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The role of dopamine agonist treatment in corticotroph pituitary tumors is controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate D(2) receptor expression in 20 corticotroph pituitary tumors and to correlate it to the in vitro effect of dopamine agonists on ACTH secretion and the in vivo effect of short-term cabergoline treatment on cortisol secretion. D(2) expression was evaluated by receptor-ligand binding, immunohistochemistry, and RT-PCR. A 50% or more decrease in daily urinary cortisol levels was considered a significant clinical response. At receptor-ligand binding, specific binding of [(125)I]epidepride was found in 80% of cases. At immunohistochemistry, specific D(2) immunostaining was found in 75% of cases. D(2) expression was found in 83.3% of cases (D(2long) in 40%, D(2short) in 20%, and both in 40%) by RT-PCR. Significant in vitro inhibition of ACTH secretion was found in 100% of D(2)-positive cases, but not in 100% of D(2)-negative cases by either bromocriptine or cabergoline. A significant in vivo inhibition of cortisol secretion after 3-month cabergoline treatment was found in 60%, although a normalization of cortisol secretion was found in 40% of cases. All cabergoline-responsive cases were associated with D(2) expression, whereas all noncabergoline-responsive cases but one were not associated with D(2) expression. In conclusion, functional D(2) receptors were expressed in approximately 80% of corticotroph pituitary tumors. The effectiveness of cabergoline in normalizing cortisol secretion in 40% of cases supports its therapeutic use in the management of Cushing's disease.

KCNQ subunits encode for the M current (I KM)

Brain activity during rest is characterized by slow (0.01-0.1 Hz) fluctuations of blood oxygenation level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging signals. These fluctuations are organized as functional connectivity networks called resting-state networks, anatomically corresponding to specific neuronal circuits. As Parkinson's disease is mainly characterized by a dysfunction of the sensorimotor pathways, which can be influenced by levodopa administration, the present study investigated the functional connectivity changes within the sensorimotor resting-state network in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease after acute levodopa administration. Using a double-blind placebo-controlled design, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out in 20 drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease, immediately before and 60 min after, oral administration of either levodopa or placebo. Control resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were recorded in 18 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Independent component analysis was performed to extract resting-state network maps and associated time-course spectral features. At the anatomical level, levodopa enhanced the sensorimotor network functional connectivity in the supplementary motor area, a region where drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease exhibited reduced signal fluctuations compared with untreated patients. At the spectral frequency level, levodopa stimulated these fluctuations in a selective frequency band of the sensorimotor network. The reported effects induced by levodopa on sensorimotor network topological and spectral features confirm that the sensorimotor system is a target of acute levodopa administration in drug-naïve patients with Parkinson's disease. Moreover, while the regional changes in supplementary motor area reflect the functional improvement in motor function, the rhythm-specific modulation induced by the dopamine precursor discloses a novel aspect of pharmacological stimulation in Parkinson's disease, adding further insight to the comprehension of levodopa action.

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Background and Purpose— The Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger, by mediating Ca 2+ and Na + fluxes in a bidirectional way across the synaptic plasma membrane, may play a pivotal role in the events leading to anoxic damage. In the brain, there are 3 different genes coding for 3 different proteins: NCX1, NCX2, and NCX3. The aim of this study was to determine whether NCX1, NCX2, and NCX3 might play a differential role in the development of cerebral injury induced by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO). Methods— By means of Western blotting, NCX1, NCX2, and NCX3 protein expression was evaluated in the ischemic core and in the remaining nonischemic area of the slice at different time intervals starting from ischemia induction. The role of each isoform was also assessed with antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) targeted for each isoform. These ODNs were continuously intracerebroventricularly infused with an osmotic minipump (1 μL/h) for 48 hours, 24 hours before pMCAO. Results— The results showed that after pMCAO all 3 NCX proteins were downregulated in ischemic core; NCX3 decreased in periinfarctual area whereas NCX1 and NCX2 were unchanged. The ODNs for NCX1 and NCX3 gene products were capable of inducing an increase in the ischemic lesion and to worsen neurological scores. Conclusions— The results of this study suggest that in the neuroprotective effect exerted by NCX during ischemic injury, the major role is prevalently exerted by NCX1 and NCX3 gene products.

AKAP121 focuses distinct signaling events from membrane to mitochondria by binding and targeting cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPD1), and mRNA. We find that AKAP121 also targets src tyrosine kinase to mitochondria via PTPD1. AKAP121 increased src-dependent phosphorylation of mitochondrial substrates and enhanced the activity of cytochrome c oxidase, a component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP oxidative synthesis were enhanced by AKAP121 in an src-and PKA-dependent manner. Finally, siRNA-mediated silencing of endogenous AKAP121 drastically impaired synthesis and accumulation of mitochondrial ATP. These findings indicate that AKAP121, through its role in enhancing cAMP and tyrosine kinase signaling to distal organelles, is an important regulator in mitochondrial metabolism. INTRODUCTIONProtein kinase A (PKA) is an essential mediator in most cAMP-dependent signaling pathways. A family of proteins named A-kinase anchor proteins (AKAPs) has been identified that enhance cAMP-dependent PKA signaling pathways (Rubin, 1994;Gray et al., 1998;McKnight et al., 1998;Feliciello et al., 2001;Houslay and Adams, 2003;Tasken and Aandahl, 2004;Taylor et al., 2004;Wong and Scott, 2004). AKAP121 (also called D-AKAP1), AKAP149, and AKAP84 arise from a single gene by alternative pre-mRNA splicing (Lin et al., 1995;Trendelenburg et al., 1996;Chen et al., 1997;Huang et al., 1997Huang et al., , 1999Furusawa et al., 2002). AKAP121 and AKAP84 tether PKA to the mitochondrial outer surface. This localization is mediated by the interaction of AKAP121 and AKAP84 with ␤ tubulin, an integral component of mitochondrial outer membrane (Cardone et al., 2002). AKAP121 is widely expressed in several tissues and its accumulation is regulated at the transcriptional level by the cAMP/PKA pathway (Feliciello et al., 1998). Anchoring of PKA to mitochondria supports cAMP signaling and suppresses apoptosis (Harada et al., 1999;Affaitati et al., 2003). AKAP121, via a KH domain at its COOH-terminus, binds at least two mRNAs that encode mitochondrial proteins Ranganathan et al., 2005). This multicomponent system, reminiscent of other AKAP complexes at cell membranes, ensures efficient translation and import of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins. It is suggested that PKA may phosphorylate some of these proteins cotranslationally, as well as acting on AKAP121 itself to regulate the stability of the RNA-AKAP121 complex Feliciello et al., 2005).In addition, AKAP121 and AKAP84 bind the central core of PTPD1, a classical nonreceptor protein tyrosine phosphatase (Moller et al., 1994). PTPD1 binds to and activates src, enhancing EGF-dependent mitogenic signaling (Cardone et al., 2004). By translocating PTPD1 to the outer membrane of mitochondria, AKAP121 inhibits PTPD1-dependent EGF signaling to the nucleus. These data suggest a model whereby AKAP121, by targeting PTPD1/src complex to mitochondria, may shift the focus of tyrosine kinase signaling from membrane to specific distal...

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