<p> In vivo and in vitro studies on the biosynthesis of vasopressin in the supraoptic nuclei of the dog and guinea pig1 using 35s-cysteine and 3H-tyrosine have suggested that vasopressin could be synthesized by wa;y of a precursor, which is modified to release active hormone. In vivo injection of 3H-tyrosine into the cerebrospinal fluid of rats2 had resulted in incorporation of the label into both oxytocin and vasopressin. In this work, an attempt was made to develop an in vitro system for the biosynthesis of oxytocin. Incubations of either 3H-isoleucine or 14c-leucine with rat hypothalamic neuronal perikaya, ribosomes and cell sap, cell sap, fractions of cell sap and homogenate, and incubations of 3H-isoleucine and l4C-leucine with rat hypothalamic tissue fragments were analyzed for the incorporation of label into purified hormone. Gel filtration, partition chromatography, high voltage electrophoresis, and thin layer chromatography were applied, followed by measurement of radio-activity and biological activity. It is concluded that in no reproducible case was either radioactive isotope incorporated into material with the chromatographic and biological properties of oxytocin. Other radioactive products of incubation were detected in hypothalamic cell sap, ribosomes and cell sap, and homogenate. In hypothalamic homogenate incubations, considerable degradation of both oxytocin and other material absorbing at 280 nm was observed. It is suggested that future investigations should attempt to first develop isolation procedures for the labelled hormone produced in vivo, and then reduce the complexity of the system in small stages, through the cultured hypothalamic-neurohypophyseal system of Sachs3 to simpler in vitro systems. </P> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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Yes / The antidiuretic hormone arginine vasopressin (AVP) regulates water homeostasis, blood pressure and a range of stress responses. It is synthesized in the hypothalamus and released from the posterior pituitary into the general circulation upon a range of stimuli. While the mechanisms leading to AVP secretion have been widely investigated, the molecular mechanisms regulating AVP gene expression are mostly unclear. Here we investigated the neurotransmitters and signal transduction pathways that activate AVP gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the rat using acute brain slices and quantitative real-time PCR. We show that stimulation with l-glutamate robustly induced AVP gene expression in acute hypothalamic brain slices containing the PVN. More specifically, we show that AVP transcription was stimulated by NMDA. Using pharmacological treatments, our data further reveal that the activation of ERK1/2 (PD184352), CaMKII (KN-62) and PI3K (LY294002; 740 Y-P) is involved in the NMDA-induced AVP gene expression in the PVN. Together, this study identifies NMDA-mediated cell signalling pathways that regulate AVP gene expression in the rat PVN. / Supported by a generous donation from Jonathan Feuer.

Background: Autosomal dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (adFNDI) is a rare disease with symptoms of polydipsia, polyuria and dehydration caused by arginine vasopressin deficiency. Disease onset is within infancy or adolescence. A variety of disease-causing mutations of the arginine vasopressin neurophysin II gene (AVP) on chromosome 20p13 have been described. Methods: Two Polish families with adFNDI were screened for mutations. Processing of wild-type (WT) and mutant AVP was monitored using immunocytochemical methods in stably transfected Neuro2A cells. AVP secretion into the cell culture supernatant was investigated with an enzyme immunoassay. Results: In the first family a heterozygous p.G96D mutation was identified. Some patients additionally carried a novel heterozygous mutation p.A159T. The second family presented with a heterozygous mutation p.C98G. Confocal laser microscopy unveiled accumulation of p.G96D and p.C98G prohormones in the cellular bodies, whereas WT and p.A159T prohormones and/or processed products were located in the tips of cellular processes. Reduced levels of AVP in supernatant culture medium of p.G96D and p.C98G transfected cells in comparison to p.A159T and WT cells were found. Conclusions: We conclude that the p.G96D and p.C98G mutations cause adFNDI in the two reported families. The sequence variant p.A159T does not seem to have disease-causing effects. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Hjärtstillestånd är ett tillstånd då hjärtat förlorat förmågan att pumpa ut blod i kroppen vilket leder till cerebral och koronar ischemi. Hjärtstillestånd definieras som plötslig och ihållande medvetslöshet med pulslöshet och andningsstillestånd eller agonal andning. Vanliga symtom som kan uppstå en timme före hjärtstilleståndet är yrsel, trötthet, bröstsmärtor och andningssvårigheter. Behandlingen vid hjärtstillestånd i Sverige utgörs av ”basic” och ”advanced cardiac life support”. De viktigaste åtgärderna innefattar hjärt-lung-räddning, defibillering och läkemedelsadministrering. Förstahandsläkemedlet är standarddos adrenalin baserat på den vasokontraherande och därmed blodtryckshöjande effekten. Syftet med arbetet är att utvärdera effekten av standarddos vasopressin alternativt högdos adrenalin jämfört med standarddos adrenalin på vuxna med hjärtstillestånd. Arbetet är en litteraturstudie där sju studier om effekten av standarddos adrenalin jämfört med standarddos vasopressin alternativt högdos adrenalin vid hjärtstillestånd hos vuxna har analyserats. Studierna hämtades från databasen Pubmed. De patienter som behandlades med standarddos vasopressin istället för den första eller andra standarddosen adrenalin hade bättre överlevnad till sjukhusinläggning (31,6% jämfört med 26,0%, p &lt;0,01). De patienter som behandlades med högdos adrenalin istället för standarddos adrenalin hade bättre överlevnad till sjukhusinläggning (26,1% jämfört med 23,1%, p &lt;0,05). Ingen överlevnadsfördel till sjukhusutskrivning fanns för varken standarddos vasopressin eller högdos adrenalin. Dock behövs fler studier med fler patienter för att verifiera resultaten i denna litteraturstudie. Det vore även intressant med studier som fokuserar på de enskilda hjärtstilleståndsrytmerna. Dessutom behövs mer forskning om de potentiellt negativa effekterna på hjärtat och hjärnan som högdos adrenalin kan ha. Orsaken till den dåliga överlevnaden till sjukhusutskrivning oavsett vasopressorisk behandling behöver utredas. / Cardiac arrest is a state when the heart has lost the ability to pump blood to the body which causes cerebral and coronary ischemia. Cardiac arrest is defined as sudden and sustained unconsciousness with pulselessness and suspension of breathing or agonal breathing. Common symptoms that can arise one hour before a cardiac arrest includes dizziness, tiredness, chest pain and breathing difficulties. The treatment for cardiac arrest in Sweden includes basic and advanced cardiac life support. The most important measures are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, defibrillation and drug administration. The drug of choice is standard dose adrenaline based on its vasoconstricting and thus blood pressure raising effect. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of standard dose vasopressin alternatively high dose adrenaline compared to standard dose adrenaline in adults with cardiac arrest. This study is a literature review where seven studies on the effect of standard dose adrenaline compared to standard dose vasopressin alternatively high dose adrenaline on cardiac arrest in adults have been analyzed. The studies were found in the database Pubmed. Four studies evaluate the effect on survival by standard dose vasopressin compared to standard dose adrenaline. Three studies evaluate the effect on survival by high dose adrenaline compared to standard dose adrenaline. Patients that were treated with standard dose vasopressin instead of the first or second standard dose adrenaline had better survival to hospital admission (31,6% compared to 26,0%, p &lt;0,01). Patients that were treated with high dose adrenaline instead of standard dose adrenaline had better survival to hospital admission (26,1% compared to 23,1%, p &lt;0,05). There were no effects on survival to hospital discharge for either standard dose vasopressin or high dose adrenaline. More studies are needed though with more patients to verify the results of this literature review. It would also be interesting with studies that focus on the different cardiac arrest rhytms. More research is needed about the potential negative effects on the heart and brain caused by high dose adrenaline. The reason for the bad results regarding survival to hospital discharge regardless of vasopressive treatment needs to be evaluated.

Background: Autosomal dominant familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (adFNDI) is a rare disease with symptoms of polydipsia, polyuria and dehydration caused by arginine vasopressin deficiency. Disease onset is within infancy or adolescence. A variety of disease-causing mutations of the arginine vasopressin neurophysin II gene (AVP) on chromosome 20p13 have been described. Methods: Two Polish families with adFNDI were screened for mutations. Processing of wild-type (WT) and mutant AVP was monitored using immunocytochemical methods in stably transfected Neuro2A cells. AVP secretion into the cell culture supernatant was investigated with an enzyme immunoassay. Results: In the first family a heterozygous p.G96D mutation was identified. Some patients additionally carried a novel heterozygous mutation p.A159T. The second family presented with a heterozygous mutation p.C98G. Confocal laser microscopy unveiled accumulation of p.G96D and p.C98G prohormones in the cellular bodies, whereas WT and p.A159T prohormones and/or processed products were located in the tips of cellular processes. Reduced levels of AVP in supernatant culture medium of p.G96D and p.C98G transfected cells in comparison to p.A159T and WT cells were found. Conclusions: We conclude that the p.G96D and p.C98G mutations cause adFNDI in the two reported families. The sequence variant p.A159T does not seem to have disease-causing effects. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Les récepteurs couplés aux protéines G (RCPG) représentent la plus grande famille de protéines membranaires. Ils sont activés par une grande variété d'hormones, de neurotransmetteurs, et par des stimuli sensoriels. Ces récepteurs jouent un rôle central dans le contrôle de la grande majorité des fonctions physiologiques et constituent une cible thérapeutique majeure. Plusieurs études supportent l'existence de plusieurs états conformationnels de ces récepteurs stabilisés par les ligands. Le caractère dynamique des RCPG est essentiel dans leur fonctionnement. Une question majeure est de déterminer comment un ligand modifie la structure et la fonction de son récepteur. Pour cela, nous avons analysé les changements conformationnels d'un récepteur prototype de la famille des récepteurs à ligands peptidiques, le sous-type V2 de la vasopressine (V2R). Le V2R présente un large éventail de ligands ayant des efficacités différentes (agoniste partiels et complets, agonistes inverses et antagonistes) ainsi que des agonistes biaisés vis-à-vis des voies de signalisation dépendantes de Gs et des arrestines. Afin de déterminer les bases structurales de l'efficacité (amplitude de la réponse biologique) et de la sélectivité fonctionnelle (la capacité d'un RCPG à activer ou à inactiver préférentiellement une voie de signalisation parmi l'ensemble des voies de transduction auxquelles il est couplé), nous avons purifié et stabilisé le V2R par reconstitution en amphipols neutres (Napols). La fonctionnalité du récepteur a été vérifiée par mesure de son interaction directe avec la protéine Gs et les arrestines purifiés. Les profils d'efficacité des ligands vis-à-vis des deux voies de signalisation sont cohérents avec ceux décrits dans des cellules vivantes. Afin d'aborder directement les changements conformationnels dépendants des ligands, nous avons développé deux approches de fluorescence, la fluorescence intrinsèque des tryptophanes et le LRET (Lanthanide Resonance Energy Transfer). La liaison des ligands ayant des efficacités opposées pour la voie Gs ont induit des variations opposées de la fluorescence intrinsèque des tryptophanes, suggèrant l'existence d'états conformationnels distincts. En parallèle, l'analyse des changements des signaux de LRET entre deux domaines fonctionnels du récepteur marqués par deux fluorophores compatibles, le domaine transmembranaire 6 (TM6) côté cytoplasme et l'extrémité C-terminale distale, a permis de calculer une distance moyenne de 33 Å. En accord avec les variations de fluorescence intrinsèque des tryptophanes, les ligands ayant des efficacités opposées pour la voie Gs ont induit un mouvement opposé de ces deux domaines. Les agonistes complets entraînent un éloignement de la boucle i3 et de l'extrémité C-terminale (+2.4 Å) alors qu'un rapprochement des deux domaines est associé à la liaison de l'agoniste inverse (-0.9 Å). Nos résultats démontrent qu'un récepteur à ligands peptidiques répond à la liaison de ses ligands spécifiques par des changements conformationnels dynamiques. Chaque ligand est caractérisé par un ou plusieurs états conformationnels distincts. De plus, les changements conformationnels du V2R jouant un rôle dans le couplage à Gs sont différents de ceux impliqués dans le recrutement des arrestines. Ces données apportent des éléments essentiels de compréhension des mécanismes moléculaires et structuraux de l'activation des RCPG. A plus long terme, une étude plus extensive de la dynamique des RCPG devrait guider le développement de molécules thérapeutiques possédant des propriétés de sélectivité fonctionnelle. / G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are seven-transmembrane proteins that mediate most cellular responses to hormones and neurotransmitters, representing the largest group of therapeutic targets. Several studies support the existence of multiple ligand-specific conformational states of GPCR. The dynamic character of GPCR is likely to be essential for their functioning, and a better understanding of this molecular plasticity might facilitate structure-based drug discovery. A major question is to determine how ligands modify receptor structure and function. To this end, we have been studying the structural dynamics of the human vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2R), a prototypical peptide-activated class A GPCR. The V2R is coupled to Gs protein and to β-arrestins, and it has been well characterized pharmacologically using a large panel of ligands with different efficacies. Several display functional selectivity (Gs activation and concomitant β-arrestin inhibition). To demonstrate that ligand efficacy and functional selectivity are achieved through the stabilization of multiple conformational states, we have purified and reconstituted the V2R in amphipathic polymers (amphipol) and developed fluorescence-based approaches. The functionality of the V2R was monitored by direct activation of the purified Gs protein and interaction with purified β-arrestin 1. In these two assays, the effect of ligands correlated well with their known efficacy in cellular systems. Binding of V2R ligands with opposite efficacies toward Gs pathway led to opposite variations in the tryptophan intrinsic fluorescence of the receptor, suggesting the presence of different conformational states of the receptor. In parallel, we used Lanthanide-based resonance energy transfer (LRET) to directly analyze dynamics of the V2R and more particularly conformational changes between fluorophore-labeled extreme C-terminus and transmembrane domain 6. We calculated a basal mean distance of 33 Å between these domains. Interestingly, ligands with different efficacies towards Gs protein elicited opposite LRET changes as for tryptophan fluorescence spectroscopy. Indeed, the two labeled domains moved away upon full agonist binding (+2.4 Å), and closer in presence of inverse agonist (-0.9 Å). These data provide the first evidence of ligand-specific conformational changes in a peptide-activated receptor, and demonstrate that receptor conformational changes involved in Gs coupling are different from those responsible for arrestin recruitment. The results shed some light into the molecular and structural mechanisms of GPCR activation that may be relevant to the design of signaling pathway-selective drugs.

No paciente séptico, utiliza-se como tratamento inicial a reposição volêmica com o objetivo de restabelecer a pressão arterial e consequentemente a perfusão tecidual. Os pacientes não responsivos a expansão volêmica usualmente são tratados com medicações vasoativas. O emprego desses fármacos tais como noradrenalina, nessa situação, torna-se imprescindível, porém a hiporresponsividade do sistema adrenérgico é um obstáculo rotineiro em pacientes sépticos. A vasopressina aparece como uma alternativa, tanto como fármaco de primeira escolha como resgate quando o tratamento com vasoativos adrenérgicos falha. A avaliação da microcirculação é imprescindível visto a sua importância na patogênese da sepse, e no acompanhamento das diferentes terapias. Assim sendo, o presente projeto tem por objetivo avaliar o uso da vasopressina e da noradrenalina no tratamento da hipotensão de cães em sepse decorrente de piometra por meio imagem espectral obtida através da polarização ortogonal (OPS) e sobre variáveis hemodinâmicas, bem como sobre parâmetros de oxigenação e ventilação. Foram utilizados 13 cães em sepse grave apresentando no mínimo duas variáveis da resposta inflamatória sistêmica e no mínimo uma variável de disfunção orgânica na avaliação inicial. Em todos os animais foi realizada ressuscitação volêmica inicial com 15ml/kg em 15 minutos de solução de Ringer com lactato. Caso durante a anestesia a pressão arterial média não assumir valores superiores a 65 mmHg e a pressão venosa central não variasse 2mmHg ou apresentasse valores superiores a 8 mmHg, os animais foram distribuídos em dois grupos. O Grupo VASO recebeu inicialmente 0,0002UI/kg/min de vasopressina e o Grupo NORA 0,05 mcg/kg/min noradrenalina, podendo ter o incremento de 0,0002U/kg/min e 0,02 mcg/kg/min da dose inicial, respectivamente, com o objetivo até se atingir a PAM acima de 65mmHg. Foram confrontados os parâmetros de valores de densidade e fluxo encontrados com o OPS nos dois grupos, bem como dados hemodinâmicos e de ventilação. As imagens coletadas utilizando o OPS foram processadas e analisadas por software especifico. Nao houve diferenca estatistica entre os grupos estudados nos parametros, hemodinamicos, ventilatorios, de oxigenacao e da microcirculacao encontrados com o OPS. A frequência cardíaca foi menor no grupo VASO no momento TG quando comparada ao grupo NORA. Os parametros de densidade e fluxo capilar não diferiram do basal em nenhum dos grupos. Deste modo, conclui-se que tanto a vasopressina quanto a noradrenalina quando empregadas para o tratamento de hipotensao decorrente da sepse grave/choque septico, nao prejudicam a microcirculacao / In septic patients, volume replacement is used as initial treatment in order to restore blood pressure and consequently the tissue perfusion. Nonresponders patients to the increase in preload are usually treated with vasoactive medications. Those agents such as norepinephrine, in this situation, it is essential, but the hyporesponsiveness of the adrenergic system is a common obstacle in septic patients. Vasopressin is an alternative, both like the drug of choice as rescue when treatment of adrenergic hyporesponsiveness. The evaluation of microcirculation is essential for its importance in the pathogenesis of sepsis, and to guide the different therapies. The aim of this project is to evaluate the use of vasopressin and norepinephrine in the treatment of hypotension in sepsis in dogs due to pyometra through spectral image obtained by orthogonal polarization (OPS) and on hemodynamic variables, as well as oxygenation and ventilation parameters. Thirteen dogs in severe sepsis were used, presenting at least two variables of systemic inflammatory response and at least one organ dysfunction variable at baseline. In all animals was performed initial volume resuscitation with 15ml / kg in 15 minutes of Ringer\'s lactate solution. If during anesthesia mean arterial pressure not assume values greater than 65 mmHg and central venous pressure did not vary 2 mmHg or present values greater than 8 mmHg, the animals were divided into two groups. The Group VASO received 0,0002UI / kg / min of vasopressin and Group NORA 0.1 mcg / kg / min of noradrenaline, may have increment 0,0002U / kg / min and 0. 1mcg / kg / min initial dose, respectively, in order to achieve MAP above of 65 mmHg. The density values of parameters were compared and found flow with OPS in both groups, and hemodynamic data and ventilation. The images collected using OPS were processed and analyzed by specific software. There was no statistical difference between the groups studied in the parameters, hemodynamic, ventilation, oxygenation and microcirculation found with OPS. The heart rate was lower in group VASO in TG moment compared to NORA group. The density and capillary flow parameters from baseline were similar in all groups. Thus, it is concluded that both noradrenaline and vasopressin when used to treat hypertension caused by severe / sepsis, septic shock, do not impair the microcirculation