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Cell Research Jan 2024Monoamine neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine are loaded by vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) into synaptic vesicles for storage and subsequent...
Monoamine neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine are loaded by vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) into synaptic vesicles for storage and subsequent release in neurons. Impaired VMAT2 function underlies various neuropsychiatric diseases. VMAT2 inhibitors reserpine and tetrabenazine are used to treat hypertension, movement disorders associated with Huntington's Disease and Tardive Dyskinesia. Despite its physiological and pharmacological significance, the structural basis underlying VMAT2 substrate recognition and its inhibition by various inhibitors remains unknown. Here we present cryo-EM structures of human apo VMAT2 in addition to states bound to serotonin, tetrabenazine, and reserpine. These structures collectively capture three states, namely the lumen-facing, occluded, and cytosol-facing conformations. Notably, tetrabenazine induces a substantial rearrangement of TM2 and TM7, extending beyond the typical rocker-switch movement. These functionally dynamic snapshots, complemented by biochemical analysis, unveil the essential components responsible for ligand recognition, elucidate the proton-driven exchange cycle, and provide a framework to design improved pharmaceutics targeting VMAT2.
Topics: Humans; Reserpine; Serotonin; Synaptic Vesicles; Tetrabenazine; Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins
PubMed: 38163846
DOI: 10.1038/s41422-023-00906-z -
Journal of Nanobiotechnology Oct 2023Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) with neuronic development and function is a promising therapeutic agent for treating depressive disorder, according to the...
BACKGROUND
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) with neuronic development and function is a promising therapeutic agent for treating depressive disorder, according to the neurotrophin hypothesis. However, the delivery of BDNF into the brain is not easy as these large protein molecules cannot efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and easily suffer oxidative damage in vivo. Therefore, the quercetin-based alginate nanogels (quercetin nanogels) loaded with BDNF have been developed, which could efficiently bypass the BBB via the nose-to-brain pathway and protect BDNF from oxidative damage, providing an effective route for the therapy of depressive disorders by intranasal delivery.
RESULTS
Quercetin nanogels exhibited uniform size distribution, excellent biocompatibility, and potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Quercetin nanogels in the thermosensitive gel achieved sustained and controlled release of BDNF with non-Fick's diffusion, exhibited rapid brain distribution, and achieved nearly 50-fold enhanced bioavailability compared to oral quercetin. Quercetin nanogels as a therapeutic drug delivery carrier exerted antidepressant effects on reserpine-induced rats, effectively delivered BDNF to reverse despair behavior in stress-induced mice, and exhibited antidepressant effects on chronic mild unpredictable stimulation (CUMS) rats. These antidepressant effects of BDNF-Quercetin nanogels for CUMS rats are associated with the regulation of the glutamatergic system, PI3K-Akt, and BDNF-TrkB signaling pathway.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, we provide a promising strategy for brain delivery of BDNF for treating depressive disorders, effectively achieved through combining quercetin nanogels and intranasal administration.
Topics: Rats; Mice; Animals; Quercetin; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; Depression; Nanogels; Alginates; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Antidepressive Agents; Hippocampus; Disease Models, Animal
PubMed: 37848975
DOI: 10.1186/s12951-023-02150-4 -
Brain Research Bulletin Jun 2023Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and the psychiatric diagnosis most commonly associated with suicide. 4-Butyl-alpha-agarofuran (AF-5), a derivative...
Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and the psychiatric diagnosis most commonly associated with suicide. 4-Butyl-alpha-agarofuran (AF-5), a derivative of agarwood furan, is currently in phase III clinical trials for generalized anxiety disorder. Herein, we explored the antidepressant effect and its possible neurobiological mechanisms in animal models. In present study, AF-5 administration markedly decreased the immobility time in mouse forced swim test and tail suspension test. In the sub-chronic reserpine-induced depressive rats, AF-5 treatment markedly increased the rectal temperature and decreased the immobility time of model rats. In addition, chronic AF-5 treatment markedly reversed the depressive-like behaviors in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats by reducing immobility time of forced swim test. Single treatment with AF-5 also potentiated the mouse head-twitch response induced by 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP, a metabolic precursor to serotonin), and antagonized the ptosis and motor ability triggered by reserpine. However, AF-5 had no effect on yohimbine toxicity in mice. These results indicated that acute treatment with AF-5 produced serotonergic, but not noradrenergic activation. Furthermore, AF-5 reduced adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level in serum and normalized the neurotransmitter changes, including the decreased serotonin (5-HT) in hippocampus of CUMS rats. Moreover, AF-5 affected the expressions of CRFR1 and 5-HT2C receptor in CUMS rats. These findings confirm the antidepressant effect of AF-5 in animal models, which may be primarily related to CRFR1 and 5-HT2C receptor. AF-5 appears to be promising as a novel dual target drug for depression treatment.
Topics: Rats; Mice; Animals; Serotonin; Depression; Reserpine; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2C; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Antidepressive Agents; Hippocampus; Stress, Psychological; Disease Models, Animal
PubMed: 37076049
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2023.04.003 -
Acta Pharmacologica Sinica Jul 2023Depression is one of the common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the clinic, botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) has been used to treat depression. In this...
Botulinum neurotoxin A ameliorates depressive-like behavior in a reserpine-induced Parkinson's disease mouse model via suppressing hippocampal microglial engulfment and neuroinflammation.
Depression is one of the common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the clinic, botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) has been used to treat depression. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the anti-depressive effect of BoNT/A in a PD mouse model. Mice were administered reserpine (3 μg/mL in the drinking water) for 10 weeks. From the 10 week, BoNT/A (10 U·kg·d) was injected into the cheek for 3 consecutive days. We showed that chronic administration of reserpine produced the behavioral phenotypes of depression and neurochemical changes in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and striatum. BoNT/A treatment significantly ameliorated the depressive-like behaviors, but did not improve TH activity in SNpc of reserpine-treated mice. We demonstrated that BoNT/A treatment reversed reserpine-induced complement and microglia activation in the hippocampal CA1 region. Furthermore, BoNT/A treatment significantly attenuated the microglial engulfment of presynaptic synapses, thus ameliorating the apparent synapse and spine loss in the hippocampus in the reserpine-treated mice. Moreover, BoNT/A treatment suppressed microglia-mediated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β in reserpine-treated mice. In addition, we showed that BoNT/A (0.1 U/mL) ameliorated reserpine-induced complement and microglia activation in mouse BV2 microglial cells in vitro. We conclude that BoNT/A ameliorates depressive-like behavior in a reserpine-induced PD mouse model through reversing the synapse loss mediated by classical complement induced-microglial engulfment as well as alleviating microglia-mediated proinflammatory responses. BoNT/A ameliorates depressive-like behavior, and reverses synapse loss mediated by classical complement pathway-initiated microglia engulfment as well as alleviates microglia-mediated proinflammatory response in the reserpine-induced Parkinson's disease mouse model.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Parkinson Disease; Microglia; Botulinum Toxins, Type A; Reserpine; Neuroinflammatory Diseases; Disease Models, Animal; Hippocampus; Mice, Inbred C57BL
PubMed: 36765267
DOI: 10.1038/s41401-023-01058-x -
Planta Medica May 2024Plants are an incredible source of metabolites showing a wide range of biological activities. Among these, there are the alkaloids, which have been exploited for medical... (Review)
Review
Plants are an incredible source of metabolites showing a wide range of biological activities. Among these, there are the alkaloids, which have been exploited for medical purposes since ancient times. Nowadays, many plant-derived alkaloids are the main components of drugs used as therapy for different human diseases. This review deals with providing an overview of the alkaloids used to treat eye diseases, describing the historical outline, the plants from which they are extracted, and the clinical and molecular data supporting their therapeutic activity. Among the different alkaloids that have found application in medicine so far, atropine and pilocarpine are the most characterized ones. Conversely, caffeine and berberine have been proposed for the treatment of different eye disorders, but further studies are still necessary to fully understand their clinical value. Lastly, the alkaloid used for managing hypertension, reserpine, has been recently identified as a potential drug for ameliorating retinal disorders. Other important aspects discussed in this review are different solutions for alkaloid production. Given that the industrial production of many of the plant-derived alkaloids still relies on extraction from plants, and the chemical synthesis can be highly expensive and poorly efficient, alternative methods need to be found. Biotechnologies offer a multitude of possibilities to overcome these issues, spanning from genetic engineering to synthetic biology for microorganisms and bioreactors for plant cell cultures. However, further efforts are needed to completely satisfy the pharmaceutical demand.
Topics: Humans; Alkaloids; Eye Diseases; Atropine; Pilocarpine; Plants, Medicinal; Caffeine; Plant Extracts; Reserpine
PubMed: 38452806
DOI: 10.1055/a-2283-2350 -
The Journal of Biological Chemistry Aug 2023Amphetamines (AMPHs) are substrates of the dopamine transporter (DAT) and reverse the direction of dopamine (DA) transport. This has been suggested to depend on...
Amphetamines (AMPHs) are substrates of the dopamine transporter (DAT) and reverse the direction of dopamine (DA) transport. This has been suggested to depend on activation of Ca-dependent pathways, but the mechanism underlying reverse transport via endogenously expressed DAT is still unclear. Here, to enable concurrent visualization by live imaging of extracellular DA dynamics and cytosolic Ca levels, we employ the fluorescent Ca sensor jRGECO1a expressed in cultured dopaminergic neurons together with the fluorescent DA sensor GRAB expressed in cocultured "sniffer" cells. In the presence of the Na-channel blocker tetrodotoxin to prevent exocytotic DA release, AMPH induced in the cultured neurons a profound dose-dependent efflux of DA that was blocked both by inhibition of DAT with cocaine and by inhibition of the vesicular monoamine transporter-2 with Ro-4-1284 or reserpine. However, the AMPH-induced DA efflux was not accompanied by an increase in cytosolic Ca and was unaffected by blockade of voltage-gated calcium channels or chelation of cytosolic Ca. The independence of cytosolic Ca was further supported by activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate-type ionotropic glutamate receptors leading to a marked increase in cytosolic Ca without affecting AMPH-induced DA efflux. Curiously, AMPH elicited spontaneous Ca spikes upon blockade of the D2 receptor, suggesting that AMPH can regulate intracellular Ca in an autoreceptor-dependent manner regardless of the apparent independence of Ca for AMPH-induced efflux. We conclude that AMPH-induced DA efflux in dopaminergic neurons does not require cytosolic Ca but is strictly dependent on the concerted action of AMPH on both vesicular monoamine transporter-2 and DAT.
Topics: Amphetamine; Cocaine; Dopamine; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; Dopaminergic Neurons; Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins; Humans; Cell Line, Tumor
PubMed: 37468107
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105063 -
Neuroscience Sep 2023Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterized by chronic pain with depression as a frequent comorbidity. However, efficient management of the pain and depressive...
Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterized by chronic pain with depression as a frequent comorbidity. However, efficient management of the pain and depressive symptoms of FM is lacking. Given that endogenous oxytocin (OXT) contributes to the regulation of pain and depressive disorders, herein, we investigated the role of OXT in an experimental reserpine-induced FM model. In FM model, OXT-monomeric red fluorescent protein 1 (OXT-mRFP1) transgenic rats exhibited increased depressive behavior and sensitivity in a mechanical nociceptive test, suggesting reduced pain tolerance. Additionally, the development of the FM-like phenotype in OXT-mRFP1 FM model rats was accompanied by a significant reduction in OXT mRNA expression in the magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus. OXT-mRFP1 FM model rats also had significantly fewer tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH)- and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactive (ir) neurons as well as reduced serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the dorsal raphe and locus coeruleus. To investigate the effects of stimulating the endogenous OXT pathway, rats expressing OXT-human muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (hM3Dq)-mCherry designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) were also assessed in the FM model. Treatment of these rats with clozapine-N-oxide (CNO), an hM3Dq-activating drug, significantly improved characteristic FM model-induced pathophysiological pain, but did not alter depressive-like behavior. The chemogenetically induced effects were reversed by pre-treatment with an OXT receptor antagonist, confirming the specificity of action via the OXT pathway. These results indicate that endogenous OXT may have analgesic effects in FM, and could be a potential target for effective pain management strategies for this disorder.
Topics: Rats; Humans; Animals; Oxytocin; Reserpine; Fibromyalgia; Luminescent Proteins; Pain; Rats, Transgenic; Neurons; Receptors, Oxytocin
PubMed: 37532013
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.07.028 -
Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao.... Aug 2023Objective To determine the optimal dosage and intervention duration of reserpine to establish a rat model of hypotension.Methods According to the body weight and...
Objective To determine the optimal dosage and intervention duration of reserpine to establish a rat model of hypotension.Methods According to the body weight and systolic blood pressure (SBP),60 male Wistar rats were assigned to six groups (=10),including a control group and five observation groups with different doses.The control group was administrated with 10 ml/kg 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose solution,and the observation groups with 0.016,0.032,0.064,0.128,and 0.160 mg/kg reserpine suspensions,respectively.All the groups were administrated by gavage twice a day,and the body weights of rats were monitored daily.SBP and heart rate (HR) were measured before modeling and 1-6 weeks after administration.After 6 weeks of administration,the blood samples of inner canthus were collected.The levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH),creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB),alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase (AST),serum creatinine,and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured by an autoanalyzer.Three rats in each group were randomly selected for observation of the changes in SBP after drug withdrawal and the rest rats were sacrificed for measurement of the levels of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain.Results Compared with the control group,different doses of reserpine lowered the SBP of rats (=28.492,<0.001).The decline in SBP increased in a concentration-dependent manner.SBP reached the lowest value after 1 week,rose slightly later,and was stable after 3 weeks of administration.There was no significant difference in SBP between 0.016 mg/kg reserpine group and the control group after the 5th week (>0.05).The SBP levels of rats in 0.032,0.064,0.128,and 0.160 mg/kg reserpine groups showed no significant difference between each other (=0.204) and were lower than that in the control group (all <0.001).One week after drug withdrawal,the SBP of rats in the observation groups rose to the baseline level and remained stable.HR showed similar changes among groups,first increasing and then decreasing.There was no significant difference in HR among different groups at the same time point (=0.922,=0.475).Compared with the control group,reserpine of different doses reduced the norepinephrine content in the hippocampus (all <0.001),and 0.128 mg/kg (=0.045) and 0.160 mg/kg (=0.042) reserpine lowered the dopamine level in the striatum,which showed no significant differences between different reserpine groups(=0.343,=0.301).The levels of LDH,CK-MB,and BUN in the serum increased with the increase in reserpine concentration,and the levels of LDH (=0.001),CK-MB (=0.020),AST (=0.007),and BUN (=0.001) in the 0.160 mg/kg reserpine group were significantly different from those in the control group.Conclusions The rat model of hypotension can be induced by gavage with reserpine.The gavage with reserpine at a dose of 0.032 mg/kg,twice a day for three consecutive weeks is the optimal scheme for the modeling.After the model establishment,continuous administration is essential to maintain the hypotension.
Topics: Male; Rats; Animals; Reserpine; Dopamine; Rats, Wistar; Hypotension; Norepinephrine
PubMed: 37654133
DOI: 10.3881/j.issn.1000-503X.15376