GPR120 is an Omega-3 Fatty Acid Receptor Mediating Potent Anti-Inflammatory and Insulin Sensitizing Effects

This Review provides an overview of the role of autophagy, a key lysosomal degradative process, in neurodegenerative diseases. The study of various neurodegenerative diseases has shown that defects in autophagy can arise at different points in the pathway, and this has implications for the successful modulation of autophagy for therapeutic purposes. The Review also discusses the latest developments in targeting alterations in autophagy as a therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases.

The role of autophagy in neurodegenerative disease

Despite significant advances in contraceptive options for women over the last 50 yr, world population continues to grow rapidly. Scientists and activists alike point to the devastating environmental impacts that population pressures have caused, including global warming from the developed world and hunger and disease in less developed areas. Moreover, almost half of all pregnancies are still unwanted or unplanned. Clearly, there is a need for expanded, reversible, contraceptive options. Multicultural surveys demonstrate the willingness of men to participate in contraception and their female partners to trust them to do so. Notwithstanding their paucity of options, male methods including vasectomy and condoms account for almost one third of contraceptive use in the United States and other countries. Recent international clinical research efforts have demonstrated high efficacy rates (90-95%) for hormonally based male contraceptives. Current barriers to expanded use include limited delivery methods and perceived regulatory obstacles, which stymie introduction to the marketplace. However, advances in oral and injectable androgen delivery are cause for optimism that these hurdles may be overcome. Nonhormonal methods, such as compounds that target sperm motility, are attractive in their theoretical promise of specificity for the reproductive tract. Gene and protein array technologies continue to identify potential targets for this approach. Such nonhormonal agents will likely reach clinical trials in the near future. Great strides have been made in understanding male reproductive physiology; the combined efforts of scientists, clinicians, industry and governmental funding agencies could make an effective, reversible, male contraceptive an option for family planning over the next decade.

Advances in male contraception.

Many diseases appear to be caused by the misregulation of protein maintenance. Such diseases of protein homeostasis, or “proteostasis,” include loss-of-function diseases (cystic fibrosis) and gain-of-toxic-function diseases (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease). Proteostasis is maintained by the proteostasis network, which comprises pathways that control protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, aggregation, disaggregation, and degradation. The decreased ability of the proteostasis network to cope with inherited misfolding-prone proteins, aging, and/or metabolic/environmental stress appears to trigger or exacerbate proteostasis diseases. Herein, we review recent evidence supporting the principle that proteostasis is influenced both by an adjustable proteostasis network capacity and protein folding energetics, which together determine the balance between folding efficiency, misfolding, protein degradation, and aggregation. We review how small molecules can enhance proteostasis by binding to a...

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Biological and Chemical Approaches to Diseases of Proteostasis Deficiency

The epithelial ovarian carcinomas, which make up more than 85% of human ovarian cancer, arise in the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). The etiology and early events in the progression of these carcinomas are among the least understood of all major human malignancies because there are no appropriate animal models, and because methods to culture OSE have become available only recently. The objective of this article is to review the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the control of normal and neoplastic OSE cell growth, differentiation, and expression of indicators of neoplastic progression. We begin with a brief discussion of the development of OSE, from embryonic to the adult. The pathological and genetic changes of OSE during neoplastic progression are next summarized. The histological characteristics of OSE cells in culture are also described. Finally, the potential involvement of hormones, growth factors, and cytokines is discussed in terms of their contribution to our understanding of the physiology of normal OSE and ovarian cancer development.

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Ovarian surface epithelium: biology, endocrinology, and pathology.

I. Introduction II. GnRHR Structure Analysis III. Studies of GnRH Action in αT3-1 Cells A. Derivation of αT3-1 cells B. Characterization of αT3-1 cells C. GnRH binding D. GnRHR regulation 1. Homologous regulation by GnRH 2. Regulation by gonadal steroid hormones 3. Regulation by gonadal peptides 4. Regulation by second messenger activators E. Intracellular second messengers 1. G protein coupling 2. Inositol phosphates 3. Intracellular calcium 4. Protein kinase C 5. cAMP 6. Mitogen-activated protein kinases F. α-Subunit gene expression 1. Cell-specific expression 2. GnRH-stimulated expression G. Desensitization H. Summary of GnRH action in αT3-1 cells IV. Studies of GnRH Action in GH3 Cells Transfected with the GnRH Receptor (GGH3 Cells) A. Derivation of GH3 cells B. Characterization of GH3 cells C. Derivation of GH3 cells transfected with the GnRHR (GGH3 cells) D. GnRH binding E. GnRHR regulation F. Intracellular second messengers 1. G protein coupling 2. Inositol phosphates 3. cAMP G. Regulation of secre...

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Studies of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) action using GnRH receptor-expressing pituitary cell lines.

The process of quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum involves a variety of mechanisms which ensure that only correctly folded proteins enter the secretory pathway. Among these are conformation-screening mechanisms performed by molecular chaperones that assist in protein folding and prevent non-native (or misfolded) proteins from interacting with other misfolded proteins. Chaperones play a central role in the triage of newly formed proteins prior to their entry into the secretion, retention, and degradation pathways. Despite this stringent quality control mechanism, gain- or loss-of-function mutations that affect protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum can manifest themselves as profound effects on the health of an organism. Understanding the molecular, cellular, and energetic mechanisms of protein routing could prevent or correct the structural abnormalities associated with disease-causing misfolded proteins. Rescue of misfolded, "trafficking-defective", but otherwise functional, proteins is achieved by a variety of physical, chemical, genetic, and pharmacological approaches. Pharmacologic chaperones (or "pharmacoperones") are template molecules that may potentially arrest or reverse diseases by inducing mutant proteins to adopt native-type-like conformations instead of improperly folded ones. Such restructuring leads to a normal pattern of cellular localization and function. This review focuses on protein misfolding and misrouting related to various disease states and describes promising approaches to overcoming such defects. Special attention is paid to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor, since there is a great deal of information about this receptor, which has recently emerged as a particularly instructive model.

Pharmacologic rescue of conformationally-defective proteins: implications for the treatment of human disease.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) comprise the largest family of drug targets. This is not surprising as many signaling systems rely on this class of receptor to convert external and internal stimuli to intracellular responses. As is the case with other membrane proteins, GPCRs are subjected to a stringent quality control mechanism at the endoplasmic reticulum, which ensures that only correctly folded proteins enter the secretory pathway. Because of this quality control system, point mutations resulting in protein sequence variations may result in the production of misfolded and disease-causing proteins that are unable to reach their functional destinations in the cell. There is now a wealth of information demonstrating the functional rescue of misfolded mutant receptors by small nonpeptide molecules originally designed to serve as receptor antagonists; these small molecules ("pharmacoperones") serve as molecular templates, promoting correct folding and allowing the mutants to pass the scrutiny of the cellular quality control system and be expressed at the cell surface membrane. Two of these systems are especially well characterized: the gonadotropin-releasing hormone and the vasopressin type 2 receptors, which play important roles in regulating reproduction and water homeostasis, respectively. Mutations in these receptors can lead to well defined diseases that are recognized as being caused by receptor misfolding that may potentially be amenable to treatment with pharmacoperones. This review is focused on protein misfolding and misrouting related to various disease states, with special emphasis on these two receptors, which have proved to be of value for development of drugs potentially useful in regulating GPCR trafficking in healthy and disease states.

G Protein-Coupled Receptor Trafficking in Health and Disease: Lessons Learned to Prepare for Therapeutic Mutant Rescue in Vivo

In the present study, we demonstrate pharmacological rescue (assessed by ligand binding and restoration of receptor coupling to effector) of five naturally occurring GnRH receptor (GnRHR) mutants (T(32)I, E(90)K, C(200)Y, C(279)Y, and L(266)R), identified from patients with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, as well as rescue of other defective receptors intentionally manufactured with internal or terminal deletions or substitutions at sites expected to be involved in establishment of tertiary receptor structure. The pharmacological agent used is a small, membrane-permeant molecule, originally designed as an orally active, nonpeptide receptor antagonist, but is believed to function as a folding template, capable of correcting the structural defects caused by the mutations and thereby restoring function. After rescue, this agent can be demonstrably removed. The rescued receptor, now stabilized in the plasma membrane, couples ligand binding to activation of the appropriate effector system. For comparison, low-, intermediate-, or high-affinity peptide antagonists of GnRHR (that do not penetrate the cell) were unable to effect rescue, as was a nonbinding peptidomimetic congener of the rescue agent; this latter effect demonstrates specificity of the rescue agent. Our findings, taken in concert with an earlier study showing rescue of a mutant by modifications to the receptor structure that enhance plasma membrane expression of the GnRHR, suggest that mutant GnRHRs have frequently not lost intrinsic functionality and are subject to rescue by techniques that enhance membrane expression. The present findings demonstrate the efficacy of an approach based on pharmacological rescue and suggest the basis of new approaches for intervention in this and similar diseases.

Rescue of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism-causing and manufactured GnRH receptor mutants by a specific protein-folding template: misrouted proteins as a novel disease etiology and therapeutic target

We describe the pharmacological profile in rats and monkeys of degarelix (FE200486), a member of a new class of long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists. At single subcutaneous injections of 0.3 to 10 microg/kg in rats, degarelix produced a dose-dependent suppression of the pituitary-gonadal axis as revealed by the decrease in plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone levels. Duration of LH suppression increased with the dose: in the rat, significant suppression of LH lasted 1, 2, and 7 days after a single subcutaneous injection of degarelix at 12.5, 50, or 200 microg/kg, respectively. Degarelix fully suppressed plasma LH and testosterone levels in the castrated and intact rats as well as in the ovariectomized rhesus monkey for more than 40 days after a single 2-mg/kg subcutaneous injection. In comparative experiments, degarelix showed a longer duration of action than the recently developed GnRH antagonists abarelix, ganirelix, cetrorelix, and azaline B. The in vivo mechanism of action of degarelix was consistent with competitive antagonism, and the prolonged action of degarelix was paralleled by continued presence of radioimmunoassayable degarelix in the general circulation. In contrast to cetrorelix and similarly to ganirelix and abarelix, degarelix had only weak histamine-releasing properties in vitro. These results demonstrate that the unique and favorable pharmacological properties of degarelix make it an ideal candidate for the management of sex steroid-dependent pathologies requiring long-term inhibition of the gonadotropic axis.

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P. Michael Conn

Papers

Studies of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) action using GnRH receptor-expressing pituitary cell lines.

Pharmacologic rescue of conformationally-defective proteins: implications for the treatment of human disease.

G Protein-Coupled Receptor Trafficking in Health and Disease: Lessons Learned to Prepare for Therapeutic Mutant Rescue in Vivo

Rescue of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism-causing and manufactured GnRH receptor mutants by a specific protein-folding template: misrouted proteins as a novel disease etiology and therapeutic target

Pharmacological Profile of a New, Potent, and Long-Acting Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Antagonist: Degarelix