Central infusion of angiotensin IV or its more stable analogues facilitates memory retention and retrieval in normal animals and reverses amnesia induced by scopolamine or by bilateral perforant pathway lesions. These peptides bind with high affinity and specificity to a novel binding site designated the angiotensin AT 4 receptor. Until now, the AT 4 receptor has eluded molecular characterization. Here we identify the AT 4 Central infusions of the hexapeptide VYIHPF (angiotensin IV, Ang IV) 1 or its more stable analogues, Nle 1 -Ang IV andNorleucinal Ang IV, facilitate memory retention and retrieval in rats in the passive avoidance and Morris water maze paradigms (1-3). In two rat models of amnesia, induced by the muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine, or bilateral perforant pathway lesion, the Ang IV analogues reversed the memory deficits detected utilizing the Morris water maze paradigm (3, 4). Enhancement of long term memory by Ang IV has also been demonstrated in species as distant as crabs (5). Angiotensin IV and its analogues enhance long term potentiation in both the dentate gyrus in vivo (6) and the CA1 region of the hippocampus in vitro (7), possibly via actions at the post-synaptic terminal. We have also shown that Ang IV enhances K ϩ -evoked acetylcholine release from rat hippocampal slices (8).The actions of Ang IV and its analogues are mediated by the angiotensin AT 4 receptor, defined by an international nomenclature committee (9) as the high affinity binding site specific for Ang IV (10). The AT 4 receptor has since been shown to bind with nanomolar affinity the decapeptide, LVVYPWTQRF (LVV-H7), isolated from sheep cerebral cortex (19).Although first identified in bovine adrenal, the receptor is widely distributed throughout the brain and peripheral organs (11). In the central nervous system, its distribution is highly conserved in guinea pig (12), macaque monkey (13), and human (14) brains. AT 4 receptors occur in high levels in the basal nucleus of Meynert, in the CA1 to CA3 regions of Ammon's horn in the hippocampus, and throughout the neocortex, areas important for cognitive processing. Despite the dramatic central effects of Ang IV and the abundance of the receptor in the central nervous system, the identity of the AT 4 receptor and the mechanism by which its ligands mediate their actions were unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODSProtein Purification-AT 4 receptors in bovine adrenal membranes (16 mg of membrane protein) were cross-linked to the photoactivatable analogue of Ang IV, [ 125 I]Nle 1 -BzPhe 6 -Gly 7 -Ang IV as described previously (15). Cross-linked membranes were solubilized in solubilization buffer (1% CHAPS, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 5 mM EDTA) with shaking at room temperature for 48 h, and insoluble material was pelleted by centrifugation at 100,000 ϫ g for 1 h at 4°C. Non-cross-linked membranes (48 mg of protein) were solubilized and centrifuged similarly, and the supernatant was combined with that from cross-linked membranes. Solubilized membrane proteins were applied to a 1-ml DEAE fas...
Angiotensin IV (Ang IV) exerts profound effects on memory and learning, a phenomenon ascribed to its binding to a specific AT 4 receptor. However the AT 4 receptor has recently been identified as the insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP). In this study, we demonstrate that AT 4 receptor ligands, including Ang IV, branes with high affinity, which was up to 200-fold greater than in the catalytic assay; this difference was not consistent among the peptides, and could not be ascribed to ligand degradation. Although some AT 4 ligands were subject to minor cleavage by HEK293T membranes, none were substrates for IRAP. Of a range of peptides tested, only vasopressin, oxytocin, and met-enkephalin were rapidly cleaved by IRAP. We propose that the physiological effects of AT 4 ligands result, in part, from inhibition of IRAP cleavage of neuropeptides involved in memory processing.
Presentation of exogenous antigens on MHC class I molecules, termed cross-presentation, is essential for the induction of CD8 T-cell responses and is carried out by specialized dendritic cell (DC) subsets. The mechanisms involved remain unclear. It has been proposed that antigens could be transported by endocytic receptors, such as the mannose receptor (MR) in the case of soluble ovalbumin, into early endosomes in which the cross-presentation machinery would be recruited. In these endosomal compartments, peptides would be trimmed by the aminopeptidase IRAP before loading onto MHC class I molecules. Here, we have investigated the contribution of this pathway to cross-presentation by steady-state CD8 ؉ DC and inflammatory monocyte-derived DC (moDC) generated in vivo. We demonstrate that IRAP and MR are dispensable for cross-presentation by CD8 ؉ DC and for cross-priming. Moreover, we could not find any evidence for diversion of endocytosed antigen into IRAP-containing endosomes in these cells. However, cross-presentation was impaired in moDC deficient in IRAP or MR, confirming the role of these two molecules in inflammatory DC. These results demonstrate that the mechanisms responsible for cross-priming by steady-state and inflammatory DC are different, which has important implications for vaccine design.antigen presentation ͉ inflammation P riming of CD8 T-cell responses requires the presentation of exogenous antigen on MHC class I molecules by antigenpresenting cells, a process called cross-presentation. Dendritic cells (DC) are the main cross-presenting cells in vivo (1, 2), but only certain subsets of DC have this ability, primarily the CD8 ϩ resident DC found in the spleen and lymph nodes and the CD103 ϩ migratory DC found in lymph nodes (2-4). Monocytederived DC (moDC) that differentiate during inflammation (5) have also been shown to mediate cross-presentation and activation of memory T cells (6, 7), but their contribution to CD8 T-cell priming in the absence of inflammation is unclear.Several mechanisms for cross-presentation have been proposed. The 'cytosolic pathway' involves the transfer of internalized antigens to the cytosol where they are degraded by the proteasome. The resulting peptides are translocated into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by TAP transporters and loaded onto MHC class I molecules (8). It has also been proposed that some antigens are degraded in endosomal compartments for loading onto MHC class I molecules in a TAP-independent manner (9). A variation of this 'endosomal pathway' has been recently proposed based on the study of soluble ovalbumin (OVA). In this model, OVA is transported into specialized early endosomes by the mannose receptor (MR) and can be stored in those compartments for several hours (10, 11). The MHC class I presentation machinery (including TAP) seems to be selectively recruited to these early endosomes, where peptides are trimmed by the insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) for direct loading onto MHC class I molecules without trafficking to the ER (12, 13).In t...
Approximately one-quarter of people over the age of 65 are estimated to suffer some form of cognitive impairment, underscoring the need for effective cognitive-enhancing agents. Insulin-regulated aminopeptidase (IRAP) is potentially an innovative target for the development of cognitive enhancers, as its peptide inhibitors exhibit memory-enhancing effects in both normal and memory-impaired rodents. Using a homology model of the catalytic domain of IRAP and virtual screening, we have identified a class of nonpeptide, small-molecule inhibitors of IRAP. Structure-based computational development of an initial "hit" resulted in the identification of two divergent families of compounds. Subsequent medicinal chemistry performed on the highest affinity compound produced inhibitors with nanomolar affinities (K(i) 20-700 nM) for IRAP. In vivo efficacy of one of these inhibitors was demonstrated in rats with an acute dose (1 nmol in 1 microl) administered into the lateral ventricles, improving performance in both spatial working and recognition memory paradigms. We have identified a family of specific IRAP inhibitors that is biologically active which will be useful both in understanding the physiological role of IRAP and potentially in the development of clinically useful cognitive enhancers. Notably, this study also provides unequivocal proof of principal that inhibition of IRAP results in memory enhancement.
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