Eirini Vagena

Fibrinogen triggers astrocyte scar formation by promoting the availability of active TGF-β after vascular damage

Scar formation in the nervous system begins within hours after traumatic injury and is characterized primarily by reactive astrocytes depositing proteoglycans that inhibit regeneration. A fundamental question in CNS repair has been the identity of the initial molecular mediator that triggers glial scar formation. Here we show that the blood protein fibrinogen, which leaks into the CNS immediately after blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption or vascular damage, serves as an early signal for the induction of glial scar formation via the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Our studies revealed that fibrinogen is a carrier of latent TGF-β and induces phosphorylation of Smad2 in astrocytes that leads to inhibition of neurite outgrowth. Consistent with these findings, genetic or pharmacologic depletion of fibrinogen in mice reduces active TGF-β, Smad2 phosphorylation, glial cell activation, and neurocan deposition after cortical injury. Furthermore, stereotactic injection of fibrinogen into the mouse cortex is sufficient to induce astrogliosis. Inhibition of the TGF-β receptor pathway abolishes the fibrinogen-induced effects on glial scar formation in vivo and in vitro. These results identify fibrinogen as a primary astrocyte activation signal, provide evidence that deposition of inhibitory proteoglycans is induced by a blood protein that leaks in the CNS after vasculature rupture, and point to TGF-β as a molecular link between vascular permeability and scar formation.

Blood coagulation protein fibrinogen promotes autoimmunity and demyelination via chemokine release and antigen presentation

Autoimmunity and macrophage recruitment into the central nervous system (CNS) are critical determinants of neuroinflammatory diseases. However, the mechanisms that drive immunological responses targeted to the CNS remain largely unknown. Here we show that fibrinogen, a central blood coagulation protein deposited in the CNS after blood–brain barrier disruption, induces encephalitogenic adaptive immune responses and peripheral macrophage recruitment into the CNS leading to demyelination. Fibrinogen stimulates a unique transcriptional signature in CD11b+ antigen-presenting cells inducing the recruitment and local CNS activation of myelin antigen-specific Th1 cells. Fibrinogen depletion reduces Th1 cells in the multiple sclerosis model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II-dependent antigen presentation, CXCL10- and CCL2-mediated recruitment of T cells and macrophages, respectively, are required for fibrinogen-induced encephalomyelitis. Inhibition of the fibrinogen receptor CD11b/CD18 protects from all immune and neuropathologic effects. Our results show that the final product of the coagulation cascade is a key determinant of CNS autoimmunity.

Arylamine N-Acetyltransferases in Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Genomes: A Survey of Public Databases

Arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NATs) are xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes found in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. NATs have been characterized in bacteria (Bacilli, Mycobacteria, Salmonella etc.), laboratory animals (chicken, rabbit, rodents etc.) and humans, where the NAT loci occupy 230 kilobases on chromosome 8p22. Our previous comprehensive search for NAT genes involved 416 genomes (340 prokaryotic, 76 eukaryotic) and identified NAT homologues in several taxa, while also reporting on taxa that appeared to lack NAT genes [Boukouvala, S. and Fakis, G. (2005) Drug Metab. Rev. 37(3), 511-564]. Here, we present an update of this genomic search, covering 2138 genomes (1674 prokaryotic, 464 eukaryotic), of which 1167 (986 prokaryotic, 181 eukaryotic) were accessible using the advanced search algorithm tBLASTn. We have reconstructed the full-length open reading frames for putative proteins with sequence homology and features characteristic of NAT from 274 bacterial genomes (31 actinobacteria, 6 bacteroidetes/chlorobi, 2 cyanobacteria, 65 firmicutes and 170 proteobacteria) and 27 animals (1 sea-urchin, 5 fishes, 1 lizard, 1 bird and 19 mammals). Partial NAT sequences were recovered from several other organisms, including fungi, where NAT genes were found in 30 ascomycetes and 2 basidiomycetes. No NATs were found in arhaea, plants and lower invertebrates (insects and worms), while it is also uncertain whether NAT genes exist in protista. We present comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses of the identified NAT homologues and announce a new database that will maintain information on non-human NATs and will provide recommendations for a standardized nomenclature, along the lines of the NAT Gene Nomenclature Committee.

Nuclear pore complex remodeling by p75 NTR cleavage controls TGF-β signaling and astrocyte functions

Astrocytes modulate neuronal activity and inhibit regeneration. We show that cleaved p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is a component of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) required for glial scar formation and reduced gamma oscillations in mice via regulation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling. Cleaved p75NTR interacts with nucleoporins to promote Smad2 nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. Thus, NPC remodeling by regulated intramembrane cleavage of p75NTR controls astrocyte–neuronal communication in response to profibrotic factors.

p75 neurotrophin receptor regulates glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity

Insulin resistance is a key factor in the etiology of type 2 diabetes. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake is mediated by the glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), which is expressed mainly in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Insulin-stimulated translocation of GLUT4 from its intracellular compartment to the plasma membrane is regulated by small guanosine triphosphate hydrolases (GTPases) and is essential for the maintenance of normal glucose homeostasis. Here we show that the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is a regulator of glucose uptake and insulin resistance. p75NTR knockout mice show increased insulin sensitivity on normal chow diet, independent of changes in body weight. Euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp studies demonstrate that deletion of the p75NTR gene increases the insulin-stimulated glucose disposal rate and suppression of hepatic glucose production. Genetic depletion or shRNA knockdown of p75NTR in adipocytes or myoblasts increases insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation. Conversely, overexpression of p75NTR in adipocytes decreases insulin-stimulated glucose transport. In adipocytes, p75NTR forms a complex with the Rab5 family GTPases Rab5 and Rab31 that regulate GLUT4 trafficking. Rab5 and Rab31 directly interact with p75NTR primarily via helix 4 of the p75NTR death domain. Adipocytes from p75NTR knockout mice show increased Rab5 and decreased Rab31 activities, and dominant negative Rab5 rescues the increase in glucose uptake seen in p75NTR knockout adipocytes. Our results identify p75NTR as a unique player in glucose metabolism and suggest that signaling from p75NTR to Rab5 family GTPases may represent a unique therapeutic target for insulin resistance and diabetes.

p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Is a Clock Gene That Regulates Oscillatory Components of Circadian and Metabolic Networks

The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily with a widespread pattern of expression in tissues such as the brain, liver, lung, and muscle. The mechanisms that regulate p75NTR transcription in the nervous system and its expression in other tissues remain largely unknown. Here we show that p75NTR is an oscillating gene regulated by the helix-loop-helix transcription factors CLOCK and BMAL1. The p75NTR promoter contains evolutionarily conserved noncanonical E-box enhancers. Deletion mutagenesis of the p75NTR-luciferase reporter identified the −1039 conserved E-box necessary for the regulation of p75NTR by CLOCK and BMAL1. Accordingly, gel-shift assays confirmed the binding of CLOCK and BMAL1 to the p75NTR−1039 E-box. Studies in mice revealed that p75NTR transcription oscillates during dark and light cycles not only in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), but also in peripheral tissues including the liver. Oscillation of p75NTR is disrupted in Clock-deficient and mutant mice, is E-box dependent, and is in phase with clock genes, such as Per1 and Per2. Intriguingly, p75NTR is required for circadian clock oscillation, since loss of p75NTR alters the circadian oscillation of clock genes in the SCN, liver, and fibroblasts. Consistent with this, Per2::Luc/p75NTR−/− liver explants showed reduced circadian oscillation amplitude compared with those of Per2::Luc/p75NTR+/+. Moreover, deletion of p75NTR also alters the circadian oscillation of glucose and lipid homeostasis genes. Overall, our findings reveal that the transcriptional activation of p75NTR is under circadian regulation in the nervous system and peripheral tissues, and plays an important role in the maintenance of clock and metabolic gene oscillation.

p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Regulates Energy Balance in Obesity

Obesity and metabolic syndrome reflect the dysregulation of molecular pathways that control energy homeostasis. Here, we show that the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) controls energy expenditure in obese mice on a high-fat diet (HFD). Despite no changes in food intake, p75(NTR)-null mice were protected from HFD-induced obesity and remained lean as a result of increased energy expenditure without developing insulin resistance or liver steatosis. p75(NTR) directly interacts with the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA) and regulates cAMP signaling in adipocytes, leading to decreased lipolysis and thermogenesis. Adipocyte-specific depletion of p75(NTR) or transplantation of p75(NTR)-null white adipose tissue (WAT) into wild-type mice fed a HFD protected against weight gain and insulin resistance. Our results reveal that signaling from p75(NTR) to cAMP/PKA regulates energy balance and suggest that non-CNS neurotrophin receptor signaling could be a target for treating obesity and the metabolic syndrome.

Regulation of Hepatic Lipid Accumulation and Distribution by Agouti-Related Protein in Male Mice

Proper regulation of energy metabolism requires neurons in the central nervous system to respond dynamically to signals that reflect the bodys energy reserve, and one such signal is leptin. Agouti-related protein (AgRP) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that is markedly upregulated in leptin deficiency, a condition that is associated with severe obesity, diabetes, and hepatic steatosis. Because deleting AgRP in mice does not alter energy balance, we sought to determine whether AgRP plays an indispensable role in regulating energy and hepatic lipid metabolism in the sensitized background of leptin deficiency. We generated male mice that are deficient for both leptin and AgRP [double-knockout (DKO)]. DKO mice and ob/ob littermates had similar body weights, food intake, energy expenditure, and plasma insulin levels, although DKO mice surprisingly developed heightened hyperglycemia with advancing age. Overall hepatic lipid content was reduced in young prediabetic DKO mice, but not in the older diabetic counterparts. Intriguingly, however, both young and older DKO mice had an altered zonal distribution of hepatic lipids with reduced periportal lipid deposition. Moreover, leptin stimulated, whereas AgRP inhibited, hepatic sympathetic activity. Ablating sympathetic nerves to the liver, which primarily innervate the portal regions, produced periportal lipid accumulation in wild-type mice. Collectively, our results highlight AgRP as a regulator of hepatic sympathetic activity and metabolic zonation.