Roles of atypical chemokine receptors in progression and metastasis of tumor

Chemokines and their receptors have been implicated mostly in tumor progression and metastasis. Atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs) comprise a group of 7-transmembrane domain proteins structurally similar to G protein-coupled receptors. However, ACKRs do not induce classical signaling via the typical G protein-mediated pathways. ACKRs efficiently internalize the cognate chemokine ligands and act as scavengers instead. ACJRs are composed of at least 3 members of chemokine receptors:Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC, also known as ACKR1), D6 (also known as ACKR2) and ChemoCentryx chemokine receptor (CCX-CKR, also known as ACKR4). These receptors bind to and/or internalize their chemoattractant ligands without activating signal transduction cascades leading to cell migration. In this review, we summarize the recent progress regarding the roles of ACKRs in the progression and metastasis of tumor.     

Pharmacological and therapeutic targets for Δ9 tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol

Summary Cannabis is the unique source of a set of at least 66 compounds known collectively as cannabinoids. Of these, most is known about the pharmacology of ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (⁹-THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, and about cannabidiol (CBD), which lacks psychoactivity. Accordingly, this paper focuses on the pharmacological and therapeutic targets of these two cannabinoids. Many of the effects of ⁹-THC are mediated by cannabinoid receptors of which at least two types, CB₁ and CB₂, are present in mammalian tissues. Endogenous agonists for cannabinoid receptors have also been discovered. CB₁ receptors are present at the terminals of central and peripheral neurones, where they modulate transmitter release. They also exist in some non-neuronal cells. CB₂ receptors are expressed mainly by immune cells, one of their roles being to alter cytokine release. ⁹-THC also appears to have non-CB₁, non-CB₂ pharmacological targets. It is already licensed for clinical use in the U.S.A. as an anti-emetic and appetite stimulant and both ⁹-THC and ⁹-THC-rich cannabis extracts show therapeutic potential as neuroprotective and anticancer agents and for the management of glaucoma, pain and various kinds of motor dysfunction associated, for example, with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. CBD has much less affinity for CB₁ and CB₂ receptors than ⁹-THC and its pharmacological actions have been less well characterized. Potential clinical applications of CBD and CBD-rich cannabis extracts include the production of anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects, the management of epilepsy, anxiety disorders, glaucoma and nausea, and the modulation of some effects of ⁹-THC.     

口蹄疫流行病学及感染机制的研究进展

口蹄疫(Foot-and-mouth disease FMD)是由口蹄疫病毒(Foot-and-mouth disease virus FMDV)引起偶蹄动物的一种急性、热性、高度接触性传染病。FMDV有多种血清型及其亚型,目前主要引起动物致病的就有7种,即A、O、C、SATⅠ、SATⅡ、SATⅢ和亚洲Ⅰ型(AsiaⅠ型)。病毒通常在细胞受体的参与下才入侵宿主细胞,进行扩增生命循环,感染宿主细胞,使得该病得以广泛流行。但由于口蹄疫病毒的高度变异性和适应性而在流行中出现新的特点,以及被发现的病毒在动物体内和细胞中长期存在而引发FMDV的持续感染等问题,使得本病不能有效被控制而在许多国家和地区重新暴发和流行。为此本文将口蹄疫病原学、流行病学、病毒细胞受体及其病毒在体内持续感染形成的原因方面进行的论述,为口蹄疫病毒感染机制的研究提供了科学的依据。     

Role of G-protein-coupled receptor kinases in cell migration and signal transduction

G-protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases. The investigators pay much attention to the roles of GRKs in the signal transduction through G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) with arrestin ever since a long time ago. Due to the physiological and pathological observations with the methods of deletion or overexpression, GRKs are considered as new drug targets. The kinases play a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and cell migration through GPCRs and Hedgehog signaling pathways. As the development of research techniques, especially bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), the special mechanism of GRKs for GPCRs is more evident. In this review, we discuss the recent achievement in the roles of GRKs signaling and the related newest research techniques.     

1—2月龄荷斯坦奶牛不同组织中FMDV受体亚基αv、β3、β6 mRNA转录水平的相对定量研究

【目的】建立检测牛口蹄疫病毒(FMDV)受体亚基αv、β3、β6 mRNA相对转录水平的实时定量PCR方法,分析受体αvβ3和αvβ6在不同器官组织中的转录水平。【方法】在对牛FMDV受体基因克隆和测序的基础上,设计实时定量PCR引物,以GAPDH为内参基因,采用△△Ct相对定量PCR方法检测分析FMDV受体亚基αv、β3、β6 mRNA在1—2月龄荷斯坦奶牛体内不同器官组织中的转录表达谱。【结果】αvβ3在荷斯坦奶牛24种组织中均有不同程度的转录表达;αvβ6在甲状腺、硬腭、鼻内皮、喉头、肺、食管、肾、后蹄冠状带等组织表达量较高,在唇、舌皮、软腭、气管、心脏、瘤胃、直肠、前蹄冠状带等组织转录表达量适中,在唾液腺、下颌淋巴结、肝、脾、肌肉等组织未检测到表达;αvβ6在牛体内的表达分布与FMDV组织嗜性基本一致,αvβ6受体可能是决定FMDV组织嗜性的主要功能受体,αvβ3的组织分布似乎与FMDV组织嗜性无关,但不能排除αvβ3在病毒感染过程中的作用。【结论】建立了检测FMDV受体亚基mRNA在不同器官组织中表达水平的相对实时定量PCR方法。     

Histamine receptors mediate contraction of reticular groove smooth muscle of adult goats

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of histamine and to characterise its receptor subtypes in reticular groove (RG) smooth muscle of adult goats. The studies were done using floor and lip regions of RG. We used tension experiments on smooth muscle of RG isolated from adult goat for functional characterisation of H₁ and H₂ receptors. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry experiments were conducted for molecular characterisation of these receptors. Histamine evoked concentration-dependent contraction of isolated RG circular and longitudinal smooth muscle preparation. Pyrilamine antagonised the action of histamine. Histamine did not induce any relaxant effect on RG preparations. Additionally, cimetidine did not produce any significant effect on histamine-induced response. Non-selective histaminic receptor antagonist cyproheptadine attenuated the contraction response to histamine in the smooth muscle. Molecular characterisation and localisation of H₁ and H₂ receptor proteins confirmed the presence of these receptors in RG. It is most likely that histamine-induced contractile effect in RG smooth muscle of goats is mediated by H₁ histaminic receptors.     

REGIONAL BINDING INDEX OF THE RADIOLABELED SELECTIVE 5-HT2A ANTAGONIST 123I-5-I-R91150 IN THE NORMAL CANINE BRAIN IMAGED WITH SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

The pattern of the specific 5-HT2A (5-hydroxytryptamine 2A receptor) antagonist 123I-5-I-R91150 was measured in 10 healthy dogs without neurologic and behavior abnormalities. Eight cortical regions (left and right fronto-, temporo-, parieto-, and occipitocortical area), one global subcortical region (including the thalamic system) were compared with a reference region lacking receptors; that is, the cerebellum. The 123I labeled radioligand was injected intravenously 100-200 minutes before acquisition. Both transmission and emission data were obtained with a triple head gamma camera equipped with high-resolution fanbeam collimators. The emission data were corrected for scatter and attenuation. To delineate different cerebral regions more accurately, the regions of interest (ROI) defined in a former study on brain perfusion measured with 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) in the same dogs were used. The co-registration of the 99mTc-ECD and the 123I-5-I-R91150, obtained from each dog, was realized with the help of corresponding transmission maps. By normalizing each regional cerebral activity to the activity observed in the cerebellum, the regional radioactivity (binding index) could be relatively quantified. Highest brain uptake was noted in the frontocortical brain areas (right: 1.85, left: 1.89), followed by the temporocortical region (right: 1.58, left: 1.56). Least uptake was noted in the more caudal and middle brain regions [occipito- (right: 1.46, left: 1.41), parietocortical (right: 1.30, left: 1.26), and striatal region (1.19)]. No gender nor age influence was noted in this series. The 123I labeled serotonin-2A receptor ligand seems to have similar cortical binding in the normal canine brain, as shown in humans and other animal species. A frontocortical to occipitocortical (rostrocaudal) binding index gradient was identified within the dog, which has not been seen in imaging studies from humans and other animal species. The significance of these results will need further investigation. This normative data can be used to compare regional brain uptake of the 123I-radioligand to dogs with behavioral disorders related to the serotonergic system, in future studies.     

荆豆凝集素-1受体在犬子宫内的分布与激素调节

采用组织化学方法对荆豆凝集素-1(ulex europaeus agglutinin-1,UEA-1)受体在发情周期和早期妊娠犬子宫内的分布以及激素调节进行了研究。结果显示,UEA-1受体主要存在于犬子宫内膜腔上皮和腺上皮,其表达量随妊娠阶段的不同而发生动态性变化。UEA-1受体在休情期犬子宫内未见表达,而在发情期犬子宫内膜腔上皮和腺上皮内的表达量很高。在早期妊娠犬子宫内,在妊娠第6天和12天犬子宫内的表达量较低,此后其表达量逐渐增加,在妊娠第17天时,UEA-1受体在子宫内膜腔上皮和腺上皮内的表达量达到峰值,此后其表达量又逐渐下降,在妊娠第23天时未见表达。注射雌激素可明显促进卵巢切除后犬子宫内膜UEA-1受体的表达。结果表明,犬子宫内UEA-1受体的分布与胚胎着床前胚胎与子宫内膜之间的黏附和植入有关,UEA-1受体在犬子宫内的表达受母体分泌的激素所调控。     

Immunohistochemical expression of progesterone receptors, growth hormone and insulin growth factor-I in feline fibroadenomatous change

The immunohistochemical expression, tissue-specific and cell-specific distribution patterns of progesterone receptors (PR), growth hormone (GH) and insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I) have been studied in 22 cases of feline fibroadenomatous change (FFAC). PR and GH were detected in all cases and were distributed homogeneously throughout the lesion, while IGF-I was detected in 77% of the cases at the site of ductal budding. The simultaneous expression of PR, GH and IGF-I was detected in epithelial cells in 14 of 22 cases while PR and GH expression only was detected in epithelial cells in 11 cases. Cases that expressed GH and IGF-I without PR expression in the stroma were the most numerous. Double immunohistochemical staining showed the co-localisation of PR and GH in a subset of ductal epithelial cells located between basal/myoepithelial and luminal cells (probably undifferentiated stem cells). These results suggest that ligand-activated progesterone receptors may induce the local synthesis of GH which in turn may exert its proliferative action directly and also indirectly through the production of other growth factors, such as IGF-I, in an autocrine/paracrine manner.     

Nuclear receptor and target gene mRNA abundance in duodenum and colon of dogs with chronic enteropathies

Nuclear receptors (NR), such as constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), pregnane X receptor (PXR) and peroxisome proliferator-associated receptors alpha and gamma (PPAR, PPARγ) are mediators of inflammation and may be involved in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and food responsive diarrhea (FRD) of dogs. The present study compared mRNA abundance of NR and NR target genes [multi drug-resistance gene-1 (MDR1), multiple drug-resistance-associated proteins (MRD2, MRD3), cytochrome P450 (CYP3A12), phenol-sulfating phenol sulfotransferase (SULT1A1) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST A3-3)] in biopsies obtained from duodenum and colon of dogs with IBD and FRD and healthy control dogs (CON; n = 7 per group). Upon first presentation of dogs, mRNA levels of PPAR, PPARγ, CAR, PXR and RXR in duodenum as well as PPARγ, CAR, PXR and RXR in colon were not different among groups (P > 0.10). Although mRNA abundance of PPAR in colon of dogs with FRD was similar in both IBD and CON (P > 0.10), PPAR mRNA abundance was higher in IBD than CON (P < 0.05). Levels of mRNA of MDR1 in duodenum were higher in FRD than IBD (P < 0.05) or CON (P < 0.001). Compared with CON, abundances of mRNA for MRP2, CYP3A12 and SULT1A1 were higher in both FRD and IBD than CON (P < 0.05). Differences in mRNA levels of PPAR and MRP2 in colon and MDR1, MRP2, CYP3A12 and SULT1A1 in duodenum may be indicative for enteropathy in FRD and (or) IBD dogs relative to healthy dogs. More importantly, increased expression of MDR1 in FRD relative to IBD in duodenum may be a useful diagnostic marker to distinguish dogs with FRD from dogs with IBD.