Disruption of nNOS-PSD95 protein-protein interaction inhibits acute thermal hyperalgesia and chronic mechanical allodynia in rodents

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Post-synaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) contains three PSD95/Dosophilia disc large/ZO-1 homology domains and links neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) with the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor. This report assesses the effects of disruption of the protein-protein interaction between nNOS and PSD95 on pain sensitivity in rodent models of hyperalgesia and neuropathic pain.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

We generated two molecules that interfered with the nNOS-PSD95 interaction: IC87201, a small molecule inhibitor; and tat-nNOS (residues 1-299), a cell permeable fusion protein containing the PSD95 binding domain of nNOS. We then characterized these inhibitors using in vitro and in vivo models of acute hyperalgesia and chronic allodynia, both of which are thought to require nNOS activation.

KEY RESULTS

IC87201 and tat-nNOS (1-299) inhibited the in vitro binding of nNOS with PSD95, without inhibiting nNOS catalytic activity. Both inhibitors also blocked NMDA-induced 3',5'-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) production in primary hippocampal cultures. Intrathecal administration of either inhibitor potently reversed NMDA-induced thermal hyperalgesia in mice. At anti-hyperalgesic doses, there was no effect on acute pain thresholds or motor coordination. Intrathecal administration of IC87201 and tat-nNOS also reversed mechanical allodynia induced by chronic constriction of the sciatic nerve.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

nNOS-PSD95 interaction is important in maintaining hypersensitivity in acute and chronic pain. Disruption of the nNOS-PSD95 interaction provides a novel approach to obtain selective anti-hyperalgesic compounds.

Effect of pyrolysis temperature on the mutagenicity of tobacco smoke condensate

Tobacco smoke aerosols with fewer mutagens in the particulate fraction may present reduced risk to the smoker. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the temperature at which tobacco is pyrolyzed or combusted can affect the mutagenicity of the particulate fraction of the smoke aerosol. Tobacco smoke aerosol was generated under precisely controlled temperature conditions from 250 to 550 degrees C by heating compressed tobacco tablets in air. The tobacco aerosols generated had a cigarette smoke-like appearance and aroma. The tobacco smoke aerosol was passed through a Cambridge filter pad to collect the particulate fraction, termed the smoke condensate. Although condensates of tobacco smoke and whole cigarette mainstream smoke share many of the same chemical components, there are physical and chemical differences between the two complex mixtures. The condensates from smoke aerosols prepared at different temperatures were assayed in the Ames Salmonella microsome test with metabolic activation by rat liver S9 using tester strains TA98 and TA100. Tobacco smoke condensates were not detectably mutagenic in strain TA98 when the tobacco smoke aerosol was generated at temperatures below 400 degrees C. Above 400 degrees C, condensates were mutagenic in strain TA98. Similarly, condensates prepared from tobacco smoke aerosols generated at temperatures below 475 degrees C were not detectably mutagenic in strain TA100. In contrast, tobacco tablets heated to temperatures of 475 degrees C or greater generated smoke aerosol that was detectably mutagenic as measured in TA100. Therefore, heating and pyrolyzing tobacco at temperatures below those found in tobacco burning cigarettes reduces the mutagenicity of the smoke condensate. Highly mutagenic heterocyclic amines derived from the pyrolysis of tobacco leaf protein may be important contributors to the high temperature production of tobacco smoke Ames Salmonella mutagens. The relevance of these findings regarding cancer risk in humans is difficult to assess because of the lack of a direct correlation between mutagenicity in the Ames Salmonella test and carcinogenicity.

RJR-2403: a nicotinic agonist with CNS selectivity I. In vitro characterization

Increasing evidence for an involvement of nicotinic cholinergic systems in neurodegenerative disorders has stimulated the search for compounds with selectivity for CNS nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs). To this end, we have evaluated a number of nicotinic agonists for their ability to 1) bind to and up-regulate high-affinity nAChRs, 2) release [3H]-dopamine or induce 86Rb+ efflux in synaptosomes, 3) activate nAChRs in PC12 cells, 4) activate muscle-type nAChRs in human TE671/RD cells and 5) induce contraction of guinea pig ileum. Our results indicate that (E)-N-methyl-4-(3-pyridinyl)-3-butene-1-amine (RJR-2403) binds with high affinity to rat brain cortex (Ki = 26 +/- 3 nM). Functional studies show that RJR-2403 is comparable to nicotine in activating rat thalamic synaptosomes (EC50 = 732 +/- 155 nM and Emax = 91 +/- 8% for RJR-2403; EC50 = 591 +/- 120 nM and Emax = 100 +/- 25% for nicotine) but is one-tenth as potent in inducing dopamine release (EC50 = 938 +/- 172 nM and Emax = 82 +/- 5% for RJR-2403; EC50 = 100 +/- 25 nM and Emax = 100 +/- 13% for nicotine). At concentrations up to 1 mM, RJR-2403 does not significantly activate nAChRs in PC12 cells, muscle type nAChRs or muscarinic receptors. Dose-response curves for agonist-induced ileum contraction indicate that RJR-2403 is less than one-tenth as potent as nicotine with greatly reduced efficacy. RJR-2403 does not antagonize nicotine-stimulated muscle or ganglionic nAChR function (IC50 > 1 mM). Chronic exposure of M10 cells to RJR-2403 (10 microM) results in an up-regulation of high-affinity nAChRs phenomenologically similar to that seen with nicotine. These results suggest that RJR-2403 interacts with higher potency at CNS nAChR sub-types than at muscle, ganglionic or enteric nAChRs and has higher selectivity for CNS vs. muscle or ganglionic nAChRs than does nicotine.

Separation and quantitation of monovalent anionic and cationic species in mainstream cigarette smoke aerosols by high-performance ion chromatography

A simple method has been developed to separate and quantitate monovalent ionic species in mainstream cigarette smoke aerosols based on ion chromatography (IC) with conductivity detection. The method entails collecting the smoke aerosol particulate phase by electrostatic precipitation, dissolving the smoke condensate in methanol (MeOH), and separating the ionic species on either a cation- or anion-exchange column. The method has been applied to the analysis of smoke aerosols from two cigarettes, 1R4F Kentucky Reference cigarettes and a new cigarette that heats but does not burn tobacco. The predominant cations in smoke aerosols from 1R4F Kentucky Reference and the new cigarettes are sodium (Na+), ammonium (NH4+), and potassium (K+) ions; the predominant anions are acetate (AcO-) and formate (HCOO-). Trace amounts of chloride (Cl-), nitrite (NO2-), and nitrate (NO3-) ions are also present.

Separation and quantitation of phenolic compounds in mainstream cigarette smoke by capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in the selected-ion mode

Cigarette smoke condensate is a complex chemical matrix and determination of phenolic compounds in it frequently requires extensive and laborious sample preparation. By utilizing derivatization techniques and capillary column gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in the selected-ion mode, separation and quantitation of selected phenolic compounds found in mainstream cigarette smoke can be accomplished with minimal sample preparation. This method has been used to determine concentrations of phenol, o-cresol, m-cresol, p-cresol, catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone in cigarette smoke condensate from a number of commercially available cigarettes and a new cigarette which heats, but does not burn, tobacco. Unlike tobacco-burning cigarettes, levels of the phenolic compounds in the new cigarette smoke are at or below the detection limits for most of the compounds. This result is attributed to the unique design of the new cigarette.

Isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the determination of benzene, toluene, styrene and acrylonitrile in mainstream cigarette smoke

A cryogenic trapping method with isotope dilution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis has been developed for the determination of benzene, toluene, styrene and acrylonitrile in mainstream vapor phase cigarette smoke. The method is simple, direct, and quantitative. Vapor phase samples are collected cryogenically in a series of four traps following removal of the particulate phase with a Cambridge filter pad. For all four analytes, 75-85% of the total amounts recovered were found in the initial trap and less than 1% in the final trap. Assessment of instrumental precision by multiple injections of a sample gave relative standard deviations of less than 2%. Linear calibration for all analytes over the analysis range gave an r2 value greater than 0.99 with average relative standard deviations at the mean ranging from 1.4 to 8.2%. The cigarettes analyzed include a reference cigarette (Kentucky 1R4F), a commercial ultra-low "tar" mentholated cigarette, and two cigarettes that heat but do not burn tobacco. The values determined for the four analytes in the 1R4F samples are comparable to reported values of similar cigarettes. The cigarettes which heat rather than burn tobacco yield less of all four analytes compared to the other cigarettes in the study.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of a new series of antiarrhythmic agents: monobasic derivatives of disobutamide

Analogues of the dibasic antiarrhythmic agent disobutamide (2) were prepared and evaluated for antiarrhythmic efficacy, myocardial depression, and anticholinergic activity. The replacement of an isopropyl group in disobutamide by an acetyl group led to the monobasic analogue SC-40230, 7a, which demonstrated good antiarrhythmic activity accompanied by less myocardial depressant and anticholinergic activities. In addition, it did not induce clear cytoplasmic vacuoles as did the parent compound. SC-40230 was chosen from among other analogues as a candidate for clinical evaluation. Other compounds prepared and evaluated included indolizidinones and a secondary amine isomer of disobutamide.

Construction and characterization of extrachromosomal probes for mutagenesis by carcinogens: site-specific incorporation of O6-methylguanine into viral and plasmid genomes

Organic synthesis and recombinant DNA technology were used to situate a putatively premutagenic DNA lesion, O6-methylguanine (O6MeGua), at a specific location in the genomes of two bacterial viruses, M13mp8 and phi X174, and of the bacterial plasmid pBR322. In each genome the first guanine residue in the unique recognition sequence for restriction endonuclease Pst I (5'-C-T-G-C-A-G-3') was replaced with O6MeGua. This was accomplished by ligating a chemically synthesized tetranucleotide, 5'-pTpm6GpCpA-3', into a circular, genome-length heteroduplex in which the four internal nucleotides of the Pst I recognition site had been removed from one strand of the DNA double helix (ligation yield, approximately equal to 50%). It was established that the tetranucleotide was located specifically at the Pst I site and that the presence of O6MeGua rendered the ligation product resistant to cleavage by Pst I. Sensitivity of the genome to Pst I was restored upon treatment with purified Escherichia coli O6MeGua DNA-methyltransferase, a repair protein that removes the methyl group from DNA-bound O6MeGua. This result, in combination with other data, showed unambiguously that O6MeGua was incorporated with high yield into the Pst I recognition sequence.

Interaction of aflatoxin B2 with rat liver DNA and histones in vivo

The interaction of aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) in vivo with rat liver nuclear macromolecules was examined in an attempt to correlate this binding with biological potency. The incorporation of [3H]AFB2 residues into rat liver histones and DNA was determined 2, 24 and 48 h following administration of a single i.p. dose of 1 mg [3H]AFB2/kg body weight. At each time point, histone H1 and the total histone fraction contained 5--30-fold more [3H]AFB2 moieties than did DNA on a weight basis. Analytical reversed-phase h.p.l.c. of the acid hydrolysis products resulting from AFB2 binding to DNA revealed that 85% of the radioactivity co-chromatographed with the major aflatoxin B1-DNA adduct, 2,3-dihydro-2-(N7-guanyl)-3-hydroxyaflatoxin B1. These studies revealed an apparent correlation between AFB2 derived binding to DNA in vivo in rats and its potency as a toxin and carcinogen in this species.

Sterigmatocystin-DNA interactions: identification of a major adduct formed after metabolic activation in vitro

Sterigmatocystin (ST), a potent hepatocarcinogen, was covalently bound to calf thymus DNA by incubation in the presence of phenobarbital-induced rat liver microsomes. Acid hydrolysis of ST-modified DNA liberated a major guanine-containing adduct, present in DNA at an estimated level of 1 ST residue per 100-150 nucleotides. The adduct was isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography and subjected to structural analysis. Spectral and chemical data identified the adduct as 1,2-dihydro-2-(N(7)-guanyl)-1-hydroxysterigmatocystin, the guanine and hydroxyl moieties being in a trans configuration. The structure and stereochemistry of this adduct indicated that the exo-ST-1,2-oxide was the metabolite that reacted with DNA, and the quantitative yield of adduct indicated that this metabolite was a major product of the in vitro metabolism of ST.