Possible involvement of orphan receptors GPR88 and GPR124 in the development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rat

Hypertension (HBP) is a chronic disease characterized by increased blood pressure, which despite several treatments maintains a high morbi-mortality, which suggests that there are other mechanisms involved in this pathology, within which the orphan receptors could be candidates for the treatment of the HBP; these receptors are called orphan receptors because their ligand is unknown. These receptors have been suggested to participate in some pathologies because they are associated with various systems such as GPR88, which has been linked to the dopaminergic system, and GPR124 with angiogenesis, suggesting that these receptors could take part in HBP. Hence, the aim of this work was to study the expression of orphan receptors GPR88 and GPR124 in various tissues of normotensive and hypertensive rats. We used Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) of 6-8 and 10-12 weeks of age and we determined systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate, as well as mRNA of GPR88 and GPR124 receptors by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the aorta, heart, kidney, and brain. Our results showed that GPR88 and GPR124 were expressed in all analyzed tissues, but their expression is dependent on the age and development of HBP because their expression tends to be modified as HBP is established. Therefore, we conclude that GPR88 and GPR124 receptors may be involved in the development or maintenance of high blood pressure.

Entamoeba histolytica: transferrin binding proteins

Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites depend on iron for their growth; thus, they must use some host iron-containing molecules to fulfill this requirement. In this work we report that amoebas are able to utilize human holo-Tf as iron source and to recognize it through transferrin binding proteins. By use of an anti-human transferrin antiserum in an immunoblotting assay, two main polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 70 and 140 kDa were found in total extract of trophozoites cultured in vitro. However, when a monoclonal anti-human transferrin receptor antibody was used, only one band with molecular mass of 140 kDa was observed. Both the human transferrin and the monoclonal antibody recognized a protein on the amoebic surface, demonstrated by confocal microscopy. Furthermore, the complex transferrin-transferrin binding protein was internalized by an endocytic process and probably dissociated inside the cell. This mechanism could be one manner in which E. histolytica acquires iron from the human host transferrin.