James W. Gurd

Molecular cloning of SC1: a putative brain extracellular matrix glycoprotein showing partial similarity to osteonectin/BM40/SPARC.

We describe the cloning of SC1, a novel cDNA that was selected from a rat brain expression library using a mixed polyclonal antibody directed against synaptic junction glycoproteins. SC1 detects a 3.2 kb mRNA expressed throughout postnatal development of the brain and present at high levels in the adult. In situ hybridization reveals that the SC1 mRNA is expressed widely in the brain and is present in many types of neurons. DNA sequence data suggest that the SC1 product is a secreted, calcium binding glycoprotein. Strikingly, the carboxy-terminal region of the SC1 protein shows substantial similarity to the extracellular matrix glycoprotein osteonectin/BM40/SPARC. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that SC1 is an extracellular matrix glycoprotein in the brain.

Transient Ischemia Differentially Increases Tyrosine Phosphorylation of NMDA Receptor Subunits 2A and 2B

Abstract: Activation of the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been implicated in the events leading to ischemia‐induced neuronal cell death. Recent studies have indicated that the properties of the NMDA receptor channel may be regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. We have therefore examined the effects of transient cerebral ischemia on the tyrosine phosphorylation of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B in different regions of the rat brain. Transient (15 min) global ischemia was produced by the four‐vessel occlusion procedure. The tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2A and NR2B subunits was examined by immunoprecipitation with anti‐tyrosine phosphate antibodies followed by immunoblotting with antibodies specific for NR2A or NR2B, and by immunoprecipitation with subunit‐specific antibodies followed by immunoblotting with anti‐phosphotyrosine antibodies. Transient ischemia followed by reperfusion induced large (23–29‐fold relative to sham‐operated controls), rapid (within 15 min of reperfusion), and sustained (for at least 24 h) increases in the tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2A and smaller increases in that of NR2B in the hippocampus. Ischemia‐induced tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2 subunits in the hippocampus was higher than that of cortical and striatal NR2 subunits. The enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of NR2A or NR2B may contribute to alterations in NMDA receptor function or in signaling pathways in the postischemic brain and may be related to pathogenic events leading to neuronal death.

Altered interaction between PSD-95 and the NMDA receptor following transient global ischemia

Abstract: The postsynaptic density (PSD) is a cytoskeletal specialization involved in the anchoring of neurotransmitter receptors and in regulating the response of postsynaptic neurons to synaptic stimulation. The postsynaptic protein PSD‐95 binds to NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B and to signaling molecules such as neuronal nitric oxide synthase and p135synGAP. We investigated the effects of transient cerebral ischemia on protein interactions involving PSD‐95 and the NMDA receptor in the rat hippocampus. Ischemia followed by reperfusion resulted in a decrease in the solubility of the NMDA receptor and PSD‐95 in 1% sodium deoxycholate, the decrease being greater in the vulnerable CA1 hippocampal subfield than in the less sensitive CA3/dentate gyrus regions. Solubilization of the kainic acid receptor GluR6/7 and the PSD‐95 binding proteins, neuronal nitric oxide synthase and p135synGAP, also decreased following ischemia. The association between PSD‐95 and NR2A and NR2B, as indicated by coimmunoprecipitation, was less in postischemic samples than in sham‐operated controls. Ischemia also resulted in a decrease in the size of protein complexes containing PSD‐95, but had only a small effect on the size distribution of complexes containing the NMDA receptor. The results indicate that molecular interactions involving PSD‐95 and the NMDA receptor are modified by an ischemic challenge.

Transient global ischemia alters NMDA receptor expression in rat hippocampus: correlation with decreased immunoreactive protein levels of the NR2A/2B subunits, and an altered NMDA receptor functionality.

Abstract: We investigated the gene expression levels, the immunoreactive protein prevalence, and the functional activity of N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor complexes at early times after severe global ischemia challenge in rats. The mRNA expression levels for the NR2A and NR2B subunits of NMDA receptors changed to different degrees within different subregions of the hippocampus after reperfusion with respect to sham‐operated control. No significant change in expression was observed in the vulnerable CA1 subfield at or before 6 h after challenge for either receptor subunit, although changes in expression in other hippocampal subfields were observed. At 12 and 24 h after challenge, significant decreases in expression for both subunits were found in the vulnerable CA1 subfield, as well as in other hippocampal regions. At the protein level, a significant decrease in the amount of NR2A/NR2B immunoreactivity in the total hippocampus was observed at both 6 and 24 h after reperfusion compared with sham control. Electrophysiological assessment of single‐channel NMDA receptor activity in the CA1 subfield indicates that the main conductance state of NMDA receptor channels is maintained 6 h after challenge, although by 18–24 h after challenge, this main conductance state is rarely observed. The NMDA receptor component of the excitatory postsynaptic field potential was found to be significantly diminished from sham control 24 h after challenge, such that only ∼10% of the sham response remained, but was not significantly altered from sham control at 6 h after challenge. These results indicate that decreases in the expression levels, the immunoreactive protein prevalence, and that alterations in the functionality of NMDA receptors occur in the hippocampus at early times after severe transient global ischemia.

Association of heat shock proteins and neuronal membrane components with lipid rafts from the rat brain

Lipid rafts are specialized plasma membrane microdomains enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids that serve as major assembly and sorting platforms for signal transduction complexes. Constitutively expressed heat shock proteins Hsp90, Hsc70, Hsp60, and Hsp40 and a range of neurotransmitter receptors are present in lipid rafts isolated from rat forebrain and cerebellum. Depletion of cholesterol dissociates these proteins from lipid rafts. After hyperthermic stress, flotillin‐1, a lipid raft marker protein, does not show major change in levels. Stress‐inducible Hsp70 is detected in lipid rafts at 1 hr posthyperthermia, with the peak levels attained at 24 hr, suggesting that Hsp70 may play roles in maintaining the stability of lipid raft‐associated signal transduction complexes following neural stress.

Tyrosine phosphorylation of the N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate receptor by exogenous and postsynaptic density‐associated Src‐family kinases

Phosphorylation of the NMDA receptor by Src‐family tyrosine kinases has been implicated in the regulation of receptor function. We have investigated the tyrosine phosphorylation of NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B by exogenous Src and Fyn and compared this to phosphorylation by tyrosine kinases associated with the postsynaptic density (PSD). Phosphorylation of the receptor by exogenous Src and Fyn was dependent upon initial binding of the kinases to PSDs via their SH2‐domains. Src and Fyn phosphorylated similar sites in NR2A and NR2B, tryptic peptide mapping identifying seven and five major tyrosine‐phosphorylated peptides derived from NR2A and NR2B, respectively. All five tyrosine phosphorylation sites on NR2B were localized to the C‐terminal, cytoplasmic domain. Phosphorylation of NR2B by endogenous PSD tyrosine kinases yielded only three tyrosine‐phosphorylated tryptic peptides, two of which corresponded to Src phosphorylation sites, and one of which was novel. Phosphorylation‐site specific antibodies identified NR2B Tyr1472 as a phosphorylation site for intrinsic PSD tyrosine kinases. Phosphorylation of this site was inhibited by the Src‐family‐specific inhibitor PP2. The results identify several potential phosphorylation sites for Src in the NMDA receptor, and indicate that not all of these sites are available for phosphorylation by kinases located within the structural framework of the PSD.

Developmental alteration of rat brain synaptic membranes. Reaction of glycoproteins with plant lectins.

Synaptic membranes were isolated from the forebrains of rats of increasing postnatal ages. Developmentally related changes in the structure and concnetration of synaptic membrane glycoproteins were indicated by: (1) a 2--3 fold increase in glycoprotein sialic acid between 5 and 60 days; (2) a similar increase in the number of membrane receptors for the lectins concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin; (3) transient increases between 10 and 17 days in the receptors for lentil and castor bean lectins and (4) an age dependent stimulation of castor bean lectin binding by neuraminidase. Labelling of SDS polysacrylamide gels of synaptic membranes with [125I]concanavalin A or wheat germ agglutinin revealed specific, age dependent changes in the lectin binding properties of individual molecular weight classes of glycoproteins. Differences in the glycoproteins composition of synaptic junctional complexes isolated from 10 and 28-day-old brains were also revealed by lectin binding studies. The results indicate that the number and structure of oligosaccharides associated with synaptic membrane glycoproteins are under developmental regulation.

The Effect of Transient Global Ischemia on the Interaction of Src and Fyn with the N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor and Postsynaptic Densities: Possible Involvement of Src Homology 2 Domains

Transient ischemia increases tyrosine phosphorylation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B in the rat hippocampus. The authors investigated the effects of this increase on the ability of the receptor subunits to bind to the Src homology 2 (SH2) domains of Src and Fyn expressed as glutathione-S-transferase–SH2 fusion proteins. The NR2A and NR2B bound to each of the SH2 domains and binding was increased approximately twofold after ischemia and reperfusion. Binding was prevented by prior incubation of hippocampal homogenates with a protein tyrosine phosphatase or by a competing peptide for the Src SH2 domain. Ischemia induced a marked increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins in the postsynaptic density (PSD), including NR2A and NR2B, but had no effect on the amounts of individual NMDA receptor subunits in the PSD. The level of Src and Fyn in PSDs, but not in other subcellular fractions, was increased after ischemia. The ischemia-induced increase in the interaction of NR2A and NR2B with the SH2 domains of Src and Fyn suggests a possible mechanism for the recruitment of signaling proteins to the PSD and may contribute to altered signal transduction in the postischemic hippocampus.

The N‐Methyl‐d‐Aspartate Receptor Subunits NR2A and NR2B Bind to the SH2 Domains of Phospholipase C‐γ

Abstract: The NMDA receptor has recently been found to be phosphorylated on tyrosine. To assess the possible connection between tyrosine phosphorylation of the NMDA receptor and signaling pathways in the postsynaptic cell, we have investigated the relationship between tyrosine phosphorylation and the binding of NMDA receptor subunits to the SH2 domains of phospholipase C‐γ (PLC‐γ). A glutathione S‐transferase (GST) fusion protein containing both the N‐ and the C‐proximal SH2 domains of PLC‐γ was bound to glutathione‐agarose and reacted with synaptic junctional proteins and glycoproteins. Tyrosine‐phosphorylated PSD‐GP180, which has been identified as the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor, bound to the SH2‐agarose beads in a phosphorylation‐dependent fashion. Immunoblot analysis with antibodies specific for individual NMDA receptor subunits showed that both NR2A and NR2B subunits bound to the SH2‐agarose. No binding occurred to GST‐agarose lacking an associated SH2 domain, indicating that binding was specific for the SH2 domains. The binding of receptor subunits increased after the incubation of synaptic junctions with ATP and decreased after treatment of synaptic junctions with exogenous protein tyrosine phosphatase. Immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that NR2A and NR2B were phosphorylated on tyrosine and further that tyrosine phosphorylation of each of the subunits was increased after incubation with ATP. The results demonstrate that NMDA receptor subunits NR2A and NR2B will bind to the SH2 domains of PLC‐γ and that isolated synaptic junctions contain endogenous protein tyrosine kinase(s) that can phosphorylate both NR2A and NR2B receptor subunits, and suggest that interaction of the tyrosine‐phosphorylated NMDA receptor with proteins that contain SH2 domains may serve to link it to signaling pathways in the postsynaptic cell.

Protein tyrosine phosphorylation: Implications for synaptic function

The phosphorylation of proteins on tyrosine residues, initially believed to be primarily involved in cell growth and differentiation, is now recognized as having a critical role in regulating the function of mature cells. The brain exhibits one of the highest levels of tyrosine kinase activity in the adult animal and the synaptic region is particularly rich in tyrosine kinases and tyrosine phosphorylated proteins. Recent studies have described the effects of tyrosine phosphorylation on the activities of a number of proteins which are potentially involved in the regulation of synaptic function. Furthermore, it is becoming apparent that tyrosine phosphorylation is involved in the modification of synaptic activity, such as occurs during depolarization, the induction of long-term potentiation or long-term depression, and ischemia. Changes in the activities of tyrosine kinases and/or protein tyrosine phosphatases which are associated with synaptic structures may result in altered tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins located at the synapse leading to both short-term and long-lasting changes in synaptic and neuronal function.