Person:

Zapol, Warren

Nitric oxide (NO) regulates vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) structure and function, in part by activating soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to synthesize cGMP. The objective of this study was to further characterize the signaling mechanisms by which NO regulates VSMC gene expression using transcription profiling. DNA microarrays were hybridized with RNA extracted from rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (RPaSMC) exposed to the NO donor compound, S-nitroso-glutathione (GSNO). Many of the genes, whose expression was induced by GSNO, contain a cAMP-response element (CRE), of which one encoded the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER). sGC and cAMP-dependent protein kinase, but not cGMP-dependent protein kinase, were required for NO-mediated phosphorylation of CRE-binding protein (CREB) and induction of ICER gene expression. Expression of a dominant-negative CREB in RPaSMC prevented the NO-mediated induction of CRE-dependent gene transcription and ICER gene expression. Pre-treatment of RPaSMC with the intracellular calcium (Ca2+) chelator, BAPTA-AM, blocked the induction of ICER gene expression by GSNO. The store-operated Ca2+ channel inhibitors, 2-ABP, and SKF-96365, reduced the GSNO-mediated increase in ICER mRNA levels, while 2-ABP did not inhibit GSNO-induced CREB phosphorylation. Our results suggest that induction of ICER gene expression by NO requires both CREB phosphorylation and Ca2+ signaling. Transcription profiling of RPaSMC exposed to GSNO revealed important roles for sGC, PKA, CREB, and Ca2+ in the regulation of gene expression by NO. The induction of ICER in GSNO-treated RPaSMC highlights a novel cross-talk mechanism between cGMP and cAMP signaling pathways.

Background: Volatile anesthetics increase levels of the neurotransmitter nitric oxide (NO) and the secondary messenger molecule cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in the brain. NO activates the enzyme guanylyl cyclase (GC) to produce cGMP. We hypothesized that the NO-GC-cGMP pathway contributes to anesthesia-induced unconsciousness. Methods: Sevoflurane-induced loss and return of righting reflex (LORR and RORR, respectively) were studied in wild-type mice (WT) and in mice congenitally deficient in the GC-1α subunit (GC-1−/− mice). Spatial distributions of GC-1α and the GC-2α subunit in the brain were visualized by in situ hybridization. Brain cGMP levels were measured in WT and GC-1−/− mice after inhaling oxygen with or without 1.2% sevoflurane for 20 min. Results: Higher concentrations of sevoflurane were required to induce LORR in GC-1−/− mice than in WT mice (1.5 ± 0.1 vs. 1.1 ± 0.2%, respectively, n = 14 and 14, P < 0.0001). Similarly, RORR occurred at higher concentrations of sevoflurane in GC-1−/− mice than in WT mice (1.0 ± 0.1 vs. 0.8 ± 0.1%, respectively, n = 14 and 14, P < 0.0001). Abundant GC-1α and GC-2α mRNA expression was detected in the cerebral cortex, medial habenula, hippocampus, and cerebellum. Inhaling 1.2% sevoflurane for 20 min increased cGMP levels in the brains of WT mice from 2.6 ± 2.0 to 5.5 ± 3.7 pmol/mg protein (n = 13 and 10, respectively, P = 0.0355) but not in GC-1−/− mice. Conclusion: Congenital deficiency of GC-1α abolished the ability of sevoflurane anesthesia to increase cGMP levels in the whole brain, and increased the concentration of sevoflurane required to induce LORR. Impaired NO-cGMP signaling raises the threshold for producing sevoflurane-induced unconsciousness in mice.

An elevated intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratio, or “reductive stress,” has been associated with multiple diseases, including disorders of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC). As the intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratio can be in near-equilibrium with the circulating lactate/pyruvate ratio, we hypothesized that reductive stress could be alleviated by oxidizing extracellular lactate into pyruvate. We engineered LOXCAT, a fusion of bacterial lactate oxidase (LOX) and catalase (CAT), which irreversibly converts lactate and oxygen to pyruvate and water. Addition of recombinant LOXCAT to the media of cultured human cells with a defective ETC was able to decrease the extracellular lactate/pyruvate ratio, normalize the intracellular NADH/NAD+ ratio, upregulate glycolytic ATP production, and restore cellular proliferation. In mice, tail-vein injected LOXCAT reduced circulating lactate/pyruvate ratio, blunted a metformin-induced rise in blood lactate/pyruvate, and improved NADH/NAD+ balance in heart and brain. Our study lays the groundwork for a class of injectable therapeutic enzymes that alleviate intracellular redox imbalances by directly targeting circulating redox-coupled metabolites.