CGRP Release and c-fos Expression within Trigeminal Nucleus Caudalis of the Rat following Glyceryltrinitrate Infusion

Neuropeptide release and the expression of c-fos like immunoreactivity (c-fos LI) within trigeminal nucleus caudalis neurons (TNC) are activation markers of the trigeminal nerve system. Glyceryltrinitrate (GTN) is believed to stimulate the trigeminal nerve system, thereby causing headache. We examined the effects of a 30 min NO-donor infusion on CGRP release in jugular vein blood and c-fos LI within TNC of the rat. GTN (2 and 50 μg/kg/min) or NONOate infusion (25 nmol/kg/min) did not cause any CGRP release during and shortly after infusion, whereas administration of capsaicin resulted in strongly increased CGRP levels. GTN infusion (2 μg/kg/min for 30 min) did not lead to enhanced c-fos LI after 2 h and 4 h, whereas capsaicin infusion caused a time- and dose-dependent expression of c-fos LI within laminae I and II of the TNC. Surprisingly, GTN attenuated capsaicin-induced c-fos expression by 64%. The nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor L-NAME (5 and 50 mg/kg) reduced capsaicin-induced c-fos LI dose dependently (reduction by 13% and 59%). We conclude that GTN may lead to headaches by mechanisms independent of CGRP release from trigeminal nerve fibres. GTN doses comparable to those used in humans did not activate or sensitize the trigeminal nerve system. Both GTN and L-NAME reduced capsaicin-induced c-fos LI. This is most likely due to a feedback inhibition of nitric oxide synthases, which indicates that the c-fos response to capsaicin within TNC is mediated by NO dependent mechanisms.

The GTPase-activating protein RN-tre controls focal adhesion turnover and cell migration

BACKGROUND

Integrin-mediated adhesion of cells to the extracellular matrix (ECM) relies on the dynamic formation of focal adhesions (FAs), which are biochemical and mechanosensitive platforms composed of a large variety of cytosolic and transmembrane proteins. During migration, there is a constant turnover of ECM contacts that initially form as nascent adhesions at the leading edge, mature into FAs as actomyosin tension builds up, and are then disassembled at the cell rear, thus allowing for cell detachment. Although the mechanisms of FA assembly have largely been defined, the molecular circuitry that regulates their disassembly still remains elusive.

RESULTS

Here, we show that RN-tre, a GTPase-activating protein (GAP) for Rabs including Rab5 and Rab43, is a novel regulator of FA dynamics and cell migration. RN-tre localizes to FAs and to a pool of Rab5-positive vesicles mainly associated with FAs undergoing rapid remodeling. We found that RN-tre inhibits endocytosis of β1, but not β3, integrins and delays the turnover of FAs, ultimately impairing β1-dependent, but not β3-dependent, chemotactic cell migration. All of these effects are mediated by its GAP activity and rely on Rab5.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings identify RN-tre as the Rab5-GAP that spatiotemporally controls FA remodeling during chemotactic cell migration.

Blood-brain barrier opening to large molecules does not imply blood-brain barrier opening to small ions

Neuroimaging of exogenous tracer extravasation has become the technique of choice in preclinical and clinical studies of blood-brain barrier permeability. Such tracers have a larger molecular weight than small ions, neurotransmitters and many drugs. Therefore, it is assumed that tracer extravasation indicates both permeability to these and the cancelation of the electrical polarization across the barrier. Electrophysiological anomalies following intracarotideal administration of dehydrocholate, a bile salt causing extravasation of the albumin-binding tracer Evans blue, seemingly supported this. By contrast, electron microscopic studies suggested a different hierarchical pattern of blood-brain barrier dysfunction, a milder degree of impairment being characterized by increased function of the transcellular pathway and a severe degree by opening of the tight junctions. This would imply that the extravasation of macromolecules can occur before disruption of the electrical barrier. However, functional evidence for this has been lacking. Here, we further investigated the electrophysiological anomalies following intracarotideal application of dehydrocholate in rats and found that it caused focal cerebral ischemia by middle cerebral artery thrombosis, the electrophysiological recordings being characteristic of long-lasting spreading depolarization. These observations indicated that intracarotideal dehydrocholate is not a suitable model to study the isolated dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier. Second, we studied the topical application of dehydrocholate to the brain and the application of mannitol into the carotid artery. In both models, we found significant extravasation of Evans blue but no changes in either extracellular potassium or the CO(2)-dependent intracortical direct current deflection. The latter is assumed to depend on the proton gradient across the barrier in rats which we confirmed in additional experiments in vivo and in vitro. The stability of the extracellular potassium concentration and the CO(2)-dependent direct current deflection are two functional tests which indicate the integrity of the electrical barrier. Hence, our results provide functional evidence that the blood-brain barrier opening to large molecules does not necessarily imply the opening to small ions consistent with the hierarchy of damage in the previous electron microscopic studies.

Eps8 regulates hair bundle length and functional maturation of mammalian auditory hair cells

Hair cells of the mammalian cochlea are specialized for the dynamic coding of sound stimuli. The transduction of sound waves into electrical signals depends upon mechanosensitive hair bundles that project from the cell's apical surface. Each stereocilium within a hair bundle is composed of uniformly polarized and tightly packed actin filaments. Several stereociliary proteins have been shown to be associated with hair bundle development and function and are known to cause deafness in mice and humans when mutated. The growth of the stereociliar actin core is dynamically regulated at the actin filament barbed ends in the stereociliary tip. We show that Eps8, a protein with actin binding, bundling, and barbed-end capping activities in other systems, is a novel component of the hair bundle. Eps8 is localized predominantly at the tip of the stereocilia and is essential for their normal elongation and function. Moreover, we have found that Eps8 knockout mice are profoundly deaf and that IHCs, but not OHCs, fail to mature into fully functional sensory receptors. We propose that Eps8 directly regulates stereocilia growth in hair cells and also plays a crucial role in the physiological maturation of mammalian cochlear IHCs. Together, our results indicate that Eps8 is critical in coordinating the development and functionality of mammalian auditory hair cells.

The gamut of blood flow responses coupled to spreading depolarization in rat and human brain: from hyperemia to prolonged ischemia

Cortical spreading depolarizations (SD) have been shown to occur frequently in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and are associated with delayed ischemic brain damage. In animal models the link between SD and cell damage is the microvascular spasm coupled to the passage of SDs, resulting in spreading ischemia. Here we compared the hemodynamic changes induced by SD between human and rat cerebral cortex. Specifically, we addressed the question, whether the full spectrum of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) responses to SD is found in the human brain in a similar fashion to animal models. SDs were identified by slow potential changes in electrocorticographic recordings and the rCBF response profiles and magnitudes were analyzed. We found a large variability of rCBF changes concomitant to SDs in rat and in human recordings. The spectrum ranged from normal hyperemic responses to prolonged cortical spreading ischemia with intermediate forms characterized by biphasic (hypoemic-hyperemic) responses. The bandwidths of rCBF responses were comparable and the relative response magnitudes of hypo- and hyperperfusion phases did not differ significantly between rats and humans. The correspondence of the rCBF response spectrum to SD between human and animal brain underscores the importance of animal models to learn more about the mechanisms underlying the early and delayed pathological sequelae of SAH.

Eps8 regulates axonal filopodia in hippocampal neurons in response to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)

A novel signaling cascade controlling actin polymerization in response to extracellular signals regulates filopodia formation and likely also neuronal synapse formation.

The regulation of filopodia plays a crucial role during neuronal development and synaptogenesis. Axonal filopodia, which are known to originate presynaptic specializations, are regulated in response to neurotrophic factors. The structural components of filopodia are actin filaments, whose dynamics and organization are controlled by ensembles of actin-binding proteins. How neurotrophic factors regulate these latter proteins remains, however, poorly defined. Here, using a combination of mouse genetic, biochemical, and cell biological assays, we show that genetic removal of Eps8, an actin-binding and regulatory protein enriched in the growth cones and developing processes of neurons, significantly augments the number and density of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP)-dependent axonal filopodia. The reintroduction of Eps8 wild type (WT), but not an Eps8 capping-defective mutant, into primary hippocampal neurons restored axonal filopodia to WT levels. We further show that the actin barbed-end capping activity of Eps8 is inhibited by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) treatment through MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of Eps8 residues S624 and T628. Additionally, an Eps8 mutant, impaired in the MAPK target sites (S624A/T628A), displays increased association to actin-rich structures, is resistant to BDNF-mediated release from microfilaments, and inhibits BDNF-induced filopodia. The opposite is observed for a phosphomimetic Eps8 (S624E/T628E) mutant. Thus, collectively, our data identify Eps8 as a critical capping protein in the regulation of axonal filopodia and delineate a molecular pathway by which BDNF, through MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of Eps8, stimulates axonal filopodia formation, a process with crucial impacts on neuronal development and synapse formation.

Neurons communicate with each other via specialized cell–cell junctions called synapses. The proper formation of synapses (“synaptogenesis”) is crucial to the development of the nervous system, but the molecular pathways that regulate this process are not fully understood. External cues, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), trigger synaptogenesis by promoting the formation of axonal filopodia, thin extensions projecting outward from a growing axon. Filopodia are formed by elongation of actin filaments, a process that is regulated by a complex set of actin-binding proteins. Here, we reveal a novel molecular circuit underlying BDNF-stimulated filopodia formation through the regulated inhibition of actin-capping factor activity. We show that the actin-capping protein Eps8 down-regulates axonal filopodia formation in neurons in the absence of neurotrophic factors. In contrast, in the presence of BDNF, the kinase MAPK becomes activated and phosphorylates Eps8, leading to inhibition of its actin-capping function and stimulation of filopodia formation. Our study, therefore, identifies actin-capping factor inhibition as a critical step in axonal filopodia formation and likely in new synapse formation.