Journal of neuroscience research
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The transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) channel is well known as a sensor to environmental irritant compounds, cold, and endogenous proalgesic agents. TRPA1 is expressed on sensory neurons and is involved in pain modulation. Etodolac is a cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitor that belongs to the class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). ⋯ Interestingly, application of etodolac at drug plasma levels in clinical usage did not induce significant TRPA1 currents but reduced the subsequent AITC-induced currents to 25% in HEK293 cells expressing TRPA1. Moreover, no modulatory effect of etodolac on TRPA1 was detected in the cysteine mutant cells. These data indicate a novel mechanism of the anti-inflammatory and analgesic clinical effects of etodolac, which may be involved with its direct activation and the subsequent desensitization of TRPA1 through the covalent modification of cysteine residues.
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Striatal-enriched phosphatase 61 (STEP61 ) plays an essential role in synaptic plasticity and has recently been implicated in neurodegenerative disease. Here we characterized a possible role of STEP61 in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology using a mouse model of AD (Tg-APPswe/PSEN1dE9, APP/PS1 mice) and an in vitro model of AD [cortical neurons treated with amyloid β (Aβ)1-42 peptides]. Our data indicate age-related elevation of STEP61 levels and the proportion of dephosphorylated STEP61 (active STEP61 ) in wild-type mice, which was enhanced in APP/PS1 mice. ⋯ Collectively, these findings indicate two alternate pathological pathways effecting STEP61 regulation in AD. First, Aβ regulating STEP61 activity is mediated by Aβ binding to α7 nAChRs. Second, STEP61 negatively regulates Aβ-mediated ERK/CREB pathway, an important signaling cascade involved in memory formation.
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The fast inhibitory synaptic transmission mediated by the γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor (GABAA R) within spinal dorsal horn exerts a gating control over the synaptic conveyance of nociceptive information from the periphery to higher brain regions. Although a large body of evidence has demonstrated that the impairment of GABAergic inhibition alone is sufficient to elicit pain hypersensitivity in intact animals, the underlying mechanisms remain to be characterized. The present study shows that Ca(2+) /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is an important signaling protein downstream of reduced GABAergic inhibition. ⋯ Immunoblotting analysis revealed that the phosphorylation levels of NMDA receptor NR2B subunit at Ser1303 and of AMPA-subtype glutamate receptor GluR1 subunit at Ser831, two important CaMKII phosphorylation sites, were substantially enhanced after bicuculline application. Behavioral tests illustrated that intrathecal administration of the CaMKII inhibitor KN-93, NMDA receptor antagonist D-APV, or AMPA receptor antagonist GYKI 52466 effectively ameliorated the mechanical allodynia evoked by bicuculline. These data thus indicate that CaMKII signaling is critical for the reduced inhibition to evoke spinal sensitization.
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Among noninvasive functional brain imaging techniques, (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) has a comparative advantage in detecting active brain regions in freely locomoting animals. We developed an [(18) F]FDG-PET protocol that visualizes active brain regions that respond preferentially to citrate-induced multiple behaviors in freely locomoting rats. In addition, c-Fos immunohistochemistry, an activity-dependent mapping, was performed to examine whether the areas detected by PET correspond to regions with c-Fos-immunopositive neurons. ⋯ In addition, the ventrolateral striatum and the cingulate and entorhinal cortices, which have received less attention in the field of gustatory studies, also showed an increase in FDG signals. As expected, c-Fos-immunopositive cells were also found in these regions, suggesting that increased FDG signals induced by intraoral citrate injection are likely to reflect neural activity in these regions. Our [(18) F]FDG-PET protocol reveals the contributions of multiple brain regions responding to aversive taste in freely locomoting rats, and this approach may aid in the identification of unknown neural networks especially relating to the limbic information processing.
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Hydrogen sulfide (H2 S), a toxic volcanic gas, functions as a gaseous physiological and pathophysiological molecule. Recently we have shown that H2 S elicits acute pain through the activation of transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), which is expressed mainly in primary nociceptive neurons. We also demonstrated enhancement of H2 S-induced TRPA1 activation and pain under inflammatory acidic conditions, but the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. ⋯ H2 S failed to increase the intracellular ROS level and only slightly decreased pHi. These results suggest that H2 S directly activates TRPA1 and that its increment of diffusion into cells may be involved in the potentiation of TRPA1 activation under external acidic conditions. Thus, our study supports the pathophysiological functions of H2 S in inflammatory pain.