p2y5 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor that is closely related to the fourth lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptor, LPA 4 . Here we report that p2y5 is a novel LPA receptor coupling to the G 13 -Rho signaling pathway. "LPA receptor-null" RH7777 and B103 cells exogenously expressing p2y5 showed [ 3 H]LPA binding, LPA-induced [35 S]guanosine 5-3-O-(thio)triphosphate binding, Rho-dependent alternation of cellular morphology, and G s/13 chimeric protein-mediated cAMP accumulation. LPA-induced contraction of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was suppressed by small interfering RNA knockdown of endogenously expressed p2y5. We also found that 2-acyl-LPA had higher activity to p2y5 than 1-acyl-LPA. A recent study has suggested that p2y5 is an LPA receptor essential for human hair growth. We confirmed that p2y5 is a functional LPA receptor and propose to designate this receptor LPA 6 .Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA 3 ; 1-or 2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate) is a naturally occurring lipid mediator with diverse biological activities (1, 2). LPA plays important roles in many biological processes, such as the nervous system (3), tumor metastasis (4), wound healing (5), cardiovascular functions (6), and reproduction (7), through its specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). At least five subtypes of LPA receptors have been identified. Three receptors (LPA 1 (8), LPA 2 (9), and LPA 3 (10, 11)) share about 50% amino acid sequence identities, and form the Edg (endothelial differentiation gene) family together with the GPCRs for sphingosine 1-phosphate. Two additional LPA receptors, p2y9/LPA 4 (12) and GPR92/LPA 5 (13, 14), which show small similarities with the Edg family GPCRs, were recently identified. These LPA receptors, by coupling with different sets of G proteins, transduce various responses in many cell types. Depending on the functional coupling of a given LPA receptor to the G proteins, LPA activates diverse signaling cascades involving phosphoinositide 3-kinase, phospholipase C, mitogen-activated protein kinase, Rho-family GTPase, and adenylyl cyclase (2).The fact that p2y5 shares the highest sequence homology with p2y9/LPA 4 among all GPCRs (12) strongly suggested that LPA is a ligand for p2y5. However, we could not detect LPAinduced Ca 2ϩ mobilization or cAMP level changes in p2y5-overexpressing cells at the time of the identification of p2y9/ LPA 4 as the fourth LPA receptor in our laboratory (12). In the course of the further analysis of p2y5-overexpressing cells, we found that p2y5 actually responded to LPA with activation of the G 13 -Rho signaling pathway. Our results confirm the identification of p2y5 as an LPA receptor and extend the knowledge of the functional roles of LPA. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURESLipids-1-Oleoyl-LPA, 1-palmitoyl-LPA, 1-stearoyl-LPA, 1-myristoyl-LPA, and 1-arachidonoyl-LPA were purchased from Avanti Polar Lipids (Alabaster, AL). 1-Linoleoyl-LPA was from Echelon Biosciences (Salt Lake City, UT). These lipids were stored at Ϫ30°C (10 mM stock in 50% ethanol). Alkyl-OMPT (10 mM stock in d...

Antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation (APDI) combines a nontoxic photoactivatable dye or photosensitizer (PS) with harmless visible light to generate singlet oxygen and reactive oxygen species that kill microbial cells. Cationic phenothiazinium dyes, such as toluidine blue O (TBO), are the only PS used clinically for APDI, and we recently reported that this class of PS are substrates of multidrug efflux pumps in both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. We now report that APDI can be significantly potentiated by combining the PS with an efflux pump inhibitor (EPI). Killing of Staphylococcus aureus mediated by TBO and red light is greatly increased by coincubation with known inhibitors of the major facilitator pump (NorA): the diphenyl urea INF271, reserpine, 5-methoxyhydnocarpin, and the polyacylated neohesperidoside, ADH7. The potentiation effect is greatest in the case of S. aureus mutants that overexpress NorA and least in NorA null cells. Addition of the EPI before TBO has a bigger effect than addition of the EPI after TBO. Cellular uptake of TBO is increased by EPI. EPI increased photodynamic inactivation killing mediated by other phenothiazinium dyes, such as methylene blue and dimethylmethylene blue, but not that mediated by nonphenothiazinium PS, such as Rose Bengal and benzoporphyrin derivative. Killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated by TBO and light was also potentiated by the resistance nodulation division pump (MexAB-OprM) inhibitor phenylalanine-arginine beta-naphthylamide but to a lesser extent than for S. aureus. These data suggest that EPI could be used in combination with phenothiazinium salts and light to enhance their antimicrobial effect against localized infections.

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Platelet-activating factor (PAF; 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) plays a critical role in inflammatory disorders including experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model for multiple sclerosis (MS). Although PAF accumulation in the spinal cord (SC) of EAE mice and cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients has been reported, little is known about the metabolic processing of PAF in these diseases. In this study, we demonstrate that the activities of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and acetyl-CoA:lyso-PAF acetyltransferase (LysoPAFAT) are elevated in the SC of EAE mice on a C57BL/6 genetic background compared with those of naive mice and correlate with disease severity. Correspondingly, levels of groups IVA, IVB, and IVF cytosolic PLA2s, group V secretory PLA2, and LysoPAFAT transcripts are up-regulated in the SC of EAE mice. PAF acetylhydrolase activity is unchanged during the disease course. In addition, we show that LysoPAFAT mRNA and protein are predominantly expressed in microglia. Considering the substrate specificity and involvement of PAF production, group IVA cytosolic PLA2 is likely to be responsible for the increased PLA2 activity. These data suggest that PAF accumulation in the SC of EAE mice is profoundly dependent on the group IVA cytosolic PLA2/LysoPAFAT axis present in the infiltrating macrophages and activated microglia.

Cerebral edema is a life-threatening neurological condition characterized by brain swelling due to the accumulation of excess fluid both intracellularly and extracellularly. Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) develops cerebral edema by disrupting blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, the mechanisms by which mediator induces brain edema in FHF remain to be elucidated. Here, we assessed a linkage between brain edema and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) signaling by utilizing an animal model of FHF and in vitro BBB model. Azoxymethane-treated mice developed FHF and hepatic encephalopathy, associated with higher autotaxin (ATX) activities in serum than controls. Using in vitro BBB model, LPA disrupted the structural integrity of tight junction proteins including claudin-5, occludin, and ZO-1. Furthermore, LPA decreased transendothelial electrical resistances in in vitro BBB model, and induced cell contraction in brain endothelial monolayer cultures, both being inhibited by a Rho-associated protein kinase inhibitor, Y-27632. The brain capillary endothelial cells predominantly expressed LPA mRNA, whose knockdown blocked the LPA-induced endothelial cell contraction. Taken together, the up-regulation of serum ATX in hepatic encephalopathy may activate the LPA-LPA-G-Rho pathway in brain capillary endothelial cells, leading to enhancement of BBB permeability and brain edema.

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In human autosomal recessive woolly hair/hypotrichosis (ARWH/HT), many mutations have been identified in a gene encoding LPA6, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). However, information regarding the effects of such mutations on receptor function is limited. In this study, we examined functional impacts of selected amino acid changes in LPA6 identified in ARWH/HT patients. In our exogenous expression experiments, all mutants except S3T failed to respond to LPA, indicating that they are loss-of-function mutants. Among the nine mutants, five (D63V, G146R, N246D, L277P, and C278Y) displayed impaired expression at the cell surface due to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention, indicating that these mutants are trafficking-defective, as reported in other disease-associated GPCRs. Notably, alkyl-OMPT, a potent synthetic agonist for LPA6 restored the defective cell surface expression of two of the ER-retained mutants, D63V and N246D, possibly by its chaperoning function that allows them to escape intracellular retention as well as proteasomal degradation. Furthermore, the alkyl-OMPT-rescued N246D mutant was shown be functional. Our findings encourage future application of pharmacoperone therapy for ARWH/HT patients with specific LPA6 mutations.

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