Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a central role in energy homeostasis and regulation of inflammatory responses. The present study is aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of ENERGI-F704, a nucleobase analogue isolated from bamboo leaves, on expression of proinflammatory mediators in murine macrophage RAW264.7 in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). ENERGI-F704 enhanced phosphorylation of AMPK(T172) but insignificantly affected the viability of RAW264.7 cells. Further investigation showed that ENERGI-F704 decreased mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by LPS, as well as suppressed the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE₂) and nitric oxide (NO). Additionally, the inhibitory effects of ENERGI-F704 on the LPS-induced proinflammatory mediators were diminished by pretreatment of AMPK inhibitor Compound C. ENERGI-F704 also inhibited LPS-triggered activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38), whereas extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk)1/2 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were insignificantly influenced. Our findings indicate that ENERGI-F704 may exert anti-inflammatory activity on RAW264.7 cells in response to LPS through the activation of AMPK and suppression of PI3K/P38/NF-κB signaling and the consequent decreased expression of proinflammatory mediators, suggesting that ENERGI-F704 is beneficial to the amelioration of inflammatory disorders.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Abnormal regulation of the cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) pathway occurs during HD progression. Here we found that lower PKA activity was associated with proteasome impairment in the striatum for two HD mouse models (R6/2 and N171-82Q) and in mutant HTT (mHTT)-expressing striatal cells. Because PKA regulatory subunits (PKA-Rs) are proteasome substrates, the mHTT-evoked proteasome impairment caused accumulation of PKA-Rs and subsequently inhibited PKA activity. Conversely, activation of PKA enhanced the phosphorylation of Rpt6 (a component of the proteasome), rescued the impaired proteasome activity, and reduced mHTT aggregates. The dominant-negative Rpt6 mutant (Rpt6 S120A ) blocked the ability of a cAMP-elevating reagent to enhance proteasome activity, whereas the phosphomimetic Rpt6 mutant (Rpt6 S120D ) increased proteasome activity, reduced HTT aggregates, and ameliorated motor impairment. Collectively, our data demonstrated that positive feedback regulation between PKA and the proteasome is critical for HD pathogenesis. Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by expansion of a CAG repeat in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. The normal HTT gene has 35 or fewer CAG repeats in its N-terminal region, whereas expansion of the repeat beyond 35 units confers toxicity to the Huntingtin protein (HTT) and evokes HD pathogenesis (1). The major clinical presentations of HD include chorea, cognitive decline, psychiatric symptoms, and a systemic metabolic defect (2). Selective neuronal loss occurs in multiple brain regions, particularly in the striatum and cortex. Since a great number of cellular machineries (including transcription, vesicle transport, molecular chaperones, and the ubiquitin-proteasome system [UPS]) are compromised by the expression of mutant HTT (mHTT) (3), effective removal of mHTT has become one of the most challenging aspects of drug development for HD.The UPS, which degrades misfolded and/or damaged proteins in eukaryotes, is the major regulatory proteolytic pathway. It regulates many essential cellular processes, including transcription, translation, DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, cell survival, signal transduction, protein trafficking, and synaptic plasticity (4). A recent study demonstrated that AAA-ATPase subunits are critical for cell-type-specific regulation of UPS activity (5). Interestingly, UPS activity is under metabolic control. Posttranslational modifications, such as O-GlcNacylation and phosphorylation of 19S subunits, affect the proteolytic activity of the UPS (6). In addition, impaired functioning of the UPS is believed to contribute to the pathogenic processes of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD), and HD. Recent studies revealed that the UPS might be impaired in HD mouse models and patients (7,8). Intriguingly, although the degradation of polyubiquitin-tagg...

BackgroundHuntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG trinucleotide expansion in the Huntingtin (Htt) gene. The expanded CAG repeats are translated into polyglutamine (polyQ), causing aberrant functions as well as aggregate formation of mutant Htt. Effective treatments for HD are yet to be developed.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere, we report a novel dual-function compound, N 6-(4-hydroxybenzyl)adenine riboside (designated T1-11) which activates the A2AR and a major adenosine transporter (ENT1). T1-11 was originally isolated from a Chinese medicinal herb. Molecular modeling analyses showed that T1-11 binds to the adenosine pockets of the A2AR and ENT1. Introduction of T1-11 into the striatum significantly enhanced the level of striatal adenosine as determined by a microdialysis technique, demonstrating that T1-11 inhibited adenosine uptake in vivo. A single intraperitoneal injection of T1-11 in wildtype mice, but not in A2AR knockout mice, increased cAMP level in the brain. Thus, T1-11 enters the brain and elevates cAMP via activation of the A2AR in vivo. Most importantly, addition of T1-11 (0.05 mg/ml) to the drinking water of a transgenic mouse model of HD (R6/2) ameliorated the progressive deterioration in motor coordination, reduced the formation of striatal Htt aggregates, elevated proteasome activity, and increased the level of an important neurotrophic factor (brain derived neurotrophic factor) in the brain. These results demonstrate the therapeutic potential of T1-11 for treating HD.Conclusions/SignificanceThe dual functions of T1-11 enable T1-11 to effectively activate the adenosinergic system and subsequently delay the progression of HD. This is a novel therapeutic strategy for HD. Similar dual-function drugs aimed at a particular neurotransmitter system as proposed herein may be applicable to other neurotransmitter systems (e.g., the dopamine receptor/dopamine transporter and the serotonin receptor/serotonin transporter) and may facilitate the development of new drugs for other neurodegenerative diseases.

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3-5-Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is an important second messenger which regulates neurite outgrowth. We demonstrate here that type VI adenylyl cyclase (AC6), an enzyme which catalyzes cAMP synthesis, regulates neurite outgrowth by direct interaction with a binding protein (Snapin) of Snap25 at the N terminus of AC6 (AC6-N). We first showed that AC6 expression increased during postnatal brain development. In primary hippocampal neurons and Neuro2A cells, elevated AC6 expression suppressed neurite outgrowth, whereas the downregulation or genetic removal of AC6 promoted neurite extension. An AC6 variant (AC6-N5) that contains the N terminus of AC5 had no effect, indicating the importance of AC6-N. The downregulation of endogenous Snapin or the overexpression of a Snapin mutant (Snap ⌬33-51 ) that does not bind to AC6, or another Snapin mutant (Snapin S50A ) that does not interact with Snap25, reversed the inhibitory effect of AC6. Pulldown assays and immunoprecipitation-AC assays revealed that the complex formation of AC6, Snapin, and Snap25 is dependent on AC6-N and the phosphorylation of Snapin. The overexpression of Snap25 completely reversed the action of AC6. Collectively, in addition to cAMP production, AC6 plays a complex role in modulating neurite outgrowth by redistributing localization of the SNARE apparatus via its interaction with Snapin.

Adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic mononucleotide (cAMP) is one of the most important second messengers which govern cellular signal transductions. Adenylyl cyclases (ACs), which are cAMP-synthesizing enzymes, are responsible for cAMP production during extracellular stimulation or intracellular metabolic alteration. In mammals, 9 transmembrane ACs and 1 soluble AC have been identified and characterized. In the past 2 decades, the biochemical properties of these ACs have been extensively studied. Genetic knockout and transgenic overexpression mouse models of at least 6 ACs have been produced, revealing their specific in vivo functions. An awareness of the importance of microdomains and cellular compartmentation for selective AC regulation has also been fostered. Most intriguingly, a handful of novel AC-binding proteins have recently been reported. Selective binding of ACs to their binding partners allows the precise compartmentalization of ACs and permits unique regulation. Based on recent studies on AC-interacting proteins (particularly Snapin and Ric8a), this review focuses on the importance and possible involvement of AC-interacting proteins in (1) the association of the cAMP signaling pathway with various cellular machineries and (2) the coordination of tightly regulated cAMP signaling by other signaling molecules.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling system plays a key role in cellular stress by repressing the inflammatory responses induced by the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) system. Previous studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory role of AMPK involves activation by adenine, but the mechanism that allows adenine to produce these effects has not yet been elucidated. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), adenine was observed to induce the phosphorylation of AMPK in both a time- and dose-dependent manner as well as its downstream target acetyl Co-A carboxylase (ACC). Adenine also attenuated NF-κB targeting of gene expression in a dose-dependent manner and decreased monocyte adhesion to HUVECs following tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) treatment. The short hairpin RNA (shRNA) against AMPK α1 in HUVECs attenuated the adenine-induced inhibition of NF-κB activation in response to TNF-α, thereby suggesting that the anti-inflammatory role of adenine is mediated by AMPK. Following the knockdown of adenosyl phosphoribosyl transferase (APRT) in HUVECs, adenine supplementation failed to induce the phosphorylation of AMPK and ACC. Similarly, the expression of a shRNA against APRT nullified the anti-inflammatory effects of adenine in HUVECs. These results suggested that the role of adenine as an AMPK activator is related to catabolism by APRT, which increases the cellular AMP levels to activate AMPK.