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Objective: One third of epilepsy patients do not become seizure-free using conventional medication. Therefore, there is a need for alternative treatments. Preclinical research using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) has demonstrated initial success in suppressing epileptic activity. Here, we evaluated whether long-term chemogenetic seizure suppression could be obtained in the intraperitoneal kainic acid rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy, when DREADDs were selectively expressed in excitatory hippocampal neurons., Methods: Epileptic male Sprague Dawley rats received unilateral hippocampal injections of adeno-associated viral vector encoding the inhibitory DREADD hM4D(Gi), preceded by a cell-specific promotor targeting excitatory neurons. The effect of clozapine-mediated DREADD activation on dentate gyrus evoked potentials and spontaneous electrographic seizures was evaluated. Animals were systemically treated with single (.1 mg/kg/24 h) or repeated (.1 mg/kg/6 h) injections of clozapine. In addition, long-term continuous release of clozapine and olanzapine (2.8 mg/kg/7 days) using implantable minipumps was evaluated. All treatments were administered during the chronic epileptic phase and between 1.5 and 13.5 months after viral transduction., Results: In the DREADD group, dentate gyrus evoked potentials were inhibited after clozapine treatment. Only in DREADD-expressing animals, clozapine reduced seizure frequency during the first 6 h postinjection. When administered repeatedly, seizures were suppressed during the entire day. Long-term treatment with clozapine and olanzapine both resulted in significant seizure-suppressing effects for multiple days. Histological analysis revealed DREADD expression in both hippocampi and some cortical regions. However, lesions were also detected at the site of vector injection., Significance: This study shows that inhibition of the hippocampus using chemogenetics results in potent seizure-suppressing effects in the intraperitoneal kainic acid rat model, even 1 year after viral transduction. Despite a need for further optimization, chemogenetic neuromodulation represents a promising treatment prospect for temporal lobe epilepsy., (© 2021 International League Against Epilepsy.)

Background: Tardive dyskinesia is a delayed and potentially irreversible motor complication arising from chronic exposure to antipsychotic drugs. Interaction of antipsychotic drugs with G protein-coupled receptors triggers multiple intracellular events. Nevertheless, signaling pathways that might be associated with chronic unwanted effects of antipsychotic drugs remain elusive. In this study, we aimed to better understand kinase signaling associated with the expression of tardive dyskinesia in nonhuman primates., Methods: We exposed capuchin monkeys to prolonged haloperidol (n = 10) or clozapine (n = 6) treatments. Untreated animals were used as controls (n = 6). Half of haloperidol-treated animals (5) developed mild tardive dyskinesia similar to that found in humans. Using Western blots and immunochemistry, we measured putamen total and phosphorylated protein kinase levels associated with canonical and noncanonical signaling cascades of G protein-coupled receptors., Results: Antipsychotic drugs enhanced pDARPP-32 and pERK1/2, but no difference ws observed in phosphoprotein kinase levels between dyskinetic and nondyskinetic monkeys. On the other hand, comparison of kinase levels between haloperidol-treated dyskinetic and nondyskinetic monkeys indicated that dyskinetic animals had lower GRK6 and β-arrestin2 levels. Levels of pAkt and pGSK-3β were also reduced, but only haloperidol-treated monkeys that developed tardive dyskinesia had reduced pGSK-3β levels, whereas pAkt levels in dyskinetic animals positively correlated with dyskinetic scores. Interestingly, double immunofluorescence labeling showed that putamen dopamine D3 receptor levels were upregulated and that D3/pAkt colocalization was enriched in haloperidol-treated animals displaying tardive dyskinesia., Conclusions: Our results suggest that upregulation of putamen dopamine D3 receptor and alterations along the noncanonical GRK6/β-arrestin2/Akt/GSK-3β molecular cascade are associated with the development of tardive dyskinesia in nonhuman primates. © 2019 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society., (© 2019 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.)

Aim: To determine the effects of BN52021 on platelet-activating factor receptor (PAFR) signaling molecules under lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory conditions in MS1 cells., Methods: MS1 cells (a mouse pancreatic islet endothelial cell line) were grown in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, 2 mmol/L glutamine and 100 μg/mL penicillin/streptomycin in 5% CO2 at 37 °C. After growth to confluency in media, the cells were processed for subsequent studies. The MS1 cells received 0, 0.1, 1 and 10 μg/mL LPS in this experiment. The viability/proliferation of the cells induced by LPS was observed using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. Apoptosis and necrosis of the cells under the inflammatory condition described previously were observed using Hoechst 33342-propidium iodide staining. Adenylate cyclase (AC), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ), protein tyrosine kinase (PTK), G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRK) and p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) mRNA in the PAFR signaling pathway were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The protein expression level of phosphorylated AC (p-AC), phosphorylated PLA2 (p-PLA2), phosphorylated PTK (p-PTK), phosphorylated p38 MAPK (p-p38 MAPK), PLCβ and GRK was measured using Western blotting analysis., Results: The activity of MS1 cells incubated with different concentrations of LPS for 6 h decreased significantly in the 1 μg/mL LPS group (0.49 ± 0.10 vs 0.67 ± 0.13, P < 0.05) and 10 μg/mL LPS group (0.44 ± 0.10 vs 0.67 ± 0.13, P < 0.001), but not in 0.1 μg/mL group. When the incubation time was extended to 12 h (0.33 ± 0.05, 0.32 ± 0.03 and 0.25 ± 0.03 vs 0.69 ± 0.01) and 24 h (0.31 ± 0.01, 0.29 ± 0.03 and 0.25 ± 0.01 vs 0.63 ± 0.01), MS1 cell activity decreased in all LPS concentration groups compared with the blank control (P < 0.001). BN52021 significantly improved the cell activity when its concentration reached 50 μmol/L compared with the group that received LPS treatment alone, which was consistent with the results obtained from fluorescence staining. The mRNAs levels of AC (4.02 ± 0.14 vs 1.00 ± 0.13), GRK (2.63 ± 0.03 vs 1.00 ± 0.12), p38 MAPK (3.87 ± 0.07 vs 1.00 ± 0.17), PLA2 (3.31 ± 0.12 vs 1.00 ± 0.12), PLCβ (2.09 ± 0.08 vs 1.00 ± 0.06) and PTK (1.85 ± 0.07 vs 1.00 ± 0.11) were up-regulated after LPS stimulation as compared with the blank control (P < 0.05). The up-regulated mRNAs including AC (2.35 ± 0.13 vs 3.87 ± 0.08), GRK (1.17 ± 0.14 vs 2.65 ± 0.12), p38 MAPK (1.48 ± 0.18 vs 4.30 ± 0.07), PLCβ (1.69 ± 0.10 vs 2.41 ± 0.13) and PLA2 (1.87 ± 0.11 vs 2.96 ± 0.08) were significantly suppressed by BN52021 except for that of PTK. The level of p-AC (1.11 ± 0.12 vs 0.65 ± 0.08), GRK (0.83 ± 0.07 vs 0.50 ± 0.03), PLCβ (0.83 ± 0.16 vs 0.50 ± 0.10) and p-p38 MAPK (0.74 ± 0.10 vs 0.38 ± 0.05) was up-regulated after LPS stimulation as compared with the blank control (P < 0.05). The up-regulated proteins, including p-AC (0.65 ± 0.15 vs 1.06 ± 0.14), GRK (0.47 ± 0.10 vs 0.80 ± 0.06), PLCβ (0.47 ± 0.04 vs 0.80 ± 0.19) and p-p38 MAPK (0.30 ± 0.10 vs 0.97 ± 0.05), was significantly suppressed by BN52021, but p-PLA2 and p-PTK protein level were not suppressed., Conclusion: BN52021 could effectively inhibit LPS-induced inflammation by down-regulating the mRNA and protein levels of AC, GRK, p38 MAPK, PLA2 and PLCβ in the PAFR signaling pathway.

Background: Intrathecal baclofen therapy is an established treatment for severe spasticity. However, long-term management occasionally results in the development of tolerance. One of the mechanisms of tolerance is desensitization of γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor (GABABR) because of the complex formation of the GABAB2 subunit (GB2R) and G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK) 4 or 5. The current study focused on S(+)-ketamine, which reduces the development of morphine tolerance. This study was designed to investigate whether S(+)-ketamine affects the GABABR desensitization processes by baclofen., Methods: The G protein-activated inwardly rectifying K channel currents induced by baclofen were recorded using Xenopus oocytes coexpressing G protein-activated inwardly rectifying K channel 1/2, GABAB1a receptor subunit, GB2R, and GRK. Translocation of GRKs 4 and 5 and protein complex formation of GB2R with GRKs were analyzed by confocal microscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis in baby hamster kidney cells coexpressing GABAB1a receptor subunit, fluorescent protein-tagged GB2R, and GRKs. The formation of protein complexes of GB2R with GRKs was also determined by coimmunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis., Results: Desensitization of GABABR-mediated signaling was suppressed by S(+)-ketamine in a concentration-dependent manner in the electrophysiologic assay. Confocal microscopy revealed that S(+)-ketamine inhibited translocation of GRKs 4 and 5 to the plasma membranes and protein complex formation of GB2R with the GRKs. Western blot analysis also showed that S(+)-ketamine inhibited the protein complex formation of GB2R with the GRKs., Conclusion: S(+)-Ketamine suppressed the desensitization of GABABR-mediated signaling at least in part through inhibition of formation of protein complexes of GB2R with GRK 4 or 5.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) have generated considerable interest in the pharmaceutical industry as drug targets. Theories concerning antidepressant targets of action suggested pre-synaptic monoamine reuptake mechanisms regulating GPCR activities including delayed receptor desensitization and down-regulation. GRKs and beta-arrestins translocate to the cell membrane and bind to agonist-occupied receptors. This uncouples these receptors from G proteins and promotes their internalization, leading to desensitization and down-regulation. Thus, GRKs and beta-arrestins serve as negative regulators of GPCR signaling. Recently, GPCR have been demonstrated to elicit signals through interaction with beta-arrestin as scaffolding proteins, independent of heterotrimeric G-protein coupling. beta-arrestins function as scaffold proteins that interact with several cytoplasmic proteins and link GPCR to intracellular signaling pathways such as MAPK cascades. Recent work has also revealed that beta-arrestins translocate from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and associate with transcription cofactors such as p300 and CREB. They also interact with regulators of transcription factors. We review findings concerning effects of antidepressants on GRKs and beta-arrestins and the plethora of antidepressants effects on signal transduction elements in which GRKs and beta-arrestins serve as signaling scaffold proteins, and on transcription factors and cofactors in which beta-arrestins mediate regulation of transcription. The emergence of G-protein-independent signaling pathways, through beta-arrestins, changes the way in which GPCR signaling is evaluated, from a cell biological to a pharmaceutical perspective and raises the possibility for the development of pathway specific therapeutics e.g., antidepressant medications targeting GRKs and beta-arrestin regulatory and signaling proteins.