At excitatory glutamatergic synapses, postsynaptic endocytic zones (EZs), which are adjacent to the postsynaptic density (PSD), mediate clathrin-dependent endocytosis of surface AMPA receptors ...(AMPAR) as a first step to receptor recycling or degradation. However, it remains unknown whether receptor recycling influences AMPAR lateral diffusion and whether EZs are important for the expression of synaptic potentiation. Here, we demonstrate that the presence of both EZs and AMPAR recycling maintain a large pool of mobile AMPARs at synapses. In addition, we find that synaptic potentiation is accompanied by an accumulation and immobilization of AMPARs at synapses resulting from both their exocytosis and stabilization at the PSD. Displacement of EZs from the postsynaptic region impairs the expression of synaptic potentiation by blocking AMPAR recycling. Thus, receptor recycling is crucial for maintaining a mobile population of surface AMPARs that can be delivered to synapses for increases in synaptic strength.
Wnt proteins bind to seven-transmembrane Frizzled receptors to mediate the important developmental, morphogenetic, and stem cell related tissue-regenerative effects of Wnt signaling. Dysregulated Wnt ...signaling is associated with many cancers. Currently, there are no drug candidates or even tool compounds that modulate Wnt-mediated receptor trafficking, and subsequent Wnt signaling. We examined libraries of FDA-approved drugs for their utility as Frizzled internalization modulators, employing a primary imaged-based GFP fluorescence assay that uses Frizzled1 endocytosis as the readout. We now report that the anti-helminthic niclosamide, a drug used for the treatment of tapeworm, promotes Frizzled1 endocytosis, downregulates Dishevelled-2 protein, and inhibits Wnt3A-stimulated beta-catenin stabilization and LEF/TCF reporter activity. Additionally, following niclosamide-mediated internalization, the Frizzled1 receptor colocalizes in vesicles containing transferrin and agonist-activated beta(2)-adrenergic receptor. Therefore, niclosamide may serve as a negative modulator of Wnt/Frizzled1 signaling by depleting upstream signaling molecules (i.e., Frizzled and Dishevelled) and moreover may provide a valuable means of studying the physiological consequences of Wnt signaling.
Endocytosis of AMPA receptors and other postsynaptic cargo occurs at endocytic zones (EZs), stably positioned sites of clathrin adjacent to the postsynaptic density (PSD). The tight localization of ...postsynaptic endocytosis is thought to control spine composition and regulate synaptic transmission. However, the mechanisms that situate the EZ near the PSD and the role of spine endocytosis in synaptic transmission are unknown. Here, we report that a physical link between dynamin-3 and the postsynaptic adaptor Homer positions the EZ near the PSD. Disruption of dynamin-3 or its interaction with Homer uncouples the PSD from the EZ, resulting in synapses lacking postsynaptic clathrin. Loss of the EZ leads to a loss of synaptic AMPA receptors and reduced excitatory synaptic transmission that corresponds with impaired synaptic recycling. Thus, a physical link between the PSD and the EZ ensures localized endocytosis and recycling by recapturing and maintaining a proximate pool of cycling AMPA receptors.
Improving the productivity of a biopharmaceutical Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) fed-batch cell culture can enable cost savings and more efficient manufacturing capacity utilization. One method for ...increasing CHO cell productivity is the addition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors to the cell culture process. In this study, we examined the effect of valproic acid (VPA, 2-propylpentanoic acid), a branched-chain carboxylic acid HDAC inhibitor, on the productivity of three of our CHO cell lines that stably express monoclonal antibodies. Fed-batch shake flask VPA titrations on the three different CHO cell lines yielded cell line-specific results. Cell line A responded highly positively, cell line B responded mildly positively, and cell line C did not respond. We then performed factorial experiments to identify the optimal VPA concentration and day of addition for cell line A. After identifying the optimal conditions for cell line A, we performed verification experiments in fed-batch bioreactors for cell lines A and B. These experiments confirmed that a high dose of VPA late in the culture can increase harvest titer >20 % without greatly changing antibody aggregation, charge heterogeneity, and N-linked glycosylation profiles. Our results suggest that VPA is an attractive and viable small molecule enhancer of protein production for biopharmaceutical CHO cell culture processes.
Regenerative medicine holds the promise of replacing damaged tissues largely by stem cell activation. Hedgehog signaling through the plasma membrane receptor Smoothened (Smo) is an important process ...for regulating stem cell proliferation. The development of Hedgehog-related therapies has been impeded by a lack of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Smo agonists. Using a high-content screen with cells expressing Smo receptors and a β-arrestin2-GFP reporter, we identified four FDA-approved drugs, halcinonide, fluticasone, clobetasol, and fluocinonide, as Smo agonists that activate Hedgehog signaling. These drugs demonstrated an ability to bind Smo, promote Smo internalization, activate Gli, and stimulate the proliferation of primary neuronal precursor cells alone and synergistically in the presence of Sonic Hedgehog protein. Halcinonide, fluticasone, clobetasol, and fluocinonide provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop unique clinical strategies to treat Hedgehog-dependent illnesses.
We study the phase retrieval property for the Weyl-Heisenberg representation π:Gˆ×G→U(L2(G)), where G is a non-archimedean local field with residue characteristic 2. We prove that π does phase ...retrieval by explicitly constructing maximal spanning vectors in L2(G).
The spread of chemicals, including insecticides, into the environment often raises public health concerns, as exemplified by a recent epidemiologic study associating in utero piperonyl butoxide (PBO) ...exposure with delayed mental development. The insecticide synergist PBO is listed among the top 10 chemicals detected in indoor dust; a systematic assessment of risks from PBO exposure, as for many toxicants unfortunately, may be underdeveloped when important biological targets that can cause toxicity are unknown. Hedgehog/Smoothened signaling is critical in neurological development. This study was designed to use novel high-throughput in vitro drug screening technology to identify modulators of Hedgehog signaling in environmental chemicals to assist the assessment of their potential risks. A directed library of 1408 environmental toxicants was screened for Hedgehog/Smoothened antagonist activity using a high-content assay that evaluated the interaction between Smoothened and βarrestin2 green fluorescent protein. PBO was identified as a Hedgehog/Smoothened antagonist capable of inhibiting Hedgehog signaling. We found that PBO bound Smoothened and blocked Smoothened overexpression-induced Gli-luciferase reporter activity but had no effect on Gli-1 downstream transcriptional factor-induced Gli activity. PBO inhibited Sonic Hedgehog ligand-induced Gli signaling and mouse cerebellar granular precursor cell proliferation. Moreover, PBO disrupted zebrafish development. Our findings demonstrate the value of high-throughput target-based screening strategies that can successfully evaluate large numbers of environmental toxicants and identify key targets and unknown biological activity that is helpful in properly assessing potential risks.
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