L’action du système nerveux périphérique sympathique sur le métabolisme osseux, via la sécrétion de neurotransmetteurs, comme le VIP, est clairement établie. Réciproquement, les cellules osseuses expriment des molécules possédant des propriétés chémo-attractives (NGF) ou répulsives (Sémaphorine 3a) suggérant que l’os est capable de contrôler sa propre innervation. Afin de mieux comprendre les relations entre système nerveux et cellules osseuses, notre travail s’est déroulé en deux étapes.Dans un premier temps, nous avons montré que la sympathectomie chimique à la guanéthidine monosulfatée, au niveau du périoste mandibulaire, modulait le ratio OPG/RANKL par l’intermédiaire de la voie cholinergique du système nerveux sympathique. Le traitement par du VIP des rats sympathectomisés a permis de rétablir le potentiel résorbant du système sympathique et ainsi confirmé le rôle prépondérant du VIP dans la modulation du métabolisme osseux au niveau du périoste mandibulaire. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons évalué les variations d’expression du NGF et de la Séma3a, en fonction de la disponibilité locale en VIP. La sympathectomie, dans le compartiment ostéogène du périoste mandibulaire, a épuisé les réserves en proNGF et en Sema 3a et provoqué une migration de fibres sensorielles immunoréactives au CGRP où physiologiquement elles sont absentes. Dans compartiment non-ostéogène, la sympathectomie a induit une dégranulation des mastocytes et la libération de βNGF (forme mature) et le développement de fibres CGRP-IR.. Le traitement par le VIP10-28, un antagoniste des récepteurs du VIP, a provoqué des effets similaires à la sympathectomie. In vitro, le VIP n’a pas modifié l’expression relative des ARNm codant pour le NGF et la Séma 3a, augmenté celle de RANKL et diminué celle d’OPG. Le VIP10-28 a permis d’augmenter l’expression d’OPG, et de diminuer celle de Séma3a et de CGRP. L’ensemble de ce travail a permis de montrer que le système sympathique cholinergique, via le VIP, module à la fois le rapport OPG/RANKL et l’expression de NGF et de Sema3a au niveau des ostéoblastes et du périoste mandibulaire et renforce l’hypothèse d’une communication bidirectionnelle entre les cellules nerveuses et osseuses. / The action of the sympathetic nervous system on bone metabolism, via the secretion of neurotransmitters such as VIP, is clearly established. Conversely, bone cells express molecules with chemo-attractive properties (NGF) or -repulsive (Semaphorin3a), suggesting that bone can control its own innervation. To better understand the relationship between the nervous system and the bone cells, our work takes place in two stages. As a first step, we have shown that chemical monosulfate guanethidine sympathectomy, modulates in the mandible periosteum the OPG/RANKL ratio through the cholinergic nervous system. VIP treatment of sympathectomized rats restored to controls the resorption potential of the sympathetic system and thus confirmed the leading role of VIP in the modulation of bone metabolism in this bone envelope. In a second step, we evaluated, the variations in NGF and Sema3a expressions, according to the local availability in VIP. Sympathectomy, exhausted proNGF and Sema 3a stores in the osteogenic compartment of the periosteum and caused its invasion by CGRP immunoreactive sensory fibers, where they are physiologically absent. In the non-osteogenic compartment, sympathectomy induced mast cell degranulation and release of βNGF (the mature form) and sprouting of CGRP-IR fibers Treatment with VIP10-28, a VIP receptors antagonist, had effects similar to sympathectomy. In vitro, VIP did not alter the relative expression of mRNA encoding NGF and Sema 3a, increased RANKL and decreased OPG mRNAs. VIP10-28 increased OPG mRNA expression and decreased that of Sema3a and CGRP.In conclusion, this work showed that the cholinergic sympathetic system, via VIP, modulates the OPG/RANKL ratio and NGF and Sema3a expression in periosteal osteoblasts and strengthens the hypothesis of a bi-directional communication between nerve and bone cells.

A Bradicinina, a mais importante das cininas plasmáticas, foi encontrada pela primeira vez em mamíferos. Pouco foi estudado sobre o sistema calicreína-cininas em serpentes, mas o que se sabe é que, provavelmente, são deficientes do Fator XII, um ativador da pré-calicreína em mamíferos. Com o objetivo de identificarmos novos peptídeos, submetemos plasmas das serpentes Bothrops jararaca (SBJ) e da Crotalus durissus terrificus (SCDT) tratados por duas metodologias simplificadas de determinação de bradicininogênio. O estudo com os plasmas das SBJ e da SCDT liberou uma substância com efeito semelhante à cinina de mamíferos que produziu hipotensão na serpente e no rato; esse efeito foi potencializado com o uso do captopril (0,05/0,010 mg/Kg), que inibe a cininase II, confirmando resultados diferentes das literaturas existentes sobre esse assunto. Com o resultado obtido, fracionamos este produto em aparelho de HPLC, e obtivemos seqüências peptídicas que não apresentaram homologia com a bradicinina. / The Bradykinin (BK), most important of the plasmatic kinins, was encountered for the first time in mammals. Little was studied in the kallikrein-kinin system in snakes, but it is known that, it is probably deficient of Factor XII, an activator of the daily prekallikrein in mammals. In order to identify new peptides, we submit plasma of the snakes Bothrops jararaca (SBJ) and e Crotalus durissus terrificus (SCDT) in two simplified methodologies for bradykininnogen determination, to analyze in bioassays of average arterial pressure of mammals and isolated ileum of guinea pig. The study with plasma of the SBJ and the SCDT showed that the kinin of mammals released a substance with effect similar to that producing hypotension in snakes and rats; this effect was potentiated with the use of captopril (0,05/0,010 mg/Kg), wich inhibits kininase II, confirming results different from literature?s obtained on this subject. With the obtained result, we fractioned this product in HPLC equipment and obtained peptides sequences with no homologie with the bradykinin.

Secretin and VIP stimulate cardiac adenylyl cyclase activity and exert a positive inotropic action in several mammalian species. This study examined positive inotropic activity and cAMP levels in rat papillary muscle. Isoproterenol and secretin increased contractions by 150 ± 31% and 129 ± 27%, respectively. VIP increased contraction by 30 ± 21% only at 10 μM. Isoproterenol significantly increased cAMP levels by 82%, whereas increases by secretin (58%) and VIP (56%) were not significant. These results are consistent with reports that secretin and VIP stimulate cardiac adenylyl cyclase in the rat, but suggest that cAMP tissue levels cannot totally explain the positive inotropic responses to secretin and VIP.

The molecular weight of the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) receptor was assessed in bovine aorta, and rat liver, lung, and brain by covalent cross-linking and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The receptor in all four tissues was found to be a single polypeptide of approximate Mr 54,000, contradicting previous claims for substantial heterogeneity in the molecular weight of this receptor. Guanine nucleotides inhibit cross-linking of 125I-VIP to its receptor, and cross-linking with ethylene glycolbis(succinimidylsuccinate) provides further evidence for complex formation between VIP, its receptor and a guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory protein (G-protein). The precise mechanism of receptor-G-protein coupling may differ between the aorta and other tissues.

The parmacological effects of guinea pig vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were studied in isolated perfused guinea pig hearts. Bolus injections of VIP produced a dose-dependent tachycardia that was not affected by atenolol. A decrease in amplitude of ventricular contractions occurred in response to all doses of VIP. This response was preceded by a small increase in amplitude in 3 of 6 hearts at the highest dose. VIP produced a decrease in perfusion pressure which was prominent after coronary tone was elevated with [Arg8]-vasopressin. The present findings support speculation that VIP may have a role in the regulation of heart rate and coronary blood flow.

The organization and transcription of the gene for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in rats and mice was investigated using northern- and Southern-blot hybridizations, selective genomic cloning, Sl-nuclease protection assays, oligonucleotide-directed RNase H digestions, and genomic cloning by standard methods. The center of the rat VIP gene and the entire mouse gene were cloned and sequenced. Selective genomic cloning was used to isolate a strongly-hybridizing fragment of the rat VIP gene identified in Southern-blot hybridizations with an existing human VIP cDNA. This fragment contains separate exons encoding VIP and a closely related neuropeptide, peptide histidine-isoleucine (PHI-27). This organization is the same in the mouse gene, which bears a total of seven exons and a close similarity to the human gene for VIP. Although the arrangement of exons suggested that VIP transcripts could be subjected to differential splicing to alter the coding capacity of the final messages, no evidence was found for this possibility. Two bands were seen in northern-blot hybridizations, but exon-specific probes and Sl-protection experiments provided evidence that they differed not in their coding regions but in the extent of their 3'-untranslated ends. RNase H digestions targeted to specific portions of transcripts from the VIP gene were used to resolve the principal band, to demonstrate that it represented a single species of message with sequence from both the VIP and PHI exons. In the course of the characterization of the murine VIP gene, a new method was developed for generating subclones for DNA sequencing in M13 bacteriophage. The central feature of the partial deletion subcloning method is its employment of frequent-cutting restriction endonucleases to detach different extents of the insert from a construction. The viral construct is first linearized at a unique site between the insert and the site for hybridization of the M13 sequencing primer. The linearized construct is then subjected to partial digestion with different frequent-cutting restriction enzymes. Partially digested products are repaired and religated. Products with deletions from the insert now have the sequencing priming site religated to a portion of the insert that formerly had been distant. Most of the products with deletions in the viral genome are not viable and do not survive the procedure. Subclones are sorted from the pool of transfected products by sizing of single-stranded viral DNA by agarose gel electrophoresis. Selected subclones are subjected to a simple test for the presence of the sequencing priming site. With this method and its associated tests, a variety of restriction enzymes can be used to generate a spectrum of deletion subclones for sequencing. In a simple trial of this method with an unknown 3.3 kilobasepair cDNA, a set of subclones was generated to allow sequencing to span the cDNA in one direction.

Although inhibitory cortical interneurons play a critical role in regulating brain excitability and function, the effects of stroke on these neurons is poorly understood. In particular, interneurons expressing vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) specialize in inhibiting other classes of inhibitory neurons, and thus serve to modulate cortical sensory processing. To understand how stroke affects this circuit, we imaged VIP neuron responses (using GCaMP6s) to low and high intensity forepaw stimulation, both before and after focal stroke in somatosensory cortex. Our data show that the fraction of forelimb responsive VIP interneurons and their response fidelity (defined as a cell’s number of responsive trials out of eight trials at a certain imaging week) was significantly reduced in the first week after stroke, especially when lower intensity forepaw stimulation was employed. The loss of responsiveness was most evident in highly active VIP neurons (defined by their level of responsiveness before stroke), whereas less active neurons were minimally affected. Of note, a small fraction of VIP neurons that were minimally active before stroke, became responsive afterwards suggesting that stroke may unmask sensory responses in some neurons. Although VIP responses to forepaw stimulation generally improved from 2-5 weeks recovery, the variance in response fidelity after stroke was comparatively high and therefore less predictable than that observed before stroke. Lastly, stroke related changes in response properties were restricted to within 400μm of the infarct border. These findings reveal the dynamic and resilient nature of VIP neurons and suggest that a sub-population of these cells are more apt to lose sensory responsiveness during the initial phase of stroke, whereas some minimally responsive cells are progressively recruited into the forelimb sensory circuit. Furthermore, stroke appears to disrupt the predictability of sensory-evoked responses in these cortical interneurons which could have important consequences for sensory perception. / Graduate / 2021-01-13

No description available.

Angiogenesis is thought to play a pivotal role in the cycling endometrium. Coordinated by oestrogen and progesterone, endometrial blood vessel development is primarily mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), which promotes endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and protects ECs from induced apoptosis. Studying changes at transcript level in human endometrial endothelial cells (HEECs) in response to mitogenic and inhibitory stimuli is one way towards understanding the regulation of physiological endometrial angiogenesis. Endometriosis, the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity, is a common gynaecological disorder in women of reproductive age, often causing pelvic pain and reduced fertility. Chronic inflammation in the peritoneal environment and defective endometrial protein expression are some of the contributors to the complex pathophysiology of endometriosis. The aim of this work was to study the changes in the transcriptome induced by VEGF-A and partial serum deprivation in primary HEECs, and to investigate biochemical factors associated with subfertility and chronic pelvic pain in endometriosis patients. Exposing primary HEECs to VEGF-A, and serum withdrawal was found to regulate transcripts associated with survival, migration, apoptosis and progression through the cell cycle, when assessed using microarray technology and bioinformatic tools. A subset of 88 transcripts was reciprocally regulated under the two experimental conditions; thus probably important in HEEC biology. Higher endometrial epithelial staining scores of oestrogen receptor-α and reduced staining of progesterone receptors were seen in subfertile endometriosis patients. Lower levels of the receptivity biomarker leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and its receptor, as well as signs of dysregulated αB-crystallin expression and increased peritoneal fluid concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1α and IL-6 were associated with reduced pregnancy rates. Endometriosis patients with chronic pelvic pain had higher levels of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in eutopic endometria and in endometriotic lesions compared with patients without chronic pain. The presence of chronic pelvic pain was also associated with increased concentrations of VIP and IL-6 in peritoneal fluid. The present results may constitute a basis for further investigation of regulatory pathways in endometrial angiogenesis as well as for studies of endometrial receptivity and pain in women with endometriosis.

Introdução: o uso de drogas vasoativas para restaurar a pressão arterial em pacientes com choque séptico é frequentemente utilizada em medicina intensiva. No entanto, os agentes vasopressores podem acentuar a hipoperfusão esplâncnica durante o choque séptico facilitando a translocação bacteriana e endotoxemia. Neste estudo foram comparados os efeitos de diferentes drogas vasoativas na microcirculação intestinal e nos parâmetros de oxigenação tecidual independentemente de reposição volêmica, num modelo experimental de choque séptico. Métodos: Ratos Wistar Kyoto anestesiados com pentobarbital foram submetidos a choque endotoxêmico através da administração de 2mg/Kg IV de lipopolissacarídeo da Escherichia Coli. A pressão arterial média foi restaurada através da administração de diversas drogas vasoativa, incluindo adrenalina, noradrenalina, fenilefrina, dopamina, dobutamina e uma combinação de noradrenalina com dobutamina. A densidade capilar funcional (DCF) da camada muscular do intestino delgado foi avaliada através de microscopia intravital. Gasometria e concentração de lactato da veia mesentérica superior também foram analisadas. Resultados: A DCF diminui aproximadamente 25% a 60% após a administração intravenosa de adrenalina, noradrenalina e fenilefrina. A administração de dopamina, dobutamina e da associação de noradrenalina com dobutamina não reduziu significativamente a DCF intestinal. A concentração de lactato da veia mesentérica aumentou após a administração de fenilefrina e mostrou uma tendência de aumentar após o uso de adrenalina e noradrenalina enquanto não se observou aumento de lactato após o uso de dopamina, dobutamina e da associação entre noradrenalina e dobutamina. Conclusões: O estudo confirma a presença de uma dissociação entre alterações hemodinâmicas sistêmicas e alterações microcirculatórias num modelo experimental de choque séptico. Os resultados indicam que o uso de dopamina, dobutamina e da associação entre noradrenalina e dobutamina apresentam um efeito de proteção na microcirculação da camada muscular intestinal de ratos submetidos a choque endotoxêmico. / Background: The use of vasoactive drugs to restore arterial blood pressure in patients with septic shock remains a cornerstone of intensive care medicine. However, vasopressors can accentuate the hypoperfusion of the gut during septic shock, allowing bacterial translocation and endotoxemia. In this study, we compared the effects of different vasoactive drugs on intestinal microcirculation and tissue oxygenation, independent of the effects of fluid therapy, in a rat model of endotoxemic shock. Methods: Pentobarbital-anesthetized Wistar Kyoto rats were submitted to endotoxemic shock induced by Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (2 mg/kg IV). Arterial blood pressure was normalized by a continuous infusion of different vasoactive drugs, including epinephrine, norepinephrine, phenylephrine, dopamine, dobutamine, or a combination of dobutamine and norepinephrine. The functional capillary density (FCD) of the muscular layer of the small intestine was evaluated by intravital video-microscopy. Mesenteric venous blood gases and lactate concentrations were also analyzed. Results: FCD decreased by approximately 25% to 60% after the IV infusion of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and phenylephrine. Administration of dopamine, dobutamine, and the combination of dobutamine and norepinephrine did not induce significant alterations in gut FCD. In addition, the mesenteric venous lactate concentration increased in the presence of phenylephrine and showed a tendency to increase after the administration of epinephrine and norepinephrine, whereas there was no observable increase after the administration of dopamine, dobutamine, and the combination of dobutamine with norepinephrine. Conclusion: This study confirms dissociation of the systemic hemodynamic and microvascular alterations in an experimental model of septic shock. Moreover, the results indicate that the use of dopamine, dobutamine, and dobutamine in combination with norepinephrine yields a protective effect on the microcirculation of the intestinal muscular layer in endotoxemic rats.