La parathormone joue un rôle clé dans l’homéostasie osseuse. En se liant à l’ostéoblaste par son récepteur, elle active la voie de signalisation Gαs/PKA qui a un rôle ostéoanabolique, et la voie Gα q/11/PKC, dont le rôle n’est que partiellement connu. Lors de l’insuffisance rénale chronique, les patients présentent une hyperparathyroïdie (HPT) et des atteintes osseuses. Notre objectif était de décrire le rôle osseux de la voie PKC dans un modèle de souris transgéniques (Tg) inactivées pour Gα q/11/PKC au niveau osseux, avec ou sans HPT induite par un régime enrichi en phosphate et/ou une insuffisance rénale. Nous avons développé une méthode de quantification scintigraphique osseuse in vivo pour le suivi longitudinal ostéoblastique, et étudié les modifications biochimiques et structurales par µCT. Les souris Tg, comparées aux contrôles, avaient une activité ostéoblastique augmentée et des altérations de la structure osseuse. En cas d’insuffisance rénale, les altérations osseuses et l’activité ostéoblastique étaient moins importantes. L’inactivation de la voie PKC avait donc un rôle osseux protecteur lors de l’HPT modérée de l’insuffisance rénale. / Parathyroid hormone (PTH) plays a crucial role in bone homeostasis. PTH binds to its receptor in osteoblasts and activates two distinct pathways, the Gαs/PKA and the Gαq/11/PKC pathway. Whereas Gαs/PKA has osteoanabolic action, the role of the latter is uncertain. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) leads to hyperparathyroidism and osteodystrophy. This study explores the role of Gα q/11/PKC signaling in osteoblast specific Gα q/11/PKC knockout (Ko) mice under physiological conditions and in hyperparathyroidism induced by high phosphate diet and/or CKD. To this end a quantitative bone planar scintigraphic method was established, allowing for in vivo follow up study of osteoblast activity and related to µCT and biochemical findings. Gα q/11/PKC Ko mice have increased osteoblast activity and bone microarchitectural impairment. CKD Ko mice exhibit a decreased osteoblast activity and preserved bone architecture compared to control. Thus, PKC inactivation may protect bone in case of moderate hyperparathyroidism secondary to CKD.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Acute and chronic activation of both ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate (glut) receptors is implicated in many neurodegenerative disorders including AD, dementia, epilepsy, stroke and neurotrauma. TRH and glut receptors (ionotropic & metabotropic) receptors are differentially coexpressed in granule and pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus. The author shows TRH to be protective when added to cultured pituitary adenoma (GH-3) cells and neuron-like pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells either prior to, during, or after glut-induced toxicity (Endo. Soc. Abs. 01), and also shows that the possible neuroprotective mechanism may involve heterologous downregulation of the metabotropic glut receptors, using superfused hippocampal slices and noting a reduction of Gαq/11 (SFN Abs. 02). He has also demonstrated that TRH protected against glut toxicity in fetal cortical cultures (Endo. Soc. Abs. 04). To extend these studies he used 14-day cultured rat fetal hippocampal neurons (Day E17) to determine if TRH is protective against toxicity induced by specific ionotropic and metabotropic glut agonists. Neuronal viability and integrity were assessed by trypan blue exclusion and LDH release after 18 hrs following 30 min exposure to glut agonists. Ten µM dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG, a Group 1 receptor agonist) + 30 µM N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced toxicity (42% vs contr. P<0.05); whereas, concurrent and continued treatment with 10 uM but not 1uM 3Me-HTRH resulted in less neuronal death and damage (86% vs contr P<0.05; 53% vs contr. P>0.05) respectively. DHPG treatment alone (10 µM) for 30 min. was non-toxic by both criteria (90% vs contr. P<0.05). The data suggest that TRH may be a selective modulator of glut-induced toxicity.