The muscle-specific membrane protein, Caveolin-3, is a building block of caveolae a type of specialised lipid raft. Caveolin-3 is proposed to play a central role in variety of cellular functions both structural and functional, from cell signalling to cholesterol homeostasis. Caveolin-3 has also been implicated in processes involved in targeting membrane proteins to the plasma membrane, as well as mediating a host of cell signalling processes. Initial attempts were made to express full-length Caveolin-3 in E.coli. However, more success was achieved in expressing and purifying domains of Caveolin-3. To produce purified full-length Caveolin-3 the baculovirus expression system was employed and we report here that the expression of Caveolin-3 in insect (Sf9) cells leads to the formation of caveolae comparable in size to those observed in native vesicles. We subsequently purified the recombinant Caveolin-3 and determined, using multi-angle laser light scattering, that the isolated protein forms an oligomer with a molecular mass of ~200-220kDa. Using negative-stain transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with single particle analysis we have determined the first three-dimensional structure for Caveolin-3 with data converging to suggest that it forms a nonamer. The 9-fold symmetric three-dimensional Caveolin-3 volume is toroidal, ~16.5nm in diameter and 5.5nm thick, and is characterised by an outer rim of protein connected to a central 'cone-shaped' domain. Labelling studies revealed that the C-terminal domain of each of the contributing Caveolin-3 monomers associate to form the central cone density. There is also evidence to suggest that Caveolin-3 is associated with a range of proteins involved in excitation-contraction coupling. Having identified multiple potential caveolin-binding motifs within the Ryanodine Receptor, one of the key protein components of excitation-contraction coupling, we have purified the skeletal isoform of the Ryanodine Receptor (Ryanodine Receptor-1) from sheep calf muscle and using several biophysical techniques probed whether there is an interaction between Caveolin-3 and Ryanodine Receptor-1. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that the two proteins do indeed interact, but functional studies for analysis of binding characteristics were inconclusive. In conclusion, this thesis describes both the successfully purification and structural determination of Caveolin-3, generating the first 3D data for any of the caveolin proteins, as well as work aimed at understanding its functional relationship with Ryanodine Receptor-1.

Abstract Billions of reared fish are released to the wild to compensate e.g. for the loss of natural populations. However, the efficiency of the releases is low. It has been proposed that one of the factors affecting the low survival rate of reared fish is their low swimming capacity. The molecular, metabolic and structural characters of muscle fiber define the swimming capacity of fish. Swimming capacity is related to the ecological competence of the fish, including the ability to complete long migrations and catch pray. One of the aims of the current study is to compare the properties of muscles of reared and wild salmon. The second aim of the study is to alter the muscular parameters of reared fish closer to those of wild fish by means of training. The muscular differences between wild, reared and trained fish are analyzed with immunological, histochemical and electron microscopic methods. The main focus is on the dihydropyridine and ryanodine receptors. These receptors are involved for example in the initiation, force and velocity of muscle contraction. According to the results, the level of receptors is higher in the muscles of wild as compared to reared fish. The aerobic ATP production capacity is also higher in the wild fish. However, with training both the level of receptors and oxidative capacity of reared fish increase. Moreover, the swimming capacity is enhanced in trained fish, and there is a connection between the level of receptors and swimming capacity of fish. Training also affects the migration pattern of fish which starts to resemble more that of wild fish. In conclusion, the results of the current study show that the performance of fish as a whole depends on functional parameters at cellular level. For the first time, it is shown that the level of receptors involved in muscular contraction is low in muscles of reared fish. However, the muscular properties are not definite. It is now shown that with training, both the muscular and migration parameters of reared fish approach those of wild fish. This will most probably increase the survival probability of trained, reared fish in the future. / Tiivistelmä Kalojen kasvatus ja istutus takaisin luontoon on yksi tärkeimmistä keinoista säädellä ja palauttaa kalakantoja vesistöihin. Maailmanlaajuisesti puhutaan miljardien kalojen istutusmääristä vuosittain. On kuitenkin hyvin tunnettu tosiasia, että kasvatetut kalat eivät selviä luonnossa yhtä hyvin kuin villit lajikumppaninsa. On arvioitu, että vain alle 5 % istutetuista kaloista selviää lisääntymisikään asti hengissä. Eräs tekijä, joka voi vaikuttaa kalojen selviytymiseen, on kalojen lihaskunto. Kasvatettujen kalojen uintikyvyn on todettu olevan heikko villeihin lajikumppaneihin verrattuna. Luonnossa kaloilta kuitenkin vaaditaan suurta uintikykyä esim. saalistukseen, pedoilta pakenemiseen ja vaellukseen. Eräs tämän työn päätavoitteista on määrittää, miten kasvatettujen ja villien kalojen lihasten molekulaariset, aineenvaihdunnalliset ja rakenteelliset ominaisuudet poikkeavat toisistaan, jotta voidaan arvioida mitkä solutason tekijät vaikuttavat kalojen uintikykyyn ja sitä kautta selviytymiseen. Toisaalta kasvatettujen kalojen lihasten toiminnallisten tekijöiden tasoja pyritään nostamaan harjoittelun avulla lähemmäksi villien vastaavaa ja täten vaikuttamaan kasvatettujen kalojen uintikykyyn ja sitä kautta lopulta selviytymiseen. Työssä lihasten ominaisuuksia analysoidaan immunologisin, histokemiallisin ja elektronimikroskooppisin menetelmin. Tutkimuksissa keskitytään erityisesti dihydropyridiini- ja ryanodiinireseptorien suhteellisiin määriin. Nämä reseptorit osallistuvat lihasten supistumisen aikaansaatiin ja niiden määrä korreloi positiivisesti lihasten voiman ja supistumisnopeuden kanssa. Tulosten mukaan villien kalojen lihaksissa on huomattavasti enemmän reseptoreita verrattuna kasvatettujen kalojen lihaksiin. Myös aerobinen ATP:n tuottokapasiteetti on villeillä kaloilla huomattavasti tehokkaampaa. Harjoittelun jälkeen kasvatettujen kalojen lihasten reseptorimäärät ja aerobinen kapasiteetti kuitenkin kasvavat lähemmäksi villien vastaavaa. Lisäksi lihasten reseptorimäärä ja uintikapasiteetti näyttävät korreloivan keskenään. Harjoittelun seurauksena kasvatettujen kalojen vaellusnopeus, eräs kalojen selviytymiseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä, muistuttaa myös enemmän villien vastaavaa. Yhteenvetona voidaan sanoa, että kalojen koko suorituskyky riippuu lihasten solutason mekanismien tehokkuudesta. Tässä työssä todettiin ensimmäistä kertaa, että kasvatettujen kalojen lihaksissa niiden reseptoreiden määrät, jotka liittyvät itse lihassupistuksen tehokkuuteen, ovat huomattavasti alemmat kuin villeillä. Lihasten toiminnalliset ominaisuudet eivät kuitenkaan ole muuttumattomia vakioita. Tulosten perusteella harjoitettujen kalojen sekä lihas- että vaellusominaisuudet lähestyvät villien vastaavaa. Tämä harjoittelun jälkeinen muutos lisää todennäköisesti kasvatettujen kalojen selviytymismahdollisuuksia.

Omega 3 poly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have been shown to protect against sudden cardiac death following myocardial infarction and reduce the risk of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with heart failure. At the inception of this study, there was one clinical study that reported n-3 PUFA supplementation reduced the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) following CABG. As AF is a very common arrhythmia and as there are no safe and effective means of preventing AF, we designed this study to further validate the findings of the previous study in a more robust study design. In addition, this study also aimed to evaluate the cellular changes that underpin the beneficial anti-arrhythmic effect of n-3 PUFA.The outcome of this study shows that n-3 PUFA does not reduce the risk of AF following CABG. However, short term supplementation with n-3 PUFA reliably increases the membrane incorporation in phospholipids and results in alteration in the expression levels of cardiac calcium handling proteins phospholamban and ryanodine receptors. In addition, such incorporation in animal (rat) ventricular myocytes leads to changes in the rate of decay of the systolic calcium transient and an increase in the amplitude of the caffeine induced calcium transient thereby indicating a greater activity of SERCA. These findings needs further evaluation but is clearly interesting as the clinical situations where n-3 PUFA have been shown to be anti-arrhythmic are situations where cellular calcium overload is the main mechanism of arrhythmogenesis.

Le calcium (Ca2+) joue un rôle prépondérant dans la fonction de nos neurones et du système nerveux central. Différents travaux ont rapporté que la dérégulation de l’homéostasie calcique, est associée au développement de la Maladie d’Alzheimer (MA). Durant ma thèse, j’ai étudié l’implication de deux acteurs importants de l’homéostasie calcique du Réticulum Endoplasmique (RE) : 1) le Récepteur de la Ryanodine (RyR) faisant sortir le Ca2+ vers le cytosol et 2) l’isoforme tronquée de la Sarco-Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 1 (S1T), ayant perdu la fonction de pompe calcique et jouant un rôle dans la fuite passive du Ca2+ du RE. Au cours de ma thèse j’ai démontré le mécanisme moléculaire impliqué dans la dérégulation de l’activité de l’isoforme RyR2 dans des modèles d’étude in vitro et in vivo de la MA. Nous avons montré que le RyR2 subit des modifications post-traductionnelles (MPTs) (phosphorylation, oxydation, nitrosylation) dans le cerveau de patients atteints de la MA et dans des modèles murins de la maladie. Nous avons identifié une cascade dans laquelle l’Amyloïde β (Aβ) active les récepteurs β2-Adrénergiques, conduisant aux MPTs du RyR2 aboutissant à la dissociation de la protéine régulatrice Calstabine2 du macrocomplexe du RyR2 et à l’augmentation de la fuite de Ca2+ du RE. Nous avons aussi mis en évidence la possibilité de réduire les MPTs du RyR2 et de stabiliser la Calstabine2 sur le macrocomplexe RyR2 en inhibant pharmacologiquement la cascade β2-Adrénergique. Par ailleurs, nous avons également stabilisé la Calstabine2 par des moyens pharmacologiques (in vitro et in vivo) ou génétiques (in vivo). Nos résultats montrent que cela permet non seulement de limiter la fuite de Ca2+ mais également de réduire le métabolisme du Précurseur du Peptide Amyloïde (APP) et les dépôts d’Aβ in vitro et in vivo et le déficit cognitif et les défauts de plasticité synaptique dans deux modèles murins d’étude de la MA. Nos résultats ont également montré l’existence d’une boucle d’amplification de la pathologie dans laquelle la dérégulation calcique liée au RyR accroit la production de l’Aβ qui va en retour induire les modifications du RyR. Par ailleurs, je me suis également intéressé à l’implication potentielle de S1T dans la MA. Nos résultats révèlent : 1) l’expression de S1T dans les cerveaux de patients Alzheimer et dans un modèle in vitro de la MA ; 2) l’induction de S1T par l’Aβ, 3) l’impact de l’expression de S1T sur le métabolisme de l’APP et 4) l’impact de l’expression de S1T sur la neuroinflammation dans des modèles in vitro et in vivo. L’article issu de cette seconde étude est en cours de soumission. Ainsi l’augmentation de la fuite du Ca2+ du RE vers le cytosol semble être particulièrement impliquée dans la physiopathologie de la MA. Le canal RyR2 se révèlerait être un candidat intéressant à cibler pour des approches thérapeutiques visant à réguler son activité dans le but de prévenir ou guérir la MA. / Calcium (Ca2+) plays a major role in the function of our neurones and central nervous system. Various studies reported that the deregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis is associated with the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). During my PhD, I studied the implication in two important actors of the Endoplasmic (ER) Ca2+ homeostasis. 1) The Ryanodine Receptor (RyR) which leads Ca2+ from the ER towards the cytosol and 2) the truncated isoform of the Sarco-Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 1 (S1T), which loses its Ca2+ pump function and plays a role in the ER passive Ca2+ leak. During my thesis I demonstrated the molecular mechanism involved in the deregulation of RyR2 isoform activity in in vitro and in vivo AD models. We have shown that RyR2 undergoes post-translational modifications (PTMs) (phosphorylation, oxidation, nitrosylation) in the brains of patients with AD and in murine models of the disease. We have identified a cascade in which Amyloid β (Aβ) activates β2-adrenergic receptors, leading to RyR2 PTMs resulting in dissociation of Calstabine2 regulatory protein from RyR2 macrocomplex and increased ER Ca2+ leakage. We have also demonstrated the possibility of reducing RyR2 PTMs and stabilizing Calstabine2 on the RyR2 macrocomplex by pharmacologically inhibiting the β2-adrenergic cascade. In addition, we have also stabilized Calstabine2 by pharmacological (in vitro and in vivo) or genetic (in vivo) means. Our results show that this is not only limiting Ca2+ leakage but also reducing the Amyloid Peptide Precursor (APP) metabolism and Aβ deposits in vitro and in vivo, and cognitive deficit and synaptic plasticity defects. two murine models of AD. Our results also showed the existence of a loop amplificating the pathology in which RyR-related calcium deregulation increases the production of Aβ, which in turn induces RyR modifications. In addition, I was also interested in the potential involvement of S1T in AD. Our results reveal: 1) the expression of S1T in the brains of Alzheimer patients and in an in vitro model of AD; 2) the induction of S1T by Aβ, 3) the impact of S1T expression on the metabolism of APP and 4) the impact of S1T expression on neuroinflammation in in vitro and in vivo models. The article from this second study is being submitted. Thus, the increase of the ER Ca2+ leakage towards the cytosol appears to be particularly involved in the pathophysiology of AD. The RyR2 channel would prove to be an interesting candidate to target for therapeutic approaches aimed at regulating its activity in order to prevent or cure AD.

A central concept in the physiology of neurosecretion is that a rise in cytosolic [Ca2+] in the vicinity of plasmalemmal Ca2+ channels due to Ca2+ influx, elicits exocytosis. This dissertation examines the effect on both spontaneous and elicited exocytosis of a rise in focal cytosolic [Ca2+] in the vicinity of ryanodine receptors (RYRs) due to release from internal stores in the form of Ca2+ syntillas. Ca2+ syntillas are focal cytosolic transients mediated by RYRs, which we first found in hypothalamic magnocellular neuronal terminals. (Scintilla, Latin for spark, found in nerve terminals, normally synaptic structures.) We have also observed Ca2+ syntillas in mouse adrenal chromaffin cells (ACCs). Here the effect of Ca2+syntillas on exocytosis is examined in ACCs, which are widely used as model cells for the study of neurosecretion. Elicited exocytosis employs two sources of Ca2+, one due to influx from the cell exterior through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (VGCCs) and another due to release from intracellular stores. To eliminate complications arising from Ca2+ influx, the first part of this dissertation examines spontaneous exocytosis where influx is not activated. We report that decreasing syntillas leads to an increase in spontaneous exocytosis measured amperometrically. Two independent lines of experimentation each lead to this conclusion. In one case release from stores was blocked by ryanodine; in another, stores were partially emptied using thapsigargin plus caffeine after which syntillas were decreased. We conclude that Ca2+syntillas act to inhibit spontaneous exocytosis, and we propose a simple model to account quantitatively for this action of syntillas. The second part of this dissertation examines the role of syntillas in elicited exocytosis whereby Ca2+ influx is activated by physiologically relevant levels of stimulation. Catecholamine and neuropeptide release from ACCs into the circulation is controlled by the sympathetic division of the Autonomic Nervous System. To ensure proper homeostasis tightly controlled exocytic mechanisms must exist both in resting conditions, where minimal output is desirable and under stress, where maximal, but not total release is necessary. It is thought that sympathetic discharge accomplishes this task by regulating the frequency of Ca2+ influx through VGCCs, which serves as a direct trigger for exocytosis. But our studies on spontaneous release in ACCs revealed the presence of Ca2+ syntillas, which had the opposite effect of inhibiting release. Therefore, assuming Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release (CICR) via RYRs due to Ca2+ influx through VGCCs, we are confronted with a contradiction. Sympathetic discharge should increase syntilla frequency and that in turn should decreaseexocytosis, a paradox. A simple “explanation” might be that the increase in syntillas would act as a brake to prevent an overly great exocytic release. But upon investigation of this question a different finding emerged. We examined the role of syntillas under varying levels of physiologic stimulation in ACCs using simulated action potentials (sAPs) designed to mimic native input at frequencies associated with stress, 15 Hz, and the basal sympathetic tone, 0.5 Hz. Surprisingly, we found that sAPs delivered at 15 Hz or 0.5 Hz were able to completely abolish Ca2+ syntillas within a time frame of two minutes. This was not expected. Further, a single sAP is all that was necessary to initiate suppression of syntillas. Syntillas remained inhibited after 0.5 Hz stimulation but were only temporarily suppressed (for 2 minutes) by 15 Hz stimulation, where global [Ca2+]i was raised to 1 – 2 μM. Thus we propose that CICR, if present in these cells, is overridden by other processes. Hence it appears that inhibition of syntillas by action potentials in ACCs is due to a new process which is the opposite of CICR. This process needs to be investigated, and that will be one of the very next steps in the future. Finally we conclude that syntilla suppression by action potentials is part of the mechanism for elicited exocytosis, resolving the paradox. In the last chapter speculation is discussed into the mechanisms by which physiologic input in the form of an action potential can inhibit Ca2+ syntillas and furthermore, how the Ca2+ syntilla can inhibit exocytic output.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第20269号 / 医博第4228号 / 新制||医||1021(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 横出 正之, 教授 湊谷 謙司, 教授 瀬原 淳子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

No description available.

During development, neurons must find their way to and make connections with their appropriate targets. Growth cones are dynamic, motile structures that are integral to the establishment of appropriate connectivity during this wiring process. As growth cones migrate through their environment, they encounter guidance cues that direct their migration to their appropriate synaptic targets. The gaseous messenger nitric oxide (NO), which diffuses across the plasma membrane to act on intracellular targets, is a signaling molecule that affects growth cone motility. However, most studies have examined the effects of NO on growth cone morphology when applied in large concentrations and to entire cells. In addition, the intracellular second messenger cascade activated by NO to bring about these changes in growth cone morphology is not well understood. Therefore, this dissertation addresses the effects that a spatially- and temporally-restricted application of physiological amounts of NO can have on individual growth cone morphology, on the second messenger pathway that is activated by this application of NO, and on the calcium cascades that result and ultimately affect growth cone morphology. Helisoma trivolvis, a pond snail, is an excellent model system for this type of research because it has a well-defined nervous system and cultured neurons form large growth cones. In the present study, local application of NO to Helisoma trivolvis B5 neurons results in an increase in filopodial length, a decrease in filopodial number, and an increase in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). In B5 neurons, the effects of NO on growth cone behavior and [Ca2+]i are mediated via sGC, protein kinase G, cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose, and ryanodine receptor-mediated intracellular calcium release. This study demonstrates that neuronal growth cone pathfinding in vitro is affected by a single spatially- and temporally-restricted exposure to NO. Furthermore, NO acts via a second messenger cascade, resulting in a calcium increase that leads to cytoskeletal changes. These results suggest that NO may be a signal that promotes appropriate pathfinding and/or target recognition within the developing nervous system. Taken together, these data indicate that NO may be an important messenger during the development of the nervous system in vivo.

No description available.

La contraction des muscles striés est sous la dépendance du Complexe de Relâchement du Calcium (CRC). Ce complexe protéique est constitué principalement de deux canaux calciques, le récepteur des dihydropyridines, un canal sensible au voltage localisé dans la membrane des tubules-T et le récepteur de la ryanodine (RyR) situé dans la membrane du RS. Le CRC comprend également de nombreuses protéines régulatrices comme la triadine, la calséquestrine, la junctine et FKBP. Des mutations dans les gènes codant les protéines du CRC conduisent à des pathologies rares et souvent sévères. Cette thèse porte sur l'étude des mécanismes physiopathologiques induits par quelques unes de ces mutations pour décrypter les mécanismes pathologiques mis en œuvre mais également pour comprendre le fonctionnement global du CRC dans les muscles squelettique et cardiaque. La première partie de cette étude concerne RYR1, le gène codant l'isoforme squelettique du RyR qui est une cible importante de mutations chez des patients atteints de myopathies congénitales à cores. L'effet fonctionnel de ces mutations, réparties sur toute la séquence de RYR1, est peu connu. Ces mutations pourraient modifier la fonction canal de RyR1 mais également son adressage à la triade ou sa régulation par d'autres protéines du CRC. Parmi ces hypothèses, la modification de la localisation de RyR1 et sa régulation par une protéine régulatrice (la cavéoline-3) ont été révélées par l'étude de deux mutations de RyR1. La deuxième partie de cette étude concerne la tachycardie ventriculaire polymorphe catécholaminergique (TVPC), une pathologie liée à des défauts du CRC cardiaque, pour laquelle des recherches de mutations sont effectuées sur l'isoforme cardiaque du RyR, RYR2, puis dans les autres protéines du complexe. Nous avons identifié au laboratoire les premières mutations dans le gène de la triadine chez un de ces patients. L'impact d'une de ces mutations sur le fonctionnement du complexe a été étudié et nous avons pu caractériser le mécanisme physiopathologique mis en œuvre et conduisant à la TVPC chez ces patients. / The calcium release complex (CRC) plays a central role in both skeletal and cardiac muscle contraction. The composition of the complex is quite similar in both tissues, and differs only by tissue specific isoforms. The core of the complex is composed of the dihydropyridines receptor, a voltage sensor channel of the T-tubule and the ryanodine receptor, the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium channel. A number of proteins are associated to this calcium channel like calsequestrin, triadin, junction and FKBP. Mutations in the skeletal CRC are responsible for rare and often severe diseases. This thesis work focuses on the study of physiopathological mechanisms induced by some of these mutations to decipher pathological mecanisms but also to understand the overall CRC functioning in skeletal and cardiac muscles. The first part of this study concerns RYR1, the skeletal RyR isoform coding gene. This gene is mostly the target of mutations resulting in core myopathies. The functional effect of these mutations spred on the entire RYR1 sequence is little known. These mutations could directly alter the calcium channel function but also its targeting to the triad or its regulation by other CRC proteins. Among these hypotheses, the modification of RyR1 localisation and regulation by a protein, Caveolin-3, have been highlighted with the study of two RyR1 mutations. The second part of this study concerns the catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a rare fatal arrhythmia caused in part by mutations in RYR2 and CASQ2, both belonging to the cardiac CRC,. Recently, we have identified the first mutations in the human triadin gene, TRDN, in a CPVT patient. The goal of this project was to study the molecular and physiological consequences of one of these TRDN mutations allowing the analysis of the pathological mechanisms of this disease, but also a better understanding of the normal function of the cardiac CRC.