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Articles by Pachiappan Arjunan in JoVE

 JoVE Neuroscience

En Optic Nerve krosskada Murine modell för att studera näthinnan Survival Ganglion Cell


JoVE 2685 4/25/2011

1National Eye Institute, NIH, 2Ophthalmology Department, The Second Hospital of Harbin Medical University

Detta protokoll visar hur retrogradely att märka retinal ganglion celler, och hur man därefter gör en optisk skada synnerven krossa för att analysera näthinnan överlevnad ganglion celler och apoptos. Det är en experimentell sjukdom modell för olika typer av optikusneuropati, inklusive glaukom.

 JoVE Clinical and Translational Medicine

En musmodell av hornhinnan Pocket-analys för Angiogenes Study


JoVE 3077 8/18/2011

National Eye Institute

Hornhinnan är unik genom att den saknar vaskulära vävnader. Däremot kan robusta blodkärl tillväxt och överlevnad induceras i hornhinnan med potenta angiogena faktorer. Därför kan hornhinnan ge oss ett värdefullt verktyg för angiogena studier. Detta protokoll visar hur du utför den musmodell av hornhinnan fickan analysen och hur man bedömer angiogenes framkallas av angiogena hjälp av denna modell.

Other articles by Pachiappan Arjunan on PubMed

Profiling of Hepatocellular Proteins by 1D PAGE-MALDI/MS/MS in a Rat Heat Stress Model

Heat induced complications cause an increase in a large number of proteins which play a role in diverse pathways during heat shock. A detailed characterization of these proteins is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in heat stroke. In this report, the proteins present in rat liver were compared at 37 degrees C (control) and at core temperature (Tc) 42 degrees C (heat stress) by 1D PAGE and MALDI/MS/MS. Among proteins identified in the sample after heat stress are dimethyglycine dehydrogenase, transketolase, carboxylic ester hydrolase, pyruvate kinase, L-type pyruvate kinase, arginosuccinate synthetase; fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase and peptidylpropyl isomerase A. These findings show that analysis of large scale proteins by MALDI/MS/MS provides a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with heat shock. The resolution of proteins examined by 1D-PAGE was less than that obtained with 2D-PAGE. More specifically, 2D-PAGE allows better identification of low molecular weight proteins that can not be resolved by 1D-PAGE.

Novel Peptide Inhibitors of Human Secretory Phospholipase A2 with Antiinflammatory Activity: Solution Structure and Molecular Modeling

Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) and matrix metallopreoteinases (MMPs) are key enzymes involved in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and their modulation thus represents a potential therapeutic option. On the basis of Escherichia coli radioassay, synthetic peptides were designed and screened for sPLA2 inhibition. The linear peptide, 10f (PIP-18), inhibited the recombinant human synovial sPLA2 activity with an IC50 of 1.19 microM. Not only did the peptide interfere with the function of sPLA2, but it also appeared to inhibit mRNA expression of sPLA2 and various MMPs in IL-1beta-stimulated RA synovial fibroblast (RASF) cultures and thereby the production of the corresponding proteins (>80% inhibition). Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), modeling, and docking studies indicate that in solution the peptide exhibits a beta-turn at residues Trp-Asp-Gly-Val and possibly binds to the hydrophobic channel of sPLA2. The results strongly suggest that the modulatory action of peptide 10f may play a major role in counteracting the development of RA.

Transcriptome Profiling of Neuronal Model Cell PC12 from Rat Pheochromocytoma

GeneChip microarray is a cutting-edge technology being used to study the expression patterns of genes with in a particular cell type. In this study, the Affymetrix RAE230A platform was used to profile stably expressed mRNA transcripts from PC12 cells at passage 5 and 15. The whole-cell PC12 transcriptome revealed that a total of 7,531 stable transcripts (P < 0.05), corresponding to 6,785 genes, were found to be consistently expressed between passage 5 and 15. The data analysis revealed 3,080 functional proteins, belonging to 13 families, which indicate that about 65% of the proteins expressed in PC12 cells are uncharacterized. By using our custom-built rat neuronal reference genome database, we mapped endogenously expressed stable neuronal transcripts from PC12 cells comprising about 765 genes responsible for neuronal function and disease. These neuronal transcripts were further analyzed to provide a genetic blueprint that can be used by neurobiologist to unravel the complex cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying biological functions and their associated signalling networks for diseases affecting the nervous system.

VEGF-B is Dispensable for Blood Vessel Growth but Critical for Their Survival, and VEGF-B Targeting Inhibits Pathological Angiogenesis

VEGF-B, a homolog of VEGF discovered a long time ago, has not been considered an important target in antiangiogenic therapy. Instead, it has received little attention from the field. In this study, using different animal models and multiple types of vascular cells, we revealed that although VEGF-B is dispensable for blood vessel growth, it is critical for their survival. Importantly, the survival effect of VEGF-B is not only on vascular endothelial cells, but also on pericytes, smooth muscle cells, and vascular stem/progenitor cells. In vivo, VEGF-B targeting inhibited both choroidal and retinal neovascularization. Mechanistically, we found that the vascular survival effect of VEGF-B is achieved by regulating the expression of many vascular prosurvival genes via both NP-1 and VEGFR-1. Our work thus indicates that the function of VEGF-B in the vascular system is to act as a "survival," rather than an "angiogenic" factor and that VEGF-B inhibition may offer new therapeutic opportunities to treat neovascular diseases.

ETS2 Regulating Neurodegenerative Signaling Pathway of Human Neuronal (SH-SY5Y) Cells Exposed to Single and Repeated Low-dose Sarin (GB)

The mechanistic understanding of low-level sarin-induced neurotoxicity after single or repeated doses has yet to be explored at a cellular level. Using the microarray (Affymetrix-GeneChips) transcription profiling approach, the present study examined gene expression in human SH-SY5Y cells exposed to single (3 and 24 h) or repeated (2 x 24 h) doses of sarin (5 microg/mL) to delineate the possible mechanism. Two hundred twenty-four genes whose expression was significantly (P < 0.01) altered by at least 3-fold were selected by GeneSpringGX analysis. The comparative gene expression data confirmed the transcriptional changes to be related to dose and exposure time of sarin. The effect of a single noncytotoxic sarin dose on gene transcription was variable, whereas repeated doses over 48 h persistently down-regulated genes linked to neurodegenerative mechanisms. Thirty persistently altered genes were validated using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Similar qRT-PCR profiles obtained in sarin-treated SH-SY5Y and HCN-1A cells confirmed the cell-independent alterations in expression levels. Genes (ETS2, APOE, PSEN1, DDC, and CD9) implicated mainly in the regulation of sarin-induced neuropathogenesis were further confirmed by Western blot and double-immunofluorescence assays. The regulome pathway suggests a new feasible mechanism by which sarin increases ETS2 expression and takes control over other genes involved in the neurodegenerative pathway. The overall data delineate an in vitro experimental model suitable for studying the neuropathology of cells and may provide novel insights into therapeutic interventions.

VEGF-B: a Survival, or an Angiogenic Factor?

Despite its early discovery and high sequence homology to the other VEGF family members, the biological function of VEGF-B remained debatable for a long time, and VEGF-B has received little attention from the field thus far. Recently, we and others have found that (1) VEGF-B is a potent survival factor for different types of cells by inhibiting apoptosis via suppressing the expression of BH3-only protein and other apoptotic/cell death-related genes. (2) VEGF-B has a negligible role in inducing blood vessel growth in most organs. Instead, it is critically required for blood vessel survival. VEGF-B targeting inhibited pathological angiogenesis by abolishing blood vessel survival in different animal models. (3) Using different types of neuro-injury and neurodegenerative disease models, VEGF-B treatment protected endangered neurons from apoptosis without inducing undesired blood vessel growth or permeability. Thus, VEGF-B is the first member of the VEGF family that has a potent survival/anti-apoptotic effect, while lacking a general angiogenic activity. Our work thus advocates that the major function of VEGF-B is to act as a "survival", rather than an "angiogenic" factor and implicates a therapeutic potential of VEGF-B in treating different types of vascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Suppressive Effect of Secretory Phospholipase A2 Inhibitory Peptide on Interleukin-1beta-induced Matrix Metalloproteinase Production in Rheumatoid Synovial Fibroblasts, and Its Antiarthritic Activity in HTNFtg Mice

Secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors are potent modulators of inflammation with therapeutic potential, but have limited efficacy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The objective of this study was to understand the inhibitory mechanism of phospholipase inhibitor from python (PIP)-18 peptide in cultured synovial fibroblasts (SF), and to evaluate its therapeutic potential in a human tumor necrosis factor (hTNF)-driven transgenic mouse (Tg197) model of arthritis.

Platelet-derived Growth Factor-DD Targeting Arrests Pathological Angiogenesis by Modulating Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3beta Phosphorylation

Platelet-derived growth factor-DD (PDGF-DD) is a recently discovered member of the PDGF family. The role of PDGF-DD in pathological angiogenesis and the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. In this study, using different animal models, we showed that PDGF-DD expression was up-regulated during pathological angiogenesis, and inhibition of PDGF-DD suppressed both choroidal and retinal neovascularization. We also demonstrated a novel mechanism mediating the function of PDGF-DD. PDGF-DD induced glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) Ser(9) phosphorylation and Tyr(216) dephosphorylation in vitro and in vivo, leading to increased cell survival. Consistently, GSK3beta activity was required for the antiangiogenic effect of PDGF-DD targeting. Moreover, PDGF-DD regulated the expression of GSK3beta and many other genes important for angiogenesis and apoptosis. Thus, we identified PDGF-DD as an important target gene for antiangiogenic therapy due to its pleiotropic effects on vascular and non-vascular cells. PDGF-DD inhibition may offer new therapeutic options to treat neovascular diseases.

Survival Effect of PDGF-CC Rescues Neurons from Apoptosis in Both Brain and Retina by Regulating GSK3beta Phosphorylation

Platelet-derived growth factor CC (PDGF-CC) is the third member of the PDGF family discovered after more than two decades of studies on the original members of the family, PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB. The biological function of PDGF-CC remains largely to be explored. We report a novel finding that PDGF-CC is a potent neuroprotective factor that acts by modulating glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta) activity. In several different animal models of neuronal injury, such as axotomy-induced neuronal death, neurotoxin-induced neuronal injury, 6-hydroxydopamine-induced Parkinson's dopaminergic neuronal death, and ischemia-induced stroke, PDGF-CC protein or gene delivery protected different types of neurons from apoptosis in both the retina and brain. On the other hand, loss-of-function assays using PDGF-C null mice, neutralizing antibody, or short hairpin RNA showed that PDGF-CC deficiency/inhibition exacerbated neuronal death in different neuronal tissues in vivo. Mechanistically, we revealed that the neuroprotective effect of PDGF-CC was achieved by regulating GSK3beta phosphorylation and expression. Our data demonstrate that PDGF-CC is critically required for neuronal survival and may potentially be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Inhibition of the PDGF-CC-PDGF receptor pathway for different clinical purposes should be conducted with caution to preserve normal neuronal functions.

PDGF-CC Blockade Inhibits Pathological Angiogenesis by Acting on Multiple Cellular and Molecular Targets

The importance of identifying VEGF-independent pathways in pathological angiogenesis is increasingly recognized as a result of the emerging drug resistance to anti-VEGF therapies. PDGF-CC is the third member of the PDGF family discovered after more than two decades of studies on PDGF-AA and PDGF-BB. The biological function of PDGF-CC and the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here, using different animal models, we report that PDGF-CC inhibition by neutralizing antibody, shRNA, or genetic deletion suppressed both choroidal and retinal neovascularization. Importantly, we revealed that PDGF-CC targeting acted not only on multiple cell types important for pathological angiogenesis, such as vascular mural and endothelial cells, macrophages, choroidal fibroblasts and retinal pigment epithelial cells, but also on the expression of other important angiogenic genes, such as PDGF-BB and PDGF receptors. At a molecular level, we found that PDGF-CC regulated glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3beta phosphorylation and expression both in vitro and in vivo. Activation of GSK3beta impaired PDGF-CC-induced angiogenesis, and inhibition of GSK3beta abolished the antiangiogenic effect of PDGF-CC blockade. Thus, we identified PDGF-CC as an important candidate target gene for antiangiogenic therapy, and PDGF-CC inhibition may be of therapeutic value in treating neovascular diseases.

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