scholarly journals Highly sensitive genetically-encoded sensors for population and subcellular imaging of cAMP in vivo

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crystian I Massengill ◽  
Landon Bayless-Edwards ◽  
Cesar C Ceballos ◽  
Elizabeth R Cebul ◽  
Maozhen Qin ◽  
...  

AbstractCyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) integrates information from diverse G protein-coupled receptors, such as neuromodulator receptors, to regulate pivotal biological processes in a cellular- and subcellular-specific manner. However, in vivo cellular-resolution imaging of cAMP dynamics in neurons has not been demonstrated. Here, we screen existing genetically-encoded cAMP sensors, and further develop the best performer to derive three improved variants, called cAMPFIREs. These sensors exhibit up to ten-fold increased sensitivity to cAMP and a corrected, cytosolic distribution. cAMPFIREs are compatible with both ratiometric and fluorescence lifetime imaging, and can detect cAMP dynamics elicited by norepinephrine at physiologically-relevant, nanomolar concentrations. Imaging of cAMPFIREs in awake mice reveals tonic levels of cAMP in cortical neurons that are associated with wakefulness, and are differentially regulated in different subcellular compartments. Furthermore, enforced locomotion elicits neuron-specific, bidirectional cAMP dynamics, in part, mediated by norepinephrine. Finally, cAMPFIREs also function in Drosophila, suggesting that they have broad applicability for studying intracellular signaling in vivo.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1682
Author(s):  
Shujie Ning ◽  
Zixu Wang ◽  
Jing Cao ◽  
Yulan Dong ◽  
Yaoxing Chen

Previous studies have demonstrated that monochromatic light affects plasma melatonin (MEL) levels, which in turn regulates hepatic insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) secretion via the Mel1c receptor. However, the intracellular signaling pathway initiated by Mel1c remains unclear. In this study, newly hatched broilers, including intact, sham operation, and pinealectomy groups, were exposed to either white (WL), red (RL), green (GL), or blue (BL) light for 14 days. Experiments in vivo showed that GL significantly promoted plasma MEL formation, which was accompanied by an increase in the MEL receptor, Mel1c, as well as phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinases (p-ERK1/2), and IGF-I expression in the liver, compared to the other light-treated groups. In contrast, this GL stimulation was attenuated by pinealectomy. Exogenous MEL elevated the hepatocellular IGF-I level, which is consistent with increases in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Gαq, phosphorylated protein kinase C (p-PKC), and p-ERK1/2 expression. However, the Mel1c selective antagonist prazosin suppressed the MEL-induced expression of IGF-I, Gαq, p-PKC, and p-ERK1/2, while the cAMP concentration was barely affected. In addition, pretreatment with Ym254890 (a Gαq inhibitor), Go9863 (a PKC inhibitor), and PD98059 (an ERK1/2 inhibitor) markedly attenuated MEL-stimulated IGF-I expression and p-ERK1/2 activity. These results indicate that Mel1c mediates monochromatic GL-stimulated IGF-I synthesis through intracellular Gαq/PKC/ERK signaling.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 2127-2134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek S. Sim ◽  
Glenn Merrill-Skoloff ◽  
Barbara C. Furie ◽  
Bruce Furie ◽  
Robert Flaumenhaft

Abstract Platelet accumulation at sites of vascular injury is the primary event in arterial thrombosis. Initial platelet accrual into thrombi is mediated by interactions of platelet adhesion receptors with ligands on the injured endothelium or in the sub-endothelial matrix. The role of intracellular signals in initial platelet accumulation at sites of endothelial injury, however, is the subject of debate. We have used a newly discovered inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 3A (PDE3A) and the well-characterized PDE3A inhibitor, cilostazol, to modulate 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels in an in vivo model that enables the kinetic analysis of platelet accumulation. These studies demonstrate that elevation of basal cAMP levels results in an overall decline in platelet accumulation at the site of vascular injury. In particular, the initial rate of accumulation of platelets is inhibited by elevation of cAMP. Analysis of the kinetics of individual platelets at injury sites using intravital microscopy demonstrates that cAMP directs the rate at which platelets attach to and detach from thrombi. These studies demonstrate that cAMP in circulating platelets controls attachment to and detachment from sites of arteriolar injury. Thus, the status of the intracellular signaling machinery prior to engagement of platelet receptors influences the rate of platelet accumulation during thrombus formation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Gibon ◽  
Jean-Christophe Deloulme ◽  
Tiphaine Chevallier ◽  
Elodie Ladevèze ◽  
Djoher Nora Abrous ◽  
...  

Abstract Hyperforin is one of the main bioactive compounds that underlie the antidepressant actions of the medicinal plant Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort). However, the effects of a chronic hyperforin treatment on brain cells remains to be fully addressed. The following study was undertaken to further advance our understanding of the biological effects of this plant extract on neurons. Special attention was given to its impact on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) receptor TrkB and on adult hippocampal neurogenesis since they appear central to the mechanisms of action of antidepressants. The consequences of a chronic hyperforin treatment were investigated on cortical neurons in culture and on the brain of adult mice treated for 4 wk with a daily injection (i.p.) of hyperforin (4 mg/kg). Its effects on the expression of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (CREB), phospho-CREB (p-CREB), TrkB and phospho-TrkB (p-TrkB) were analysed by Western blot experiments and its impact on adult hippocampal neurogenesis was also investigated. Hyperforin stimulated the expression of TRPC6 channels and TrkB via SKF-96365-sensitive channels controlling a downstream signalling cascade involving Ca2+, protein kinase A, CREB and p-CREB. In vivo, hyperforin augmented the expression of TrkB in the cortex but not in the hippocampus where hippocampal neurogenesis remained unchanged. In conclusion, this plant extract acts on the cortical BDNF/TrkB pathway leaving adult hippocampal neurogenesis unaffected. This study provides new insights on the neuronal responses controlled by hyperforin. We propose that the cortex is an important brain structure targeted by hyperforin.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3531-3539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasaman Ardeshirpour ◽  
Victor Chernomordik ◽  
Moinuddin Hassan ◽  
Rafal Zielinski ◽  
Jacek Capala ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaley M. Wilburn ◽  
Christine R. Montague ◽  
Bo Qin ◽  
Ashley K. Woods ◽  
Melissa S. Love ◽  
...  

There is a growing appreciation for the idea that bacterial utilization of host-derived lipids, including cholesterol, supports Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) pathogenesis. This has generated interest in identifying novel antibiotics that can disrupt cholesterol utilization by Mtb in vivo. Here we identify a novel small molecule agonist (V-59) of the Mtb adenylyl cyclase Rv1625c, which stimulates 3’, 5’-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) synthesis and inhibits cholesterol utilization by Mtb. Similarly, using a complementary genetic approach that induces bacterial cAMP synthesis independent of Rv1625c, we demonstrate that inducing cAMP synthesis is sufficient to inhibit cholesterol utilization in Mtb. Although the physiological roles of individual adenylyl cyclase enzymes in Mtb are largely unknown, here we demonstrate that the transmembrane region of Rv1625c is required for cholesterol metabolism. Finally, in this work the pharmacokinetic properties of Rv1625c agonists are optimized, producing an orally-available Rv1625c agonist that impairs Mtb pathogenesis in infected mice. Collectively, this work demonstrates a novel role for Rv1625c and cAMP signaling in controlling cholesterol metabolism in Mtb and establishes that cAMP signaling can be pharmacologically manipulated for the development of new antibiotic strategies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingbo Yang ◽  
Daniel J. Needleman

AbstractMitochondria are central to metabolism and their dysfunctions are associated with many diseases1–9. Metabolic flux, the rate of turnover of molecules through a metabolic pathway, is one of the most important quantities in metabolism, but it remains a challenge to measure spatiotemporal variations in mitochondrial metabolic fluxes in living cells. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of NADH is a label-free technique that is widely used to characterize the metabolic state of mitochondria in vivo10–18. However, the utility of this technique has been limited by the inability to relate FLIM measurement to the underlying metabolic activities in mitochondria. Here we show that, if properly interpreted, FLIM of NADH can be used to quantitatively measure the flux through a major mitochondrial metabolic pathway, the electron transport chain (ETC), in vivo with subcellular resolution. This result is based on the use of a coarse-grained NADH redox model, which we test in mouse oocytes subject to a wide variety of perturbations by comparing predicted fluxes to direct biochemical measurements and by self-consistency criterion. Using this method, we discovered a subcellular spatial gradient of mitochondrial metabolic flux in mouse oocytes. We showed that this subcellular variation in mitochondrial flux correlates with a corresponding subcellular variation in mitochondrial membrane potential. The developed model, and the resulting procedure for analyzing FLIM of NADH, are valid under nearly all circumstances of biological interest. Thus, this approach is a general procedure to measure metabolic fluxes dynamically in living cells, with subcellular resolution.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 966-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Sawosz ◽  
Stanislaw Wojtkiewicz ◽  
Michal Kacprzak ◽  
Elzbieta Zieminska ◽  
Magdalena Morawiec ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramoji Kosuru ◽  
Magdalena Chrzanowska

Ca2+ is a universal intracellular signal. The modulation of cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration regulates a plethora of cellular processes, such as: synaptic plasticity, neuronal survival, chemotaxis of immune cells, platelet aggregation, vasodilation, and cardiac excitation–contraction coupling. Rap1 GTPases are ubiquitously expressed binary switches that alternate between active and inactive states and are regulated by diverse families of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs). Active Rap1 couples extracellular stimulation with intracellular signaling through secondary messengers—cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Ca2+, and diacylglycerol (DAG). Much evidence indicates that Rap1 signaling intersects with Ca2+ signaling pathways to control the important cellular functions of platelet activation or neuronal plasticity. Rap1 acts as an effector of Ca2+ signaling when activated by mechanisms involving Ca2+ and DAG-activated (CalDAG-) GEFs. Conversely, activated by other GEFs, such as cAMP-dependent GEF Epac, Rap1 controls cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels. It does so by regulating the activity of Ca2+ signaling proteins such as sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA). In this review, we focus on the physiological significance of the links between Rap1 and Ca2+ signaling and emphasize the molecular interactions that may offer new targets for the therapy of Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, and atherosclerosis, among other diseases.


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