Induction of serotonin transporter by hypoxia in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells. Relationship with the mitogenic action of serotonin. (1/5029)

-The increased delivery of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) to the lung aggravates the development of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats, possibly through stimulation of the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PA-SMCs). In cultured rat PA-SMCs, 5-HT (10(-8) to 10(-6) mol/L) induced DNA synthesis and potentiated the mitogenic effect of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (10 ng/mL). This effect was dependent on the 5-HT transporter (5-HTT), since it was prevented by the 5-HTT inhibitors fluoxetine (10(-6) mol/L) and paroxetine (10(-7) mol/L), but it was unaltered by ketanserin (10(-6) mol/L), a 5-HT2A receptor antagonist. In PA-SMCs exposed to hypoxia, the levels of 5-HTT mRNA (measured by competitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) increased by 240% within 2 hours, followed by a 3-fold increase in the uptake of [3H]5-HT at 24 hours. Cotransfection of the cells with a construct of human 5-HTT promoter-luciferase gene reporter and of pCMV-beta-galactosidase gene allowed the demonstration that exposure of cells to hypoxia produced a 5.5-fold increase in luciferase activity, with no change in beta-galactosidase activity. The increased expression of 5-HTT in hypoxic cells was associated with a greater mitogenic response to 5-HT (10(-8) to 10(-6) mol/L) in the absence as well as in the presence of platelet-derived growth factor-BB. 5-HTT expression assessed by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization in the lungs was found to predominate in the media of pulmonary artery, in which a marked increase was noted in rats that had been exposed to hypoxia for 15 days. These data show that in vitro and in vivo exposure to hypoxia induces, via a transcriptional mechanism, 5-HTT expression in PA-SMCs, and that this effect contributes to the stimulatory action of 5-HT on PA-SMC proliferation. In vivo expression of 5-HTT by PA-SMC may play a key role in serotonin-mediated pulmonary vascular remodeling.  (+info)

Ischemic tolerance in murine cortical cell culture: critical role for NMDA receptors. (2/5029)

Murine cortical cultures containing both neurons and glia (days in vitro 13-15) were exposed to periods of oxygen-glucose deprivation (5-30 min) too brief to induce neuronal death. Cultures "preconditioned" by sublethal oxygen-glucose deprivation exhibited 30-50% less neuronal death than controls when exposed to a 45-55 min period of oxygen-glucose deprivation 24 hr later. This preconditioning-induced neuroprotection was specific in that neuronal death induced by exposure to excitotoxins or to staurosporine was not attenuated. Neuroprotection was lost if the time between the preconditioning and severe insult were decreased to 7 hr or increased to 72 hr and was blocked if the NMDA antagonist 100 microM 3-((D)-2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid was applied during the preconditioning insult. This was true even if the duration of preconditioning was increased as far as possible (while still remaining sublethal). A similar preconditioning effect was also produced by sublethal exposure to high K+, glutamate, or NMDA but not to kainate or trans-1-aminocyclopentane-1, 3-dicarboxylic acid.  (+info)

Role of hypoxia-induced Bax translocation and cytochrome c release in reoxygenation injury. (3/5029)

We investigated mechanisms of cell death during hypoxia/reoxygenation of cultured kidney cells. During glucose-free hypoxia, cell ATP levels declined steeply resulting in the translocation of Bax from cytosol to mitochondria. Concurrently, there was cytochrome c release and caspase activation. Cells that leaked cytochrome c underwent apoptosis after reoxygenation. ATP depletion induced by a mitochondrial uncoupler resulted in similar alterations even in the presence of oxygen. Moreover, inclusion of glucose during hypoxia prevented protein translocations and reoxygenation injury by maintaining intracellular ATP. Thus, ATP depletion, rather than hypoxia per se, was the cause of protein translocations. Overexpression of Bcl-2 prevented cytochrome c release and reoxygenation injury without ameliorating ATP depletion or Bax translocation. On the other hand, caspase inhibitors did not prevent protein translocations, but inhibited apoptosis during reoxygenation. Nevertheless, they could not confer long-term viability, since mitochondria had been damaged. Omission of glucose during reoxygenation resulted in continued failure of ATP production, and cell death with necrotic morphology. In contrast, cells expressing Bcl-2 had functional mitochondria and remained viable during reoxygenation even without glucose. Therefore, Bax translocation during hypoxia is a molecular trigger for cell death during reoxygenation. If ATP is available during reoxygenation, apoptosis develops; otherwise, death occurs by necrosis. By preserving mitochondrial integrity, BCL-2 prevents both forms of cell death and ensures cell viability.  (+info)

150-kDa oxygen-regulated protein (ORP150) suppresses hypoxia-induced apoptotic cell death. (4/5029)

To determine the contribution of 150-kDa oxygen-regulated protein (ORP150) to cellular processes underlying adaptation to hypoxia, a cell line stably transfected to overexpress ORP150 antisense RNA was created. In human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells stably overexpressing ORP150 antisense RNA, ORP150 antigen and transcripts were suppressed to low levels in normoxia and hypoxia, whereas wild-type cells showed induction of ORP150 with oxygen deprivation. Inhibition of ORP150 in antisense transfectants was selective, as hypoxia-mediated enhancement of glucose-regulated protein (GRP) 78 and GRP94 was maintained. However, antisense ORP150 transfectants displayed reduced viability when subjected to hypoxia, compared with wild-type and sense-transfected HEK cells. In contrast, diminished levels of ORP150 had no effect on cytotoxicity induced by other stimuli, including oxygen-free radicals and sodium arsenate. Although cellular ATP content was similar in hypoxia, compared with ORP150 antisense transfectants and wild-type HEK cells, suppression of ORP150 expression was associated with accelerated apoptosis. Hypoxia-mediated cell death in antisense HEK transfectants did not cause an increase in caspase activity or in cytoplasmic cytochrome c antigen. A well recognized inducer of apoptosis in HEK cells, staurosporine, caused increased caspase activity and cytoplasmic cytochrome c levels in both wild-type and antisense cells. These data indicate that ORP150 has an important cytoprotective role in hypoxia-induced cellular perturbation and that ORP150-associated inhibition of apoptosis may involve mechanisms distinct from those triggered by other apoptotic stimuli.  (+info)

Regulation of the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor 1alpha by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. (5/5029)

HIF-1alpha (hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha) is a basic-helix-loop-helix PAS (Per/Arnt/Sim) transcription factor that, under hypoxic conditions, dimerizes with a partner factor, the basic-helix-loop-helix/PAS protein Arnt, to recognize hypoxia-responsive elements of target genes. It has recently been demonstrated that HIF-1alpha protein but not mRNA levels are dramatically up-regulated in response to hypoxia. Here we show that inhibitors of 26 S proteasome activity produced a dramatic accumulation of endogenous as well as transfected HIF-1alpha protein under normoxic conditions, whereas the levels of Arnt protein were not affected. HIF-1alpha was polyubiquitinated in vivo under normoxic conditions, indicating rapid degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. This degradation process appeared to target a region within the C terminus of HIF-1alpha. Importantly, HIF-1alpha ubiquitination was drastically decreased under hypoxic conditions. Up-regulation of HIF-1alpha protein by proteasome inhibitors did not result in transcriptional activation of reporter genes, indicating either the requirement of additional regulatory steps to induce functional activity of HIF-1alpha or the inability of polyubiquitinated forms of HIF-1alpha to mediate hypoxic signal transduction. In support of both these notions, we demonstrate that HIF-1alpha showed hypoxia-dependent translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and that this regulatory mechanism was severely impaired in the presence of proteasome inhibitors. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the mechanism of hypoxia-dependent activation of HIF-1alpha is a complex multistep process and that stabilization of HIF-1alpha protein levels is not sufficient to generate a functional form.  (+info)

Regulation of interleukin-8 expression by reduced oxygen pressure in human glioblastoma. (6/5029)

Oxygen deprivation is an important biological feature of tumor growth. We previously showed that in glioma, anoxia increases expression of IL-8, a chemokine and angiogenic factor. Here, we analysed for the first time the biochemical mechanisms inducing the IL-8 gene upon anoxia in glioma cells, and showed that they differ from those inducing the VEGF gene. Both genes are induced in biologically and genetically heterogenous glioblastoma cell lines (LN-229, LN-Z308, U87MG, T98G), whereas, in gliosarcoma cells (D247MG), only the VEGF gene is induced. The kinetics of IL-8 and VEGF mRNA inductions differ in these cells and reoxygenation experiments showed that the induction is due to the anoxic stress per se. Furthermore, in LN-229 and LN-Z308 cell lines actinomycin D, DRB and nuclear run-on experiments showed that anoxia stimulates increased transcription of both genes. Electromobility shift assays show increased protein binding to the AP-1 site on the IL-8 promoter following anoxia treatment. Finally, in situ hybridization on glioblastoma sections shows that the in vivo expression patterns of IL-8 and VEGF genes overlap, but are not identical. Since intratumoral augmentation of IL-8 and VEGF secretion, following microenvironmental decreases in oxygen pressure, may promote angiogenesis, further definition of these pathways is essential to appropriately target them for antitumoral therapy.  (+info)

Plasmalogens as endogenous antioxidants: somatic cell mutants reveal the importance of the vinyl ether. (7/5029)

Exposure of plasmalogen-deficient variants of the murine cell line RAW 264.7 to short-term (0-100 min) treatment with electron transport inhibitors antimycin A or cyanide (chemical hypoxia) resulted in a more rapid loss of viability than in the parent strain. Results suggested that plasmalogen-deficient cells were more sensitive to reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated during chemical hypoxia; the mutants could be rescued from chemical hypoxia by using the antioxidant Trolox, an alpha-tocopherol analogue, and they were more sensitive to ROS generation by plumbagin or by rose bengal treatment coupled with irradiation. In addition, the use of buffers containing 2H2O greatly enhanced the cytotoxic effect of chemical hypoxia, suggesting the involvement of singlet oxygen. We used the unique enzymic deficiencies displayed by the mutants to differentially restore either plasmenylethanolamine (the major plasmalogen species normally found in this cell line) or its biosynthetic precursor, plasmanylethanolamine. Restoration of plasmenylethanolamine, which contains the vinyl ether, resulted in wild-type-like resistance to chemical hypoxia and ROS generators, whereas increasing levels of its precursor, which bears the saturated ether, had no effect on cell survival. These findings identify the vinyl ether double bond as a crucial element in cellular protection under these conditions and support the hypothesis that plasmalogens, through the vinyl ether, act as antioxidants to protect cells against ROS. These phospholipids might protect cells from ROS-mediated damage during events such as chemical hypoxia.  (+info)

VEGF deprivation-induced apoptosis is a component of programmed capillary regression. (8/5029)

The pupillary membrane (PM) is a transient ocular capillary network, which can serve as a model system in which to study the mechanism of capillary regression. Previous work has shown that there is a tight correlation between the cessation of blood flow in a capillary segment and the appearance of apoptotic capillary cells throughout the segment. This pattern of cell death is referred to as synchronous apoptosis (Lang, R. A., Lustig, M., Francois, F., Sellinger, M. and Plesken, H. (1994) Development 120, 3395-3404; Meeson, A., Palmer, M., Calfon, M. and Lang, R. A. (1996) Development 122, 3929-3938). In the present study, we have investigated whether the cause of synchronous apoptosis might be a segmental deficiency of either oxygen or a survival factor. Labeling with the compound EF5 in a normal PM indicated no segmental hypoxia; this argued that oxygen deprivation was unlikely to be the cause of synchronous apoptosis. When rat plasma was used as a source of survival factors in an in vitro PM explant assay, inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) all but eliminated the activity of plasma in suppressing apoptosis. This argued that VEGF was an important plasma survival factor. Furthermore, inhibition of VEGF in vivo using fusion proteins of the human Flk-1/KDR receptor resulted in a significantly increased number of capillaries showing synchronous apoptosis. This provides evidence that VEGF is necessary for endothelial cell survival in this system and in addition, that VEGF deprivation mediated by flow cessation is a component of synchronous apoptosis.  (+info)