2014 Targeting Trends Review

Zhao Z, Wan L, Liu X, Huo F, Li H, Barry D, Krieger S, Kim S, Liu Z, Xu J, Rogers B, Li Y, Chen Z (2014) Cross-inhibition of NMBR and GRPR signaling maintains normal histaminergic itch transmission. J Neurosci 34:12402-12414. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1709-14.2014

Summary: After itch detection, the itch pathway moves through an array of G-protein coupled receptors and transient receptor potential channels in dorsal root ganglion neurons into dorsal horn neurons which integrate and transduce these signals, sending them to the somatosensory cortex. The purpose of this work is to clarify whether gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) or B-type natriuretic peptide regulates histaminergic itch. Several strains of knockout mice received 200, 300, or 400 ng intrathecal injections of bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40). Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21) was used as a control. The data further define the respective functions of the neuromedin B receptor and GRP receptor in itch, and reveals a working relationship between the different interneuron populations.

Related Products: Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)

Zhang G, Liu Z, Zhang B, Geng W, Song N, Zhou W, Cao Y, Li S, Huang Z, Shen L (2014) Orexin A activates hypoglossal motoneurons and enhances genioglossus muscle activity in rats. Br J Pharmacol 171:4233-4246. doi: 10.1111/bph.12784

Summary: Orexin neurons are restricted to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and are involved in functions such as feeding behavior, energy homeostasis, sleep/wake cycles, and many others. Here the authors investigate orexin control of the genioglossus – the largest upper airway dilator muscle. Rats received bilateral 172 ng injections of orexin-SAP into the LH. Lesioned animals displayed a significant decrease in genioglossus muscle electromyograms, indicating that orexin neurons are vital to the control of this muscle.

Related Products: Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)

Ostock C, Lindenbach D, Goldenberg A, Kampton E, Bishop C (2014) Effects of noradrenergic denervation by anti-DBH-saporin on behavioral responsivity to L-DOPA in the hemi-parkinsonian rat. Behav Brain Res 270:75-85. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.05.009

Summary: Dopamine loss is central to Parkinson’s disease and is often accompanied by noradrenergic denervation of the locus coeruleus. In this work the authors examined the role this loss plays in L-DOPA therapy using a rat Parkinson’s disease model. The rats received 10 μg of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the left lateral ventricle. Loss of norepinephrine (NE) neurons did not affect behavior, but lesioned animals were less responsive to the pro-motor therapeutic effects of L-DOPA.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03)

Criscimanna A, Coudriet G, Gittes G, Piganelli J, Esni F (2014) Activated macrophages create lineage-specific microenvironments for pancreatic acinar- and β-cell regeneration in mice. Gastroenterology 147:1106-1118.e1111. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2014.08.008

Summary: In response to tissue damage or infection, monocytes are recruited to the injured area and differentiate into macrophages. These macrophages can perform different functions depending on the tissue type. The specific differentiation macrophages undergo in response to their environment is called polarization. The authors used a mouse pancreatic lesion model to examine the polarization of macrophages into the two distinct states known, M1 and M2. Mice received 20 μg of Mac-1-SAP mouse (Cat. #IT-06) in a tail vein injection following a pancreatic lesion, and were sacrificed on various days post-injection in order to evaluate macrophage presence at different response stages. The results demonstrate that various aspects of macrophage polarization are required for pancreatic regeneration.

Related Products: Mac-1-SAP mouse/human (Cat. #IT-06)

Liu H, Yan W, Lu X, Zhang X, Wei J, Wang X, Wang T, Wu T, Cao J, Shao C, Zhou F, Zhang H, Zhang P, Zang T, Lu X, Cao J, Ding H, Zhang L (2014) Role of the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus in the descending inhibition of spinal pain transmission. Exp Neurol 261:475-485. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.07.018

Summary: The first synapse in the pain pathway is in the spinal dorsal horn, and several sites are involved in the descending control of pain. Previous studies have suggested that cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons may facilitate signal transmission and substance transport between the brain parenchyma and the CSF, including processes that modulate pain transmission. The authors administered CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14) into the right lateral ventricle of rats. Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control. The results indicate that the 5-HT pathway contacting the CSF is an important piece in the descending inhibitory system controlling spinal transmission of pain.

Related Products: CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Bostad M, Kausberg M, Weyergang A, Olsen C, Berg K, Høgset A, Selbo P (2014) Light-triggered, efficient cytosolic release of IM7-saporin targeting the putative cancer stem cell marker CD44 by photochemical internalization. Mol Pharm 11:2764-2776. doi: 10.1021/mp500129t

Summary: CD44 is known as a common cancer stem cell (CSC) marker. Given that CSC’s seem to have the ability to resist many therapeutic agents, the authors investigated the use of photochemical internalization (PCI) while targeting CD44-expressing CSC’s. An immunotoxin was constructed by biotinylating a pan CD44 antibody and combining it with Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27) at a 4:1 biotinylated antibody to Streptavidin-ZAP molar ratio. Various cancer cell lines were incubated with the toxin at a concentration of 0.825 nM. The toxin showed specific cytotoxicity to CD44-expressing cell lines, demonstrating the efficacy of PCI in conjunction with targeted toxins to treat some cancers

Related Products: Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27)

Alvares T, Revill A, Huxtable A, Lorenz C, Funk G (2014) P2Y1 receptor-mediated potentiation of inspiratory motor output in neonatal rat in vitro. J Physiol 592:3089-3111. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2013.268136 PMID: 24879869

Summary: P2YR’s are metabotropic purinergic receptors found in some parts of the CNS. A subtype of this receptor excites rhythm generating networks in the preBötzinger complex. In order to better understand the role of these receptors in modulation of motor output the authors used brainstem-spinal cord and medullary slice preparations from neonatal rats to investigate P2Y1R signaling on specific neurons that innervate diaphragm and airway muscles. Anti-NK1r (Cat. #AB-N33AP) at a 1:1000 dilution was used during the immunohistochemistry. The data suggest that loss of purinergic modulation contributes to motoneuron excitability.

Related Products: NK-1 Receptor Rabbit Polyclonal, affinity-purified (Cat. #AB-N33AP)

Zheng X, Zhai B, Koivunen P, Shin S, Lu G, Liu J, Geisen C, Chakraborty A, Moslehi J, Smalley D, Wei X, Chen X, Chen Z, Beres J, Zhang J, Tsao J, Brenner M, Zhang Y, Fan C, DePinho R, Paik J, Gygi S, Kaelin W, Zhang Q (2014) Prolyl hydroxylation by EglN2 destabilizes FOXO3a by blocking its interaction with the USP9x deubiquitinase. Genes Dev 28:1429-1444. doi: 10.1101/gad.242131.114 PMID: 24990963

Summary: Members of the FOXO family are thought to act as tumor suppressor genes. In this work the authors investigated the hydroxylation of FOXO3a by EglN2. This hydroxylation pushes FOXO3a toward a protosomal degradation pathway. Loss of FOXO3a in turn allows the accumulation of Cyclin D1, which has been found to be overexpressed in some breast cancers. Some of the data were generated using immunoblots with anti-transhydroxylated proline (Cat. #AB-T044).

Usage: Western blot

Related Products: Trans-4-Hydroxy-L-Proline Rabbit Polyclonal, Conjugated (Cat. #AB-T044)

Carr F, Géranton S, Hunt S (2014) Descending controls modulate inflammatory joint pain and regulate CXC chemokine and iNOS expression in the dorsal horn. Mol Pain 10:39. doi: 10.1186/1744-8069-10-39

Summary: Peripheral joint pathology in conditions such as osteoarthritis does not always correlate to the amount of pain experienced, indicating that chronic pain is present. The role of descending facilitation in this form of chronic pain has not been investigated. The authors examined the role of mu opioid receptor-expressing cells in the rostral vental medulla (RVM) in behavioral hypersensitivity seen in joint pain models. Rats received 1.5 pmol of Dermorphin-SAP (Cat. #IT-12) into the RVM. Lesioned animals displayed prolonged attenuation of hypersensitivity, and altered expression of several genes was detected by qPCR, indicating that descending facilitation in the RVM is involved in joint pain behavior.

Related Products: Dermorphin-SAP / MOR-SAP (Cat. #IT-12)

Bajo V, Leach N, Cordery P, Nodal F, King A (2014) The cholinergic basal forebrain in the ferret and its inputs to the auditory cortex. Eur J Neurosci 40:2922-2940. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12653 PMID: 24945075

Summary: The ferret has become a more common animal model in auditory neuroscience. Unlike rodent models, however, anatomical data describing the organization of the basal forebrain cholinergic system and its projections to the auditory cortex have not been well characterized. Using a variety of methods the authors mapped the architecture of the ferret basal forebrain. IHC was done with several antibodies including anti-ChAT (Cat. #AB-N34AP; 1:1000) and anti-NGFr (Cat. #AB-N07; 1:500). Animals also received 17 μg of ME20.4-SAP (Cat. #IT-15) in a total of 17 injections into the ectosylvian gyrus. The results indicate that acetylcholine is most likely involved in modulation of auditory processing.

Related Products: Choline Acetyltransferase Rabbit Polyclonal, affinity-purified (Cat. #AB-N34AP), NGFr (ME20.4, p75) Mouse Monoclonal (Cat. #AB-N07), ME20.4-SAP (Cat. #IT-15)

Cordier D, Gerber A, Kluba C, Bauman A, Hutter G, Mindt TL, Mariani L (2014) Expression of different neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) isoforms in glioblastoma multiforme: potential implications for targeted therapy. Cancer Biother Radiopharm 29(5):221-226. doi: 10.1089/cbr.2013.1588

Summary: The neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1r) has been found to be consistently over-expressed in gliomas, making it a potential target for therapeutic strategies. However, treatments with therapies utilizing substance P (SP), the ligand for the NK1r, have at best yielded uneven results. In this work the authors investigated factors that may predict the response to therapies directed at NK1r gliomas. SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11) was used at a concentration of 1 nM in cytotoxicity assays on several different glioma cell lines. Using this and other data it was shown that only the cell line with the most full-length NK1r RNA transcripts displayed high levels of binding, internalization, and cell killing necessary for NK1r to be a therapeutic target using SP.

Related Products: SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11)

Rastogi S, Unni S, Sharma S, Laxmi T, Kutty B (2014) Cholinergic immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin alters subicular theta-gamma activity and impairs spatial learning in rats. Neurobiol Learn Mem 114:117-126. doi: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.05.008

Summary: The authors investigated the role of the subiculum in spatial informational processing, specifically cholinergic modulation of subicular theta-gamma activity. Rats received 50-ng injections of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) into the ventral subiculum. Lesioned animals displayed altered theta and gamma activity as well as impaired spatial learning. The hippocampal cholinergic innervations remained intact, indicating that cholinergic modulation of theta-gamma activity in the subiculum plays an important role in spatial information processing.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)

Nunan R, Sivasathiaseelan H, Khan D, Zaben M, Gray W (2014) Microglial VPAC1R mediates a novel mechanism of neuroimmune-modulation of hippocampal precursor cells via IL-4 release. Glia 62:1313-1327. doi: 10.1002/glia.22682

Summary: Postnatal and adult learning and memory require hippocampal neurogenesis. Cognitive dysfunction is frequently accompanied by neuroinflammatory pathogenesis, but the pathways by which the immune system affects neurogenesis are unclear. In this work the authors depleted microglia from primary hippocampal cultures by incubating the cells with 100 μg/ml Mac-1-SAP rat (Cat. #IT-33) for 24 hours. The hippocampal cells were then washed and cultured for further experiments. It was found that neural stem/progenitor cells had reduced survival and proliferation in cultures treated with Mac-1-SAP. These data sketch out the framework of an immune-neuronal pathway important in the regulation of hippocampal neurogenesis.

Related Products: Mac-1-SAP rat (Cat. #IT-33)

Cao J, Wu T, Zhang L (2014) [Targeted damage of the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus contributes to the pain behavior and the expression of 5-HT and c-Fos in spinal dorsal horn of rats]. Zhongguo Ying Yong Sheng Li Xue Za Zhi 30:218-222.

Summary: Pain threshold, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) expression, and c-Fos expression were measured in rats after treatment with CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14). Use of CTB-SAP reduced the number of neurons in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-contacting nucleus over time until no neurons could be detected by the 10th day post-injection. 5-HT and c-Fos expression in the spinal dorsal horn gradually increased, and was negatively correlated with the pain threshold. The data indicate that neurons in the CSF-contacting nucleus are involved in pain regulation, and that expression of 5-HT and c-Fos is part of this regulatory pathway.

Related Products: CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14)

Alonso M, Gregorio J, Davidson M, Gonzalez J, Engleman E (2014) Depletion of inflammatory dendritic cells with anti-CD209 conjugated to saporin toxin. Immunol Res 58:374-377. doi: 10.1007/s12026-014-8511-6

Objective: To investigate a strategy that avoids monocyte intermediates to deplete inflammatory dendritic cells (DCs). Mice with an abundance of inflammatory DCs as a consequence of lipopolysaccharide exposure were treated with anti-CD209 antibody conjugated to saporin.

Summary: The results demonstrate depletion of CD209+ DCs. This strategy could prove useful for the targeted reduction of inflammatory DCs in disease.

Usage: Streptavidin-ZAP mixed with biotinylated Anti-CD209 was delivered i.v. to mice. Inflammatory DCs were markedly depleted.

Related Products: Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27)

Vetrivelan R, Saper C, Fuller P (2014) Armodafinil-induced wakefulness in animals with ventrolateral preoptic lesions. Nat Sci Sleep 6:57-63. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S53132

Summary: Excessive daytime sleepiness is often treated with modafinil. Armodafinil, the R-isomer of modafinil, has been introduced for clinical use, but little is known about the cellular pathway targeted by these drugs. The authors examined whether armodafinil inhibits the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO). Rats received 200-ng injections of orexin-SAP into the VLPO, followed by administration of armodafinil. Lesioned animals displayed increased wakefulness similar to control animals, indicating that armodafinil and modafinil do not act along the VLPO neurons.

Related Products: Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)

Flak J, Myers B, Solomon M, McKlveen J, Krause E, Herman J (2014) Role of paraventricular nucleus-projecting norepinephrine/epinephrine neurons in acute and chronic stress. Eur J Neurosci 39:1903-1911. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12587

Summary: Chronic stress can cause dysregulation of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, resulting in structural and function changes in the neurons involved. There are data indicating that post-stress enhancement of norepinephrine is involved in the processing of chronic stress. In this work the authors investigated the hypothesis that PVN-projecting norepinephrine/epinephrine (NE/E) neurons are necessary for chronic stress-induced drive of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Rats received bilateral 8.82 ng injections of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the PVN. Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control. Lesioned animals displayed attenuated peak ACTH, indicating that NE/E neurons are required for ACTH release in the HPA axis during chronic stress.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Wheeler D, Wan S, Miller A, Angeli N, Adileh B, Hu W, Holland P (2014) Role of lateral hypothalamus in two aspects of attention in associative learning. Eur J Neurosci 40:2359-2377. doi: 10.1111/ejn.12592

Summary: The lateral hypothalamic (LH) region contains both orexin and melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons. These neurons are unique to the LH but project throughout the brain. In this work the authors examined the role of the LH in specific attentional aspects of associative learning. Rats received unilateral 500 ng injections of orexin-SAP (IT-20) into the LH and were tested in several learning tasks. The lesioned animals displayed impaired behavior that was correlated to the loss of orexin but not MCH neurons.

Related Products: Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)

Shin E, Rogers J, Devoto P, Björklund A, Carta M (2014) Noradrenaline neuron degeneration contributes to motor impairments and development of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Exp Neurol 257:25-38. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2014.04.011

Summary: Although Parkinson’s disease is usually associated with loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, post-mortem studies have shown that noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus also degenerate. In this work the authors develop a new Parkinson’s disease model by double lesioning with both 6-OHDA into the striatum and 2.5 μg bilateral injections of anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the lateral ventricles of rats. Double-lesioned animals performed worse on tests evaluating Parkinson’s disease symptoms than those lesioned only with 6-OHDA. The data suggest that Parkinson’s disease symptoms reflect the loss of both dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons in the midbrain.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03)

Arias-Carrión O, Murillo-Rodríguez E (2014) Effects of hypocretin/orexin cell transplantation on narcoleptic-like sleep behavior in rats. PLoS One 9:e95342. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095342

Summary: In this work the authors examined the effect of orexin cell grafts into the lateral hypothalamus (LH) on narcoleptic-like sleep behavior. Rats received bilateral 490-ng injections of orexin-SAP* into the LH. 21 days post-lesion, the animals then received a graft consisting of dissociated cells from a 8-10 day old rat brain. The narcoleptic-like behavior was reduced in animals receiving the graft, indicating that restoration of some orexin levels may help resolve neurodegeneration.

Related Products: Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20)