Complexity of transcriptional control in neuropeptide gene expression; enkephalin gene regulation during neurodevelopment

The gene for enkephalin is expressed only in specific subsets of neurons in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), whereas the large majority of neurons do not express the gene. This restricted expression is the result of a developmental process during which some of the multipotent neural progenitors express the gene for enkephalin and thereby become enkephalinergic neurons. The regulation of this process is not well understood. We have used a novel approach to identify DNA-protein interactions that regulate the developmental expression of the gene for enkephalin. We have identified four novel DNA regulatory sites and their binding proteins that are expressed in the developing mammalian CNS. These protein-DNA interactions regulate DNA and nuclear structures through DNA bending, DNA sliding, chromatin remodelling and far-distant DNA interactions. The concerted and co-ordinated interactions of these four DNA elements and their binding proteins contribute to the guiding of multipotent neural progenitors into enkephalinergic neurons. The provided examples suggest an important role for architectural transcriptional regulation during CNS development.

Sample and probe: a novel approach for identifying development-specific cis-elements of the enkephalin gene

We have developed a novel 'sample and probe' approach as a means to identifying specific DNA elements of the enkephalin gene that control differentiation of the enkephalinergic phenotype during neurodevelopment. The approach is a systematic spatiotemporal analysis of protein-DNA interactions; soluble nuclear proteins ('samples') prepared from microdissected regions of the developing brain are 'probed' with radiolabeled DNA fragments representing various regulatory regions of the enkephalin gene. The resulting spatiotemporal 'molecular maps', i.e. characteristic patterns of protein-DNA complexes showed DNA regions that harbor potential cis-elements regulating differentiation of the enkephalin phenotype at various stages of neurodevelopment. DNase I footprint analysis of such a DNA region identified a binding site (GACGGGAGATCGCTCGT) which is similar to the motif for a lymphoid-specific, developmentally regulated transcription factor, Ikaros, suggesting that the developing brain expresses Ikaros-like transcription factor(s) in a spatiotemporally defined manner. In summary, our approach offers a unique view into the chronology of coordinated protein-DNA interactions and will greatly facilitate identifying DNA elements and isolating development-specific transcription factors.

Distribution of VIP mRNA and two distinct VIP binding sites in the developing rat brain: relation to ontogenic events

The peptide neurotransmitter vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has neurotrophic properties and influences neurobehavioral development. To assess the role of VIP during neural ontogeny, the present work traces the development of VIP mRNA with in situ hybridization and VIP receptors with in vitro autoradiography in rat central nervous system (CNS) from embryonic day 14 (E14) to the adult. VIP mRNA was not evident in the CNS until birth. Postnatally, it was expressed in several distinct brain regions, but its distribution bore little relation to that of VIP receptors. VIP receptors were present and expressed changing patterns of distribution throughout CNS development. The changing patterns were the result of 1) the transient appearance of GTP-insensitive VIP receptors in several regions undergoing mitosis or glial fasciculation and 2) the transient appearance of GTP-sensitive VIP receptors homogeneously distributed throughout the CNS during the first 2 postnatal weeks, the period of the brain growth spurt. At E14-16 VIP binding was dense throughout the brainstem and spinal cord, but limited in the rest of the brain. From E19 to postnatal day 14 (P14), while VIP binding was higher in germinal zones, it tended to be uniformly dense throughout the remainder of the brain. By P21 the adult pattern began to emerge; VIP binding was unevenly distributed and was related to specific cytoarchitectural sites. Since the expression of VIP in the CNS is limited to postnatal development but VIP receptors are abundant prenatally, we suggest that extraembryonic VIP may act upon prenatal VIP receptors to regulate ontogenic events in the brain.

Selective up-regulation of neuropeptide synthesis by blocking the neuronal activity: galanin expression in septohippocampal neurons

Neuronal activity regulates expression of phenotype-specific genes, including galanin, which coexists with choline acetyltransferase in septal and basal forebrain neurons. Transections of the fornix and the diagonal band alter galanin expression in septohippocampal neurons attributed to a deficit in target-derived trophic factors. The present study demonstrates that tetrodotoxin-induced blockade of neuronal activity fully mimicked the effect of axotomy (transection of the septohippocampal fibers) in the neurons of the nucleus of the diagonal band, and caused a dramatic, although temporary, up-regulation of galanin immunoreactivity and galanin mRNA without significant alteration in choline acetyltransferase expression. This finding suggests that in the septohippocampal cholinergic system perturbance of electrical activity alone can lead to temporary up-regulation of galanin expression, previously attributed exclusively to a "lesion effect."

Distinct regulation of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) expression at mRNA and peptide levels in human neuroblastoma cells

Neuronal differentiation was induced in cultures of the human neuroblastoma cell line subclone SH-SY5Y by 14-day treatment with dibutyryl cAMP (dBcAMP), retinoic acid, and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). An approximate 4-fold increase in vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) mRNA concentration was observed after differentiation with retinoic acid, whereas no change in VIP mRNA concentration was observed after differentiation with dBcAMP or PMA. A short-term treatment of cells with PMA did however result in a 5-fold transient increase in VIP mRNA; prior differentiation with retinoic acid or dBcAMP diminished this effect. Observed increases in VIP mRNA were in all cases accompanied by increases in VIP immunoreactivity. Remarkably, however, long-term treatment of cells with dBcAMP, which caused no change in mRNA levels, resulted in a six-fold increase in VIP immunoreactivity. Acute (36-h) treatment with carbachol also caused an increase in VIP immunoreactivity (about 2-fold, and blocked by atropine) without an increase in VIP mRNA level. Thus, a quantitative change in gene transcription or mRNA stability appears not to be a prerequisite for increased VIP expression, indicating that regulation can occur at translational or post-translational steps.

Spontaneous electrical activity regulates vasoactive intestinal peptide expression in dissociated spinal cord cell cultures

Activity-dependent expression of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was investigated in spinal cord/dorsal root ganglia cultures derived from embryonic mice. Since all spinal cord neurons appear to exhibit spontaneous action potentials after one week in vitro, activity-dependent regulation of VIP-transcripts (mRNAVIP) could be studied with or without electrical blockade induced by tetrodotoxin (TTX). In 10-day-old cultures, a 50% decrease in mRNAVIP was observed after 3 days of treatment with TTX. The decrease in mRNAVIP was reversed upon removal of the TTX and was dependent on the age of the cultures: no decreases from control were observed in 5-day-old cultures and much smaller decrements were produced in one month old cultures treated with TTX. A variety of neuroactive substances were tested for effects on mRNAVIP in electrically active and electrically blocked cultures. Application of 8-bromo-cAMP (cAMP), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), substance P, muscimol, A23187 and VIP to electrically active cultures resulted in a 2- to 3-fold increase in mRNAVIP, while phorbol myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and 8-bromo-cGMP (cGMP) had no effect. In contrast, electrically inactive cultures exhibited a 3 to 4-fold increase in mRNAVIP after treatment with PMA, cAMP and VIP, while NMDA, substance P, muscimol, A23187 and cGMP produced no increases. In summary, the regulation of VIP gene expression in embryonic spinal cord neurons shows a temporal sensitivity to TTX-induced electrical blockade and may be mediated by multiple neurotransmitter inputs which converge on cAMP- and calcium-related processes in an activity-dependent manner.

Evidence that neuronally released vasoactive intestinal polypeptide inhibits the release of serotonin from enterochromaffin cells of the guinea pig small intestine

Isolated small intestinal segments of the guinea pig were arterially perfused and the release of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid into the portal venous effluent was determined by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Test substances were intra-arterially applied. The muscarine receptor agonist oxotremorine (1 mumol/l) inhibited the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine by about 50%. In the presence of the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin, oxotremorine enhanced the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine by 145%, indicating that the inhibitory effect of oxotremorine was mediated by the release of a neurotransmitter. Exogenous vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (1-100 pmol/l) inhibited the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine by about 50%, an effect antagonized by a specific antibody to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. This antibody to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, on its own, had no effect on the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine. However, it prevented the inhibitory effect of oxotremorine. In the presence of the antibody to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, unlike in the presence of tetrodotoxin, oxotremorine did not stimulate the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine. In conclusion, activation of neuronal muscarine receptors in the guinea pig small intestine enhances the release of several neurotransmitters which can inhibit the release of 5-hydroxytryptamine. The present experiments provide good evidence that vasoactive intestinal polypeptide is one of them.

Calcium-dependent regulation of the enkephalin phenotype by neuronal activity during early ontogeny

Genetic components of the neuronal phenotype are regulated by epigenetic factors--trophic molecules and neuronal activity--during neurodifferentiation. Developing neurons in dissociated cultures of embryonic mouse spinal cord show spontaneous electrical activity after one week in culture. We now report that the blockade of this spontaneous electrical activity for two days with tetrodotoxin (TTX) causes virtually complete down-regulation of preproenkephalin A gene transcripts in embryonic spinal cord cultures. This TTX-induced down-regulation is fully reversed upon reinitiation of neuronal activity (removal of TTX from cultures). This reversible, tetrodotoxin-induced down-regulation of enkephalin mRNA is confined to a restricted period of early neurodevelopment (days 7 to 21 in culture). Since depolarization triggers calcium entry through voltage-activated calcium channels, we have investigated the involvement of calcium in the mechanism of this activity- and age-dependent regulation of preproenkephalin A expression. The selective activation of the L-type of voltage-sensitive calcium channels by a dihydropyridine derivative [(+) 202-791] prevented this TTX-induced down-regulation without reducing methionine enkephalin secretion. This effect was observed only when the drug was applied to electrically active cultures, prior to the addition of TTX. Simultaneous application of (+) 202-791 and TTX, or pretreatment with TTX, failed to prevent TTX-induced down-regulation. Thus, activity-dependent phenotypic plasticity of met-enkephalinergic neurons in spinal cord is: 1) maximum at an early age of neuronal development (less than 10 days in culture) and becomes less apparent in old cultures (greater than 30 days); 2) reversible throughout; and 3) mediated by calcium entry through L-type channels.

Expression of a chimeric VIP gene is targeted to the intestine in transgenic mice

We showed previously that a gene construction that consisted of 5.2 kb of 5' flanking sequence, the first exon, and part of the first intron of the human gene encoding vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) fused to the reporter gene chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) fully mimicked the diverse behavior of the endogenous VIP gene when transfected into subclones of the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-SH (Waschek et al., 1988). To determine if the same sequences were sufficient to target expression of a reporter to VIP-producing tissues in the mouse, we initiated a pilot study in which we generated four transgenic mice or mouse lines that contained the VIPCAT fusion gene. Detectable levels of CAT were found in the ileum of either founder or offspring of each of the transgenic mouse lines. In all other tissues tested, CAT activity was either below the level of detection or the transgene was not expressed, with the exception of one mouse in which ectopic expression in the cerebellum was observed. The results indicate that the VIP sequences utilized were sufficient to direct expression of the transgene to the intestine, but not necessarily to other sites of VIP expression. To investigate what specific DNA sequences might confer VIP expression in the intestine and other sites, we analyzed further the VIP gene in SK-N-SH subclones using VIP/luciferase fusion gene constructions. A 0.6 kb DNA fragment located between 4.0 kb and 4.6 kb upstream from the VIP transcriptional start site was found to impart a high level of expression in one subclone and an increased degree of phorbol ester induction in another. These and other data indicate that multiple transcriptional elements control VIP expression in neuroblastoma cells and are candidates as mediators of VIP gene expression in the intact animal.

Characterization of gastrin-releasing peptide immunoreactivity in distinct storage particles in guinea pig myenteric and Torpedo electromotor neurones

Using high resolution centrifugal density-gradient separation of cytoplasmic extracts of guinea pig myenteric plexus and Torpedo electric tissue, we have succeeded in isolating fractions of storage particles rich in gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP). In extracts of myenteric plexus and gradients derived therefrom, the 10-amino acid GRP peptide (GRP-10) was the sole form present; this was bimodally distributed in the gradients, one peak copurifying with Golgi membranes and apparently consisting of immature storage particles, the other with other synaptophysin-rich neuropeptide-containing particles. In extracts of electric organ, a tissue rich in cholinergic electromotor nerve terminals, and gradients derived therefrom, GRP-like immunoreactivity behaved in gel permeation and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography like the 27-amino acid peptide (GRP-27). About half of the immunoreactivity sedimented in the centrifugal gradient to a region rich in particles containing vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like immunoreactivity; the remainder was recovered in a very dense region of the gradient containing larger membrane fragments, including synaptosomes. The electromotor nerves and cell bodies also contained GRP-27-like immunoreactivity in relatively high concentration as did the Torpedo gut. It is concluded that this GRP-like peptide is packaged in dense storage particles in the electromotor neurones.

Isolation and characterization of secretory granules storing a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like peptide in Torpedo cholinergic electromotor neurones

Previous immunocytochemical work showed that the cholinergic electromotor neurones of Torpedo marmorata contain a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like immunoreactivity (VIPLI) that is conveyed to the terminals by axonal transport from the cell bodies where it is presumably synthesized. In extension of this work, we have now succeeded in isolating the VIPLI storage granules from both the terminals and the axons of these neurones and characterizing them morphologically and biochemically. They were readily separated from synaptic vesicles but contained several components in common that had previously been regarded as specific for synaptic vesicles. Among these were a heparan sulphate type of proteoglycan, synaptophysin, and a Mg2+-dependent ATPase. The VIPLI concentration in lobe tissue and the amount of tissue available were both insufficient to permit the isolation of granules from the electromotor cell bodies by the same technique but it was possible to establish the presence of such granules by particle-exclusion chromatography, using the stable markers mentioned above. In contrast to the VIPLI-containing granules, axonal synaptic vesicles differed from their terminal counterparts in having a very low acetylcholine content relative to stable vesicle markers: they presumably fill up on reaching the terminal where they are exposed to higher concentrations of cytoplasmic acetylcholine.

Characterization, by size, density, osmotic fragility, and immunoaffinity, of acetylcholine- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-containing storage particles from myenteric neurones of the guinea-pig

When cytoplasmic extracts of guinea-pig myenteric neurones are submitted to centrifugal density gradient fractionation in a zonal rotor acetylcholine is bimodally distributed in the gradient, in a peak (I) rich in synaptic vesicles of the classic type and in a denser peak (II/VI) rich in densecored vesicles and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). The putative stable synaptic vesicle markers synaptophysin (p38), vesicular proteoglycan, and Mg2+-activated ATPase were also bimodally distributed, with a peak coincident with peak I and another, broader peak embracing peak II/VI, and neighbouring peaks of other neuropeptides resolved from peak II/VI by the density gradient separation procedure used. To establish whether the stable markers, acetylcholine and VIP in peak II/VI were present in one particle or several, attempts were made to separate them by particle-exclusion chromatography and differential osmotic fragility. These were unsuccessful, leading us to conclude that the storage particles in peak II/VI contain both neurotransmitters and all three putative stable synaptic vesicle markers. It is suggested that such particles are the counterparts, in cholinergic neurones of the myenteric plexus, of the dense-cored, enkephalin- and noradrenaline-containing vesicles of certain adrenergic neurones and, like the latter, may exist in a precursor-product relationship with the classic synaptic vesicles containing the small-molecular-mass transmitters and found in the same nerve terminals.

Calcium uptake and protein phosphorylation in myenteric neurons, like the release of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and acetylcholine, are frequency dependent

The mechanism of the electrical-to-chemical decoding involved in the preferential release of the transmitters acetylcholine and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) by electrical field stimulation at low (5 Hz) and high (50 Hz) frequencies was studied in superfused myenteric neurons. The stimulation-induced uptake of 45Ca2+ accompanying high frequency stimulation was markedly reduced by 10 microM nifedipine, a specific blocker of L-type voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels (VSCCs), as was also the preferential high-frequency release of VIP. By contrast, the 45Ca2+ uptake during low-frequency stimulation was somewhat lower per pulse, and neither this uptake nor the preferential release of acetylcholine occurring at this frequency was significantly reduced by nifedipine. These findings suggest that the release of acetylcholine and VIP involve different VSCCs. The pattern of in vitro protein thiophosphorylation in tissue extracts of differentially stimulated myenteric neurons involved polypeptides of 205, 173, 86, 73, 57, 54, 46, 32, 28, and 24 kDa and was also markedly stimulus and nifedipine dependent. This suggests that different phosphoproteins are involved during the frequency-dependent activation of the different Ca2+ channels and exocytotic mechanisms.

A peptide with N-terminal histidine and C-terminal isoleucine amide (PHI) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) are copackaged in myenteric neurones of the guinea pig ileum

When cytoplasmic extracts of the myenteric plexus of guinea pig ileum are submitted to centrifugal density gradient separation in a zonal rotor, conditions which separate storage particles containing substance P, somatostatin and VIP from each other, PHI copurifies with VIP. The two immunoreactivities cannot be separated by particle exclusion chromatography, which depends on size rather than density. It is concluded that the posttranslational cleavage of the propeptide or precursor to PHI and VIP occurs after packaging into these storage particles.

Cloning and characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CDC6 gene

The yeast cell division cycle gene CDC6 was isolated by complementation of a temperature-sensitive cdc6 mutant with a genomic library. The amino acid sequence of the 48 kDalton CDC6 gene product, as deduced from DNA sequence data, includes the three consensus peptide motifs involved in guanine nucleotide binding and GTPase activity, a target site for cAMP-dependent protein kinase and a carboxy-terminal domain related to metallothionein sequences. A plasmid-encoded CDC6-beta-galactosidase hybrid protein was located at the plasma membrane by indirect immunofluorescence. Disruption experiments indicate that the CDC6 gene product is essential for mitotic growth.

Cholinergic surface antigen Chol-1 is present in a subclass of VIP-containing rat cortical synaptosomes

The colocalization of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) with the cholinergic specific surface antigen Chol-1 was investigated in synaptosomes derived from the rat cerebral cortex. Immunoaffinity purification of cortical synaptosomes using antisera to Chol-1 resulted in the copurification of VIP and cholinergic nerve terminals. VIP was purified with a yield of 75% of that of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). These results suggest that approximately 53% of the cortical cholinergic terminals contain VIP, whereas 75% of the cortical VIP content is present in these cholinergic terminals. Both hypotonic lysis and depolarization of the nerve terminals resulted in the differential release of VIP and acetylcholine (ACh), indicating the different compartmentalization in the same nerve terminal. Complement-mediated lysis of cholinergic nerve terminals, using antisera to Chol-1, resulted in the release of 64% of the ChAT, 71% of ACh, and 27% of the VIP. The application of our method enables quantifying and mapping, with a fast, efficient, and specific technique, the coexisting peptides in cholinergic neurons of distinct brain areas.

Selective depletion of the acetylcholine and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide of the guinea-pig myenteric plexus by differential mobilization of distinct transmitter pools

The effect of electrical field stimulation on the release of acetylcholine (ACh) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) from superfused strips of myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle (MPLM) of guinea-pig ileum and on the transmitter content of the tissue was investigated at different frequencies and in the presence and absence of choline hemicholinium-3 and colchicine. Low frequency electrical field stimulation released ACh by more than 4 times the basal release; the simultaneously detected VIP secretion was increased only slightly above the resting level. During high frequency stimulation (50 Hz) the release of VIP was greatly increased (to 5 times the resting release) whereas the release of ACh increased to only 150% of the basal output. When choline was present, the ACh content of the tissue itself was not altered by electrical stimulation indicating a rate of synthesis sufficient to maintain release. It was reduced in a frequency-dependent manner in the absence of exogenous choline or in the presence of 10 microM hemicholinium-3 (an inhibitor of choline uptake) by up to 54% of the original content. A similar but even larger reduction took place in the amount of ACh released. Neither the secretion of VIP nor the tissue VIP content was altered by these treatments. Long-lasting (greater than 60 min) high-frequency (50 Hz) stimulation resulted in the depletion of the VIP pool (by 25%) while the ACh content remained unaltered.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The synaptic vesicle and the cytoskeleton

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Conversion of neuropeptide K to neurokinin A and vesicular colocalization of neurokinin A and substance P in neurons of the guinea pig small intestine

The highest concentration of neurokinin A-like immunoreactivity and substance P-like immunoreactivity in the guinea pig small intestine was associated with the myenteric plexus-containing longitudinal muscle layer. Chromatographic analysis of extracts of this tissue demonstrated the presence of neurokinin A and neuropeptide K but the probable absence of neurokinin B. A fraction of synaptic vesicles of density 1.133 +/- 0.003 g/ml was prepared from the myenteric plexus-containing tissue by density gradient centrifugation in a zonal rotor and was enriched 29 +/- 12-fold in the concentration of neurokinin A-like immunoreactivity and 43 +/- 13-fold in the concentration of substance P-like immunoreactivity. This fraction was separated from the fraction of vasoactive intestinal peptide-containing vesicles (density, 1.154 +/- 0.009 g/ml). Chromatographic analysis of lysates of the vesicles indicated the presence of neurokinin A but not neuropeptide K. It is postulated that beta-pre-protachykinin is processed to substance P, neurokinin A, and neuropeptide K in the cell bodies of myenteric plexus neurons but that conversion of neuropeptide K to neurokinin A takes place during packaging into storage vesicles for axonal transport. The data are consistent with the proposal that neurokinin A and substance P are stored in the same synaptic vesicle, but the possibility of cosedimentation of different vesicles of very similar density cannot be excluded.

A kinetic study of stimulus-induced vesicle recycling in electromotor nerve terminals using labile and stable vesicle markers

The kinetics of recovery, by recycling electromotor synaptic vesicles, of the biophysical parameters of the reserve population has been studied in perfused blocks of electric organ of Torpedo marmorata prestimulated in vivo, followed by density gradient separation of the extracted vesicles in a zonal rotor using labile (acetylcholine and ATP) and stable (proteoglycan) vesicle markers. Stimulation in vivo at 0.15 Hz for 3.3 h depleted tissue acetylcholine much less than stimulation at 1 Hz for 1 h but nevertheless generated a much larger pool of recycled vesicles that recovered more slowly. At the lower rate of stimulation, recovery of the biophysical characteristics of the reserve population by the recycled vesicles, identified by their content of newly synthesized transmitter, was essentially complete by 8 h. The stable proteoglycan marker was immunochemically assayed and was bimodally distributed in the vesicle-containing portion of the density gradient even in experiments with unstimulated or recovered tissue. The second peak corresponded with that of newly synthesized transmitter and was thus identified as containing the recycled vesicles. Its normalized acetylcholine/proteoglycan ratio was lower than that of the first peak, which is consistent with earlier findings that recycled vesicles, before recovery, are only partially loaded with transmitter. However, as expected, the proportion of total vesicular proteoglycan and acetylcholine associated with the recycled vesicle fraction was very much lower in preparations derived from unstimulated or recovered tissue than in those from recently stimulated tissue.

Proteolytic inactivation of substance P and neurokinin A in the longitudinal muscle layer of guinea pig small intestine

Membrane vesicles, showing a 21 +/- 2-fold enrichment in the activity of 5'-nucleotidase and a 11 +/- 4-fold enrichment in the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme relative to homogenate, were prepared from the myenteric plexus-containing longitudinal muscle layer of guinea pig ileum. Incubation of the vesicles with substance P and neurokinin A led to degradation of the peptides, and metabolites were isolated by reverse-phase HPLC and identified by amino acid composition. Cleavages of substance P between Glu6-Phe7, Phe7-Phe8, and Gly9-Leu10 and of neurokinin A between Gly8-Leu9 were observed and could be inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by phosphoramidon, an inhibitor of neutral endopeptidase 24.11. Formation of these metabolites was not completely inhibited by this agent, indicating that a phosphoramidon-insensitive form of endopeptidase 24.11 was present in the gut. Substance P was resistant to degradation by aminopeptidases, but neurokinin A was a substrate for bestatin-sensitive aminopeptidase(s), so that the neurokinin A (3-10) fragment represented the predominant metabolite in the chromatograms. The rate of formation of all the metabolites was not inhibited by enalapril and not enhanced by an increased Cl- concentration, indicating that angiotensin-converting enzyme was unimportant in the degradation process. Degradation of neurokinin A by the vesicles (Km 30 microM; Vmax 7.2 +/- 0.8 nmol min-1 mg of protein-1) was more rapid than degradation of substance P (Km 25 microM; Vmax 4.4 +/- 0.4 nmol min-1 mg of protein-1).

Presence of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-like immunoreactivity in the cholinergic electromotor system of Torpedo marmorata

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-like immunoreactivity was detected in the cholinergic electro-motor system of Torpedo marmorata using a combination of immunohistochemical assays, radioimmunoassay, and HPLC. The immunohistochemical assays revealed that the distribution of VIP-like immunoreactivity in the electric lobes, electromotor nerves, and electric organ is comparable to that of the stable cholinergic synaptic vesicle marker vesicle-specific proteoglycan. Ligation of the electromotor nerves caused a marked accumulation of VIP-like immunoreactivity in the lobes (180%) and the proximal portions of the electromotor nerves (130%) and a decrease in the electric organ (-50%), when measured by radioimmunoassay using synthetic VIP (porcine sequence) as the standard. VIP-like immunoreactivity in extracts of electric lobes electromotor nerves, and electric organ was eluted from a semipreparative reverse-phase HPLC column as a single peak with a retention time similar to that of porcine VIP. Rechromatography at higher resolution on an analytical column indicated diversity between the molecular forms of VIP-like immunoreactivity extracted from electric lobe and electric organ, suggesting the possibility of posttranslational processing.

Increased Ca-uptake of presynaptic terminals during long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices

A combined electrophysiological and neurochemical study was performed on the CA1 area of hippocampal slices in an attempt to identify changes in presynaptic nerve terminal function in long-term potentiation (LTP). After controlled induction of LTP in CA1, the activated region was subjected to subcellular fractionation followed by 45Ca2+ uptake determinations. Synaptosomes prepared from slices in which LTP has been induced showed a faster risetime and a higher level of saturation for K+-induced Ca-uptake than those derived from unstimulated and stimulated control slices. These findings point to a participation of presynaptic terminals in long-term potentiation.

An elasmobranchian somatostatin: primary structure and tissue distribution in Torpedo marmorata

Extracts of brain, stomach, pancreas, and intestine from Torpedo marmorata, an elasmobranchian cartilaginous fish, contained somatostatin-like immunoreactivity. Gel filtration studies demonstrated that material with the elution volume of somatostatin-14 was the only component detected in all tissue extracts. This result contrasts with the situation in mammals where prosomatostatin is processed to multiple molecular forms in a tissue-specific manner. Somatostatin from pancreas and gut was purified to homogeneity and amino acid sequence analysis indicated that T. marmorata somatostatin from both tissues has the same structure as somatostatin-14 isolated from the higher vertebrates. Further examination of other lower vertebrate species is required in order to test the hypothesis that the ability to regulate the production of multiple forms of a regulatory peptide from a single precursor molecule developed only relatively late in evolution.

Isolation of neuropeptide-containing vesicles from the guinea pig ileum

Three distinct vesicle fractions enriched 40-60 times in the neuropeptides substance P, somatostatin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were prepared from the myenteric plexus of guinea pig ileum by density gradient centrifugation in a small zonal rotor. Mean densities (in g X ml-1) and diameters (in nm) of the three classes of vesicles were: substance P, 1.123, 65; somatostatin, 1.138, 37; VIP, 1.148, 110; standard deviations were about 5%. These peaks were distinct from the peak of acetylcholine-containing vesicles of density 1.066 g X ml-1 and diameter 61 nm. When a relatively mild method of homogenization was used a second peak of acetylcholine appeared in the same region of the gradient as VIP and the VIP was larger. This may represent a class of vesicles containing both acetylcholine and VIP, though cosedimentation of two classes of vesicles of almost the same density and similar fragility, one containing VIP and the other acetylcholine, cannot be entirely excluded on present evidence.

Separation of recycling and reserve synaptic vesicles from cholinergic nerve terminals of the myenteric plexus of guinea pig ileum

Acetylcholine-rich synaptic vesicles were isolated from myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle strips derived from the guinea pig ileum by the method of Dowe, Kilbinger, and Whittaker [J. Neurochem. 35, 993-1003 (1980)] using either unstimulated preparations or preparations field-stimulated at 1 Hz for 10 min using pulses of 1 ms duration and 10 V . cm-1 intensity. The organ bath contained either tetradeuterated (d4) choline (50 microM) or [3H]acetate (2 muCi . ml-1); d4 acetylcholine was measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. As with Torpedo electromotor cholinergic vesicle preparations made under similar conditions the distribution of newly synthesized (d4 or [3H]) acetylcholine in the zonal gradient from stimulated preparations was not identical with that of endogenous (d0, [1H]) acetylcholine, but corresponded to a subpopulation of denser vesicles (equivalent to the VP2 fraction from Torpedo) that had preferentially taken up newly synthesized transmitter. The density difference between the reserve (VP1) and recycling (VP2) vesicles was less than that observed in Torpedo but this smaller difference can be accounted for theoretically by the difference in size between the vesicles of the two tissues. At rest, a lesser incorporation of labelled acetylcholine into the vesicle fraction was observed, and the peaks of endogenous and newly synthesized acetylcholine coincided. Stimulation in the absence of label followed by addition of label did not lead to incorporation of labelled acetylcholine, suggesting that the synthesis and storage of acetylcholine in this preparation and its recovery from stimulation is much more rapid than in Torpedo.