Urokinase-type plasminogen activator is a modulator of synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system:implications for neurorepair in the ischemic brain

The last two decades have witnessed a rapid decrease in mortality due to acute cerebral ischemia that paradoxically has led to a rapid increase in the number of patients that survive an acute ischemic stroke with various degrees of disability.Unfortunately,the lack of an effective therapeutic strategy to promote neurological recovery among stroke survivors has led to a rapidly growing population of disabled patients.Thus,understanding the mechanisms of neurorepair in the ischemic brain is a priority with wide scientific,social and economic implications.Cerebral ischemia has a harmful effect on synaptic structure associated with the development of functional impairment.In agreement with these observations,experimental evidence indicates that synaptic repair underlies the recovery of neurological function following an ischemic stroke.Furthermore,it has become evident that synaptic plasticity is crucial not only during development and learning,but also for synaptic repair after an ischemic insult.The plasminogen activating system is assembled by a cascade of enzymes and their inhibitors initially thought to be solely involved in the generation of plasmin.However,recent work has shown that in the brain this system has an important function regulating the development of synaptic plasticity via mechanisms that not always require plasmin generation.Urokinase-type plasminogen activator(uPA)is a serine proteinase and one of the plasminogen activators,that upon binding to its receptor(uPAR)not only catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen into plasmin on the cell surface,but also activates cell signaling pathways that promote cell migration,proliferation and survival.The role of uPA is the brain is not fully understood.However,it has been reported while uPA and uPAR are abundantly found in the developing central nervous system,in the mature brain their expression is restricted to a limited group of cells.Remarkably,following an ischemic injury to the mature brain the expression of uPA and uPAR increases to levels comparable to those observed during development.More specifically,neurons release uPA during the recovery phase from an ischemic injury,and astrocytes,axonal boutons and dendritic spines recruit uPAR to their plasma membrane.Here we will review recent evidence indicating that binding of uPA to uPAR promotes the repair of synapses damaged by an ischemic injury,with the resultant recovery of neurological function.Furthermore,we will discuss data indicating that treatment with recombinant uPA is a potential therapeutic strategy to promote neurological recovery among ischemic stroke survivors.

The plasminogen activating system in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease

Dementia is a clinical syndrome that affects approximately 47 million people worldwide and is characterized by progressive and irreversible decline of cognitive,behavioral and sesorimotor functions.Alzheimer’s disease(AD)accounts for approximately 60–80%of all cases of dementia,and neuropathologically is characterized by extracellular deposits of insoluble amyloid-β(Aβ)and intracellular aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau.Significantly,although for a long time it was believed that the extracellular accumulation of Aβwas the culprit of the symptoms observed in these patients,more recent studies have shown that cognitive decline in people suffering this disease is associated with soluble Aβ-induced synaptic dysfunction instead of the formation of insoluble Aβ-containing extracellular plaques.These observations are translationally relevant because soluble Aβ-induced synaptic dysfunction is an early event in AD that precedes neuronal death,and thus is amenable to therapeutic interventions to prevent cognitive decline before the progression to irreversible brain damage.The plasminogen activating(PA)system is an enzymatic cascade that triggers the degradation of fibrin by catalyzing the conversion of plasminogen into plasmin via two serine proteinases:tissue-type plasminogen activator(tPA)and urokinase-type plasminogen activator(uPA).Experimental evidence reported over the last three decades has shown that tPA and uPA play a role in the pathogenesis of AD.However,these studies have focused on the ability of these plasminogen activators to trigger plasmin-induced cleavage of insoluble Aβ-containing extracellular plaques.In contrast,recent evidence indicates that activity-dependent release of uPA from the presynaptic terminal of cerebral cortical neurons protects the synapse from the deleterious effects of soluble Aβvia a mechanism that does not require plasmin generation or the cleavage of Aβfibrils.Below we discuss the role of the PA system in the pathogenesis of AD and the translational relevance of data published to this date.

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator promotes synaptic repair in the ischemic brain

The central nervous system has a very high energy requirement. Accord- ingly, despite representing only 2% of the body＇s mass, the brain uses 20% of the total oxygen consumption. Importantly, because most of this energy is used to maintain synaptic activity, even a mild decrease in its supply to the brain has deleterious implications for synaptic function.

The uPA/uPAR system in astrocytic wound healing

The repair of injured tissue is a highly complex process that involves cell prolife ration,differentiation,and migration.Cell migration requires the dismantling of intercellular contacts in the injured zone and their subsequent reconstitution in the wounded area.Urokinase-type plasminogen activator(u PA)is a serine proteinase found in multiple cell types including endothelial cells,smooth muscle cells,monocytes,and macrophages.A substantial body of experimental evidence with different cell types outside the central nervous system indicates that the binding of uPA to its receptor(uPAR)on the cell surface prompts cell migration by inducing plasmin-mediated degradation of the extracellular matrix.In contrast,although uPA and uPAR are abundantly found in astrocytes and u PA binding to uPAR triggers astrocytic activation,it is unknown if uPA also plays a role in astrocytic migration.Neuronal cadherin is a member of cell adhesion proteins pivotal for the formation of cell-cell conta cts between astrocytes.More specifically,while the extracellular domain of neuronal cadherin interacts with the extracellular domain of neuronal cadherin in neighboring cells,its intracellular domain binds toβ-catenin,which in turn links the complex to the actin cytos keleton.Glycogen synthase kinase 3βis a serine-threonine kinase that prevents the cytoplasmic accumulation ofβ-catenin by inducing its phosphorylation at Ser33,Ser37,and Ser41,thus activating a sequence of events that lead to its proteasomal degradation.The data discussed in this perspective indicate that astrocytes release u PA following a mechanical injury,and that binding of this u PA to uPAR on the cell membrane induces the detachment ofβ-catenin from the intracellular domain of neuronal cadherin by triggering its extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2-mediated phosphorylation at Tyr650.Remarkably,this is followed by the cytoplasmic accumulation ofβ-catenin because uPA-induced extracellular signalregulated kinase 1/2 activation also phosphorylates lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 at Ser1490,which in turn,by recruiting glycogen synthase kinase 3βto its intracellular domain abrogates its effect onβ-catenin.The cytoplasmic accumulation ofβ-catenin is followed by its nuclear translocation,where it induces the expression of uPAR,which is required for the migration of astrocytes from the injured edge into the wounded area.

基于多尺度计算方法的活体磁共振谱自动相位矫正和代谢物定量分析(英文)

活体多片磁共振谱成像(MRSI)产生大量的波谱数据,因此需要使用自动的谱数据分析方法来获得不同组织代谢产物的定量分布图.然而,活体波谱通常产生严重的谱和基线变形,使得基于曲线拟合的谱定量数据分析方法失效.该文应用多尺度分析(Multiscale)方法自动确定兴趣代谢物在频率空间的谱峰特征(位置和线宽),然后通过叠代运算对该代谢物对应的谱峰进行独立的自动相位矫正和线型拟合.大脑波谱成像的实验结果表明,该方法可以方便、有效的获得代谢产物在大脑的分布,特别适宜于多片磁共振谱成像的代谢产物定量分析.