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders. Since purinergic signaling is ubiquitous, it is not surprising that it plays a prominent role in developmental processes and pathological alterations. The main aim of this review is to conceptualize the time-dependent dynamic changes in the participation of different players in the purinome in shaping the normal and aberrant developmental patterns and diseases of the central nervous system over one's lifespan.

Synthesis, In-vitro evaluation and molecular docking studies of oxoindolin phenylhydrazine carboxamides as potent and selective inhibitors of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase)

Members of the ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases (NTPDases) constitute the major family of enzymes responsible for the maintenance of extracellular levels of nucleotides and nucleosides by catalyzing the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) and nucleoside diphosphates (NDP) to nucleoside monophosphate (NMP). Although, NTPDase inhibitors can act as potential drug candidates for the treatment of various diseases, there is lack of potent as well as selective inhibitors of NTPDases. The current study describes the synthesis of a number of carboxamide derivatives that were tested on recombinant human (h) NTPDases. The most promising inhibitors were 2h (h-NTPDase1, IC₅₀: 0.12 ± 0.03 µM), 2d (h-NTPDase2, IC₅₀: 0.15 ± 0.01 µM) and 2a (h-NTPDase3, IC₅₀: 0.30 ± 0.04 µM; h-NTPDase8, IC₅₀: 0.16 ± 0.02 µM). Four compounds (2e, 2f, 2g and 2h) were associated with the selective inhibition of h-NTPDase1 while 2b was identified as a selective h-NTPDase3 inhibitor. Considering the importance of NTPDase3 in the regulation of insulin release, the NTPDase3 inhibitors were further investigated to elucidate their role in the insulin release. The obtained data suggested that compound 2a was actively participating in regulating the insulin release without producing any effect on NTPDase3 mRNA. Moreover, the most potent inhibitors were docked within the active site of respective enzyme and the observed interactions were in compliance with in vitro results. Hence, these compounds can be used as pharmacological tool to further investigate the role of NTPDase3 coupled to insulin release.

Animal models of pain: Diversity and benefits

Chronic pain is a maladaptive neurological disease that remains a major health problem. A deepening of our knowledge on mechanisms that cause pain is a prerequisite to developing novel treatments. A large variety of animal models of pain has been developed that recapitulate the diverse symptoms of different pain pathologies. These models reproduce different pain phenotypes and remain necessary to examine the multidimensional aspects of pain and understand the cellular and molecular basis underlying pain conditions. In this review, we propose an overview of animal models, from simple organisms to rodents and non-human primates and the specific traits of pain pathologies they model. We present the main behavioral tests for assessing pain and investing the underpinning mechanisms of chronic pathological pain. The validity of animal models is analysed based on their ability to mimic human clinical diseases and to predict treatment outcomes. Refine characterization of pathological phenotypes also requires to consider pain globally using specific procedures dedicated to study emotional comorbidities of pain. We discuss the limitations of pain models when research findings fail to be translated from animal models to human clinics. But we also point to some recent successes in analgesic drug development that highlight strategies for improving the predictive validity of animal models of pain. Finally, we emphasize the importance of using assortments of preclinical pain models to identify pain subtype mechanisms, and to foster the development of better analgesics.

Guanosine-Based Nucleotides, the Sons of a Lesser God in the Purinergic Signal Scenario of Excitable Tissues

Purines are nitrogen compounds consisting mainly of a nitrogen base of adenine (ABP) or guanine (GBP) and their derivatives: nucleosides (nitrogen bases plus ribose) and nucleotides (nitrogen bases plus ribose and phosphate). These compounds are very common in nature, especially in a phosphorylated form. There is increasing evidence that purines are involved in the development of different organs such as the heart, skeletal muscle and brain. When brain development is complete, some purinergic mechanisms may be silenced, but may be reactivated in the adult brain/muscle, suggesting a role for purines in regeneration and self-repair. Thus, it is possible that guanosine-5′-triphosphate (GTP) also acts as regulator during the adult phase. However, regarding GBP, no specific receptor has been cloned for GTP or its metabolites, although specific binding sites with distinct GTP affinity characteristics have been found in both muscle and neural cell lines. Finally, even if the cross regulation mechanisms between the two different purines (ABP and GBP) are still largely unknown, it is now possible to hypothesize the existence of specific signal paths for guanosine-based nucleotides that are capable of modulating the intensity and duration of the intracellular signal, particularly in excitable tissues such as brain and muscle.

Developmental Expression of Ectonucleotidase and Purinergic Receptors Detection by Whole-Mount In Situ Hybridization in Xenopus Embryos

Xenopus embryos are one of the most used animal models in developmental biology and are well suited for apprehending functions of signaling pathways during embryogenesis. To do so, it is necessary to be able to detect expression pattern of the key genes of these signaling pathways. Here we describe the whole-mount in situ hybridization technique to investigate the expression pattern of ectonucleotidases and purinergic receptors during embryonic development.