Astrocytes release glutamate upon activation of various GPCRs to exert important roles in synaptic functions. However, the molecular mechanism of release has been controversial. Here, we report two ...kinetically distinct modes of nonvesicular, channel-mediated glutamate release. The fast mode requires activation of Gαᵢ, dissociation of Gᵦᵧ, and subsequent opening of glutamate-permeable, two-pore domain potassium channel TREK-1 through direct interaction between Gᵦᵧ and N terminus of TREK-1. The slow mode is Ca²⁺ dependent and requires Gαq activation and opening of glutamate-permeable, Ca²⁺-activated anion channel Best1. Ultrastructural analyses demonstrate that TREK-1 is preferentially localized at cell body and processes, whereas Best1 is mostly found in microdomains of astrocytes near synapses. Diffusion modeling predicts that the fast mode can target neuronal mGluR with peak glutamate concentration of 100 μM, whereas slow mode targets neuronal NMDA receptors at around 1 μM. Our results reveal two distinct sources of astrocytic glutamate that can differentially influence neighboring neurons.
Bestrophin 1 and retinal disease Johnson, Adiv A.; Guziewicz, Karina E.; Lee, C. Justin ...
Progress in retinal and eye research,
05/2017, Volume:
58
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Mutations in the gene BEST1 are causally associated with as many as five clinically distinct retinal degenerative diseases, which are collectively referred to as the “bestrophinopathies”. These five ...associated diseases are: Best vitelliform macular dystrophy, autosomal recessive bestrophinopathy, adult-onset vitelliform macular dystrophy, autosomal dominant vitreoretinochoroidopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa. The most common of these is Best vitelliform macular dystrophy. Bestrophin 1 (Best1), the protein encoded by the gene BEST1, has been the subject of a great deal of research since it was first identified nearly two decades ago. Today we know that Best1 functions as both a pentameric anion channel and a regulator of intracellular Ca2+ signaling. Best1 is an integral membrane protein which, within the eye, is uniquely expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium where it predominantly localizes to the basolateral plasma membrane. Within the brain, Best1 expression has been documented in both glial cells and astrocytes where it functions in both tonic GABA release and glutamate transport. The crystal structure of Best1 has revealed critical information about how Best1 functions as an ion channel and how Ca2+ regulates that function. Studies using animal models have led to critical insights into the physiological roles of Best1 and advances in stem cell technology have allowed for the development of patient-derived, “disease in a dish” models. In this article we review our knowledge of Best1 and discuss prospects for near-term clinical trials to test therapies for the bestrophinopathies, a currently incurable and untreatable set of diseases.
•Mutations in the gene BEST1 are associated with five clinically distinct diseases.•We suggest that BVMD and AVMD are the same disease and should be both grouped as BVMD.•iPSC technology shows great potential for the treatment of the bestrophinopathies.•Bestrophin 1 has been unambiguously shown to be a Ca2+-activated, pentameric anion channel.•Bestrophin 1 shows robust expression and activity in both human RPE and mouse brain.
Best vitelliform macular dystrophy is a dominantly inherited, early onset, macular degenerative disease that exhibits some histopathologic similarities to age-related macular degeneration. Although ...the vitelliform lesion is common in the fundus of individuals with Best disease, diagnosis is based on a reduced ratio of the light peak to dark trough in the electrooculogram. Recently, the VMD2 gene on chromosome 11q13, encoding the protein bestrophin, was identified. The function of bestrophin is unknown. To facilitate studies of bestrophin, we produced both rabbit polyclonal and mouse monoclonal antibodies that proved useful for Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, and immunocytochemistry. To characterize bestrophin, we initially probed the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-derived cell lines ARPE-19, D407, and RPE-J. All of the cell lines expressed bestrophin mRNA by reverse transcription-PCR, but not on Western blots. Bestrophin in human RPE partitioned in the detergent phase during Triton X-114 extraction and could be modified by biotin in intact cells, indicative of a plasma membrane localization. Immunocytochemical staining of macaque and porcine eyes indicated that bestrophin is localized at the basolateral plasma membrane of RPE cells. When expressed in RPE-J cells by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer, bestrophin again was determined by confocal microscopy and cell surface biotinylation to be a basolateral plasma membrane protein. The basolateral plasma membrane localization of bestrophin suggests the possibility that bestrophin plays a role in generating the altered electrooculogram of individuals with Best disease.
Autosomal recessive bestrophinopathy (ARB) is caused by mutations in the gene BEST1 which encodes bestrophin 1 (Best1), an anion channel expressed in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. It has ...been hypothesized that ARB represents the human null phenotype for BEST1 and that this occurs due to nonsense mediated decay (NMD). To test this hypothesis, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a patient with ARB and her parents. After differentiation to retinal pigment epithelial (iPSC-RPE) cells, both BEST1 mRNA and Best1 protein expression were compared to controls. BEST1 mRNA expression levels, determined by quantitative PCR, were similar in ARB iPSC-RPE, parental cells, and genetically unrelated controls. Western blotting revealed that CRALBP and RPE65 were expressed within the range delineated by unrelated controls in iPSC-RPE from the ARB donor and her parents. Best1 protein was detected in different clones of ARB iPSC-RPE, but at reduced levels compared to all controls. When tested for the ability to phagocytose photoreceptor outer segments, ARB iPSC-RPE exhibited impaired internalization. These data suggest that impaired phagocytosis is a trait common to the bestrophinopathies. Furthermore, ARB is not universally the result of NMD and ARB, in this patient, is not due to the absence of Best1.
The mutation R345W in EFEMP1 (fibulin-3) causes macular degeneration. This study sought to determine whether proteoglycan content and diffusion across Bruch's membrane are altered in Efemp1ki/ki mice ...carrying this mutation or in Efemp1-/- mice.
Proteoglycans in mouse Bruch's membranes were stained with Cupromeronic Blue (CB). Heparan sulfated proteoglycan (HSPG) and chondroitin/dermatan sulfate proteoglycan (C/DSPG) distributions were visualized following treatments with chondroitinase ABC (C-ABC) or nitrous acid. Total sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAGs) in Bruch's membrane/choroid (BrM/Ch) were measured with dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB). Matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-3 were examined by immunofluorescence and quantified using Image J. Molecules with different Stokes radius (Rs) were allowed simultaneously to diffuse through mouse BrM/Ch mounted in a modified Ussing chamber. Samples were quantified using gel exclusion chromatography.
HSPGs and C/DSPGs were markedly increased in Efemp1ki/ki Bruch's membrane, and MMP-2 and MMP-9 were decreased, but TIMP-3 was increased. Diffusion across Efemp1ki/ki Bruch's membrane was impaired. In contrast, the proteoglycan amount in Efemp1-/- Bruch's membrane was not significantly different, but the size of proteoglycans was much larger. MMP-2, MMP-3, and TIMP-3 levels were similar to that of Efemp1+/+ mice, but they were localized diffusely in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells instead of Bruch's membrane. Diffusion across Efemp1-/- Bruch's membrane was enhanced.
Mutant fibulin-3 causes proteoglycan accumulation, reduction of MMP-2 and MMP-9, but increase of TIMP-3, and impairs diffusion across Bruch's membrane. Fibulin-3 ablation results in altered sizes of proteoglycans, altered distributions of MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-3, and enhances diffusion across Bruch's membrane.
Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) transplantation for the treatment of macular degeneration has been studied for over 30 years. Human clinical trials have demonstrated that RPE monolayers exhibit ...improved cellular engraftment and survival compared to single cell suspensions. The use of a scaffold facilitates implantation of a flat, wrinkle-free, precisely placed monolayer. Scaffolds currently being investigated in human clinical trials are non-degradable which results in the introduction of a chronic foreign body. To improve RPE transplant technology, a degradable scaffold would be desirable. Using human fibrin, we have generated scaffolds that support the growth of an RPE monolayer in vitro. To determine whether these scaffolds are degraded in vivo, we developed a surgical approach that delivers a fibrin hydrogel implant to the sub-retinal space of the pig eye and determined whether and how fast they degraded. Using standard ophthalmic imaging techniques, the fibrin scaffolds were completely degraded by postoperative week 8 in 5 of 6 animals. Postmortem histologic analysis confirmed the absence of the scaffold from the subretinal space at 8 weeks, and demonstrated the reattachment of the neurosensory retina and a normal RPE-photoreceptor interface. When mechanical debridement of a region of native RPE was performed during implantation surgery degradation was accelerated and scaffolds were undetectable by 4 weeks. These data represent the first in situ demonstration of a fully biodegradable scaffold for use in the implantation of RPE and other cell types for treatment of macular degeneration and other retinal degenerative diseases.
EFEMP1 (fibulin-3) is mutated in Malattia Leventinese/Doyne's honeycomb retinal dystrophy (ML/DHRD), an inherited macular dystrophy similar to AMD. Both ML/DHRD and AMD are characterized by the ...presence of sub-RPE deposits. Efemp1 knockout mice do not develop sub-RPE deposits. This study was to test whether sub-RPE deposits can be induced in Efemp1 knockout mice by experimentally applied stress conditions that cause wild-type mice to develop sub-RPE deposits.
Efemp1 knockout and control mice at 6, 18, or 24 months old were fed with a synthetic high-fat diet (HFD). Beginning 1 month after starting the HFD, one group of mice was exposed to cigarette smoke daily for 1 month, and another group of mice was subjected to photochemical injury every other day for 2 weeks from a 488-nm argon laser. After the treatments, histologic analysis was performed to assess whether sub-RPE deposits were induced.
Basal laminar deposits (BLamDs), a form of sub-RPE deposits, were observed in the 18- and 24-month-old wild-type mice but not in Efemp1 knockout mice in any age groups after exposure to HFD and cigarette smoke or laser injury.
Mice lacking fibulin-3 do not develop sub-RPE deposits. Environmental oxidative stressors (HFD/cigarette smoke or HFD/laser) known to cause BLamD formation in wild-type mice failed to induce BLamD formation in Efemp1 knockout mice. These results suggest that fibulin-3 is a central player in the development of BLamD, and deletion of fibulin-3 is protective against the development of BLamD.
The two most commonly used in vitro models of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are fetal human RPE (fhRPE) and ARPE-19 cells; however, studies of their barrier properties have produced ...contradictory results. To compare their utility as RPE models, their morphologic and functional characteristics were analyzed.
Monolayers of both cell types were grown on permeable membrane filters. Barrier function and cellular morphology were assessed by transepithelial resistance (TER) measurements and immunohistochemistry. Protein expression was evaluated by immunoblotting and ELISA assays, and retinoid metabolism characterized by HPLC.
Both cultures developed tight junctions. However, only the fhRPE cells were pigmented, uniform in size and shape, expressed high levels of RPE markers, metabolized all-trans retinal, and developed high TER (>400 Ωcm(2)). The net secretion of pigment-epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) was directed apically in both cultures, but fhRPE cells exhibited secretion rates a thousand-fold greater than in ARPE-19 cells. The net secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was significantly higher in fhRPE cultures and the direction of this secretion was basolateral; while net secretion was apical in ARPE-19 cells. In fresh media, VEGF-E reduced TER in both cultures; however, in conditioned media fhRPE cells did not respond to VEGF-E administration, but retreatment of the conditioned media with anti-PEDF antibodies allowed fhRPE cells to fully respond to VEGF-E.
Properties of fhRPE cells align with a functionally normal RPE in vivo, while ARPE-19 cells resemble a pathologic or aged RPE. These results suggest a utility for both cell types in understanding distinct, particular aspects of RPE function.
To examine the effects of autophagy deficiency induced by RPE-specific deletion of
or
in mice as a function of age.
Conditional knockout mice with a floxed allele of
or
were crossed with inducible
...transgenic mice.
-directed RPE-specific Cre recombinase expression was induced with doxycycline feeding in the resulting mice. Cre-mediated deletion of floxed
or
resulted in RPE-specific inactivation of the
or
gene. Plastic and thin retinal sections were analyzed with light and electron microscopy for histological changes. Photoreceptor outer segment (POS) thickness in plastic sections was measured using the Adobe Photoshop CS4 extended ruler tool. Autophagic adaptor p62/SQSTM1 and markers for oxidatively damaged lipids, proteins, and DNA were examined with immunofluorescence staining of cryosections. Fluorescence signals were quantified using Image J software.
Accumulation of p62/SQSTM1 reflecting autophagy deficiency was observed in the RPE of the
and
mice. 3-nitrotyrosine, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), markers for oxidatively damaged proteins and DNA, were also found to accumulate in the RPE of these mice. We observed retinal degeneration in 35% of the
mice and 45% of the
mice at 8 to 24 months old. Degeneration severity and the number of mice with degeneration increased with age. The mean POS thickness of these mice was 25 µm at 8-12 months, 15 µm at 13-18 months, and 3 µm at 19-24 months, compared to 35 µm, 30 µm, and 24 µm in the wild-type mice, respectively. Early age-related macular degeneration (AMD)-like RPE defects were found in all the
and
mice 13 months old or older, including vacuoles, uneven RPE thickness, diminished basal infoldings, RPE hypertrophy/hypotrophy, pigmentary irregularities, and necrosis. The severity of the RPE defects increased with age and in the mice with retinal degeneration. RPE atrophy and choroidal neovascularization (CNV) were occasionally observed in the
and
mice with advanced age.
Autophagy deficiency induced by RPE-specific deletion of
or
predisposes but does not necessarily drive the development of AMD-like phenotypes or retinal degeneration.
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