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Most drugs acting on G-protein-coupled receptors target the orthosteric binding pocket where the native hormone or neurotransmitter binds. There is much interest in finding allosteric ligands for these targets because they modulate physiologic signaling and promise to be more selective than orthosteric ligands. Here we describe a newly developed allosteric modulator of the β(2)-adrenergic receptor (β(2)AR), AS408, that binds to the membrane-facing surface of transmembrane segments 3 and 5, as revealed by X-ray crystallography. AS408 disrupts a water-mediated polar network involving E122(3.41) and the backbone carbonyls of V206(5.45) and S207(5.46). The AS408 binding site is adjacent to a previously identified molecular switch for β(2)AR activation formed by I(3.40), P(5.50) and F(6.44). The structure reveals how AS408 stabilizes the inactive conformation of this switch, thereby acting as a negative allosteric modulator for agonists and positive allosteric modulator for inverse agonists.

Kinetic profiling of drug–target interactions using surface-based label-free technologies is well established for water-soluble pharmaceutical targets but is difficult to execute for membrane proteins in general and G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) in particular. That is because surface immobilization of GPCRs tends to alter their configuration and function, leading to low target coverage and non-specific binding. We here describe a novel assay for kinetic profiling of drug binding to the GPCR human beta 2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR). The assay involves temporally-resolved imaging of the binding of individual β2AR-containing cell membrane-derived liposomes to a surface-immobilized ligand in the presence of screened drugs. This approach allowed to determine association and dissociation constants of β2AR and suspended alprenolol (antagonist) and fenoterol (agonist). The set-up combines a 384 well-plate sensor chip with automated liquid handling and the assay takes minutes to complete, making it well adapted for drug screening campaigns.

The chiral separation of enantiomers is crucial for pharmacovigilance within drug discovery. Although a large number of prescribed medications are marketed as pure enantiomers, this is not always the case and many are in fact racemic mixtures. Drug scandals, such as that of Thalidomide in 1961, provide a clear example of the social and economic repercussions that can be caused by negligence of these chiral compounds. Two high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods are presented to determine, separate and quantitate a commonly prescribed chiral beta blocker, (-)-Alprenolol. The first method utilises a chiral column to physically separate the two enantiomers of Alprenolol in 25 minutes, before quantitating with two detectors. Fluorimetry gave the better limit of detection of 0.16-0.41ng and a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The second method used an achiral column coupled with polarimetry to quantitate (-)-Alprenolol without the need for physical separation in 10 minutes. The limit of detection achieved was 27-37μg and demonstrated a correlation coefficient of -0.999.

A new chiral sorbent based on mercaptosilica modified by gold nanoparticles, then treated by 3-mercaptopropionic acid and macrocyclic antibiotic vancomycin, was obtained. The enantioseparation of isomeric β-blockers (nadolol, atenolol, metoprolol, alprenolol, oxprenolol, and pindolol) by HPLC was studied on the synthesized sorbent. The effect of the composition of the mobile phase (nature and concentration of the organic solvent, concentration and pH of the buffer solution) on retention times of β-blocker enantiomers, selectivity of separation, and resolution of chromatographic peaks were studied. The best separation was achieved for pindolol and metoprolol. The procedure was used to determine the pindolol enantiomers in the preparation “Visken,” and metoprolol in the “Vazocardin” preparation.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) transduce pleiotropic intracellular signals in mammalian cells. Here, we report neuronal excitability of β-blockers carvedilol and alprenolol at clinically relevant nanomolar concentrations. Carvedilol and alprenolol activate β2AR, which promote G protein signaling and cAMP/PKA activities without action of G protein receptor kinases (GRKs). The cAMP/PKA activities are restricted within the immediate vicinity of activated β2AR, leading to selectively enhance PKA-dependent phosphorylation and stimulation of endogenous L-type calcium channel (LTCC) but not AMPA receptor in rat hippocampal neurons. Moreover, we have engineered a mutant β2AR that lacks the catecholamine binding pocket. This mutant is preferentially activated by carvedilol but not the orthosteric agonist isoproterenol. Carvedilol activates the mutant β2AR in mouse hippocampal neurons augmenting LTCC activity through cAMP/PKA signaling. Together, our study identifies a mechanism by which β-blocker-dependent activation of GPCRs promotes spatially restricted cAMP/PKA signaling to selectively target membrane downstream effectors such as LTCC in neurons.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a main drug target and therefore a hot topic in pharmaceutical research. One important prerequisite to understand how a certain ligand affects a GPCR is precise knowledge about its binding mode and the specific underlying interactions. If no crystal structure of the respective complex is available, computational methods can be used to deduce the binding site. One of them are metadynamics simulations which have the advantage of an enhanced sampling compared to conventional molecular dynamics simulations. However, the enhanced sampling of higher-energy states hampers identification of the preferred binding mode. Here, we present a novel protocol based on clustering of multiple walker metadynamics simulations which allows identifying the preferential binding mode from such conformational ensembles. We tested this strategy for three different model systems namely the histamine H1 receptor in combination with its physiological ligand histamine, as well as the &beta, 2 adrenoceptor with its agonist adrenaline and its antagonist alprenolol. For all three systems, the proposed protocol was able to reproduce the correct binding mode known from the literature suggesting that the approach can more generally be applied to the prediction of GPCR ligand binding in future.

BACKGROUND Because of the insensitivity of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy, surgery remains the primary approach for anticancer treatment. However, patients who do not receive timely diagnoses may not be suitable for surgery, especially in the late phase of tumor development. Thus, the discovery of novel effective treatment is of great importance. Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) can inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis in many cancer cells. In this paper, we report on an in vitro study to determine the effect of AITC on proliferation and apoptosis of RCC line GRC-1. MATERIAL AND METHODS CCK8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation under gradient concentrations of AITC. Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate cell apoptosis. Real-time fluorescent polymerase chain reaction quantified mRNA levels of Bax and Bcl-2 genes. Western blotting was further employed for protein expression assay. RESULTS AITC inhibited GRC-1 cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner; it also elevated Bax while suppressing Bcl-2 gene expression at both mRNA and protein levels. In general, increasing concentration of AITC decreased Bcl-2/Bax ratio. CONCLUSIONS The inhibitory effect of AITC on GRC-1 cells is exerted via cell apoptosis, in which the imbalance of Bcl-2/Bax plays a significant role.

Introduction Adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVMs) membrane contains invaginations (transverse tubule membrane, TTM). TTM is continuous with the outer surface membrane (OSM) to allow rapid electrical coupling during the action potential. β-adrenergic receptors (βAR) are located in both OSM and TTM, but at different densities. TT provides the development of dyadic junctions with the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which is essential for excitation-contraction coupling (ECC). Yet, how β-AR compartmentation modulates ECC remains unknown. Objective To selectively activate βARs in OSM and not in TTM using a steric hindrance approach. Method We covalently linked a 5 kDa PolyEthylene-Glycol (PEG) on βAR agonist (Isoprenaline, Iso) or antagonist (Alprenolol, Alp) to increase the size of the βAR ligand and prevent its access to TTM. Chemical grafting and PEG-ligand purification were optimized. A fluorescent PEG (PEG-FITC) was used to visualize its distribution in ARVMs. Pharmacological characterization of the PEG-ligands was performed using radioligand binding assays on β1 or β2AR, and cAMP measurement by FRET in ARVMs. The effects of PEG-ligands on ECC were examined in ARVMs using the Ionoptix system. Results (1) PEG-FITC does not penetrate in the TT network. (2) The chemical grafting was validated. (3) PEG-ligands bind to β1 and β2AR with Ki values of, respectively: 1300 and 430 μM (n = 5) for PEG-Iso, and 20.0 and 5.6 μM (n = 5) for PEG-Alp. (4) PEG-Iso produces a dose-dependent increase in cytosolic cAMP. The maximal response is comparable to free Iso. (5) PEG-Alp antagonizes the cytosolic cAMP response to free Iso, with a maximal effect close to full inhibition. (6) Activation of βAR at the OSM, using PEG-Iso, has smaller impact on ECC than global activation using free Iso. Conclusion Our results indicate that (1) activation of βARs at the OSM is sufficient to produce maximal elevation of cytosolic cAMP, but (2) βARs in the TTM are more efficiently coupled to contractility and Ca2+ regulation.

The β(1)-adrenergic receptor (β(1)-AR) is a major cardiac G protein-coupled receptor, which mediates cardiac actions of catecholamines and is involved in genesis and treatment of numerous cardiovascular disorders. In mammalian cells, catecholamines induce the internalization of the β(1)-AR into endosomes and their removal promotes the recycling of the endosomal β(1)-AR back to the plasma membrane; however, whether these redistributive processes occur in terminally differentiated cells is unknown. Compartmentalization of the β(1)-AR in response to β-agonists and antagonists was determined by confocal microscopy in primary adult rat ventricular myocytes (ARVMs), which are terminally differentiated myocytes with unique structures such as transverse tubules (T-tubules) and contractile sarcomeres. In unstimulated ARVMs, the fluorescently labeled β(1)-AR was expressed on the external membrane (the sarcolemma) of cardiomyocytes. Exposing ARVMs to isoproterenol redistributed surface β(1)-ARs into small (∼225–250 nm) regularly spaced internal punctate structures that overlapped with puncta stained by Di-8 ANEPPS, a membrane-impermeant T-tubule-specific dye. Replacing the β-agonist with the β-blocker alprenolol, induced the translocation of the wild-type β(1)-AR from these punctate structures back to the plasma membrane. This step was dependent on two barcodes, namely, the type-1 PDZ binding motif and serine at position 312 of the β(1)-AR, which is phosphorylated by a pool of cAMP-dependent protein kinases anchored at the type-1 PDZ of the β(1)-AR. These data show that redistribution of the β(1)-AR in ARVMs from internal structures back to the plasma membrane was mediated by a novel sorting mechanism, which might explain unique aspects of cardiac β(1)-AR signaling under normal or pathologic conditions.

Background and purpose Our previous studies have shown the β2 -adrenoceptor and its endogenous ligand, adrenaline, are required for development of the asthma phenotype in murine asthma models. Chronic administration of some, but not other, β-blockers attenuated the asthma phenotype and led us to hypothesize that biased signalling was the basis of their differential effects, experimentally and clinically. Experimental approach We used mice with no detectable systemic adrenaline (PNMT(-/-) ) and wild-type (WT) mice to study the effects of four β-blockers, alprenolol, carvedilol, propranolol and nadolol, in an ovalbumin sensitization and challenge (Ova S/C) murine model of asthma. The parameters measured were inflammatory cell infiltration, mucous metaplasia and airway hyperresponsiveness. To interpret the pharmacological action of these ligands quantitatively, we conducted computer simulations of three-state models of receptor activation. Key results Ova S/C PNMT(-/-) mice do not develop an asthma phenotype. Here, we showed that administration of alprenolol, carvedilol or propranolol in the absence of interference from adrenaline using Ova S/C PNMT(-/-) mice resulted in the development of an asthma phenotype, whereas nadolol had no effect. Ova S/C WT mice did develop an asthma phenotype, and administration of alprenolol, propranolol and carvedilol had no effect on the asthma phenotype. However, nadolol prevented development of the asthma phenotype in Ova S/C WT mice. Computer simulations of these four ligands were consistent with the isolated three-state receptor model. Conclusion and implications β-Blockers have different effects on the murine asthma phenotype that correlate with reported differences in activation or inhibition of downstream β2 -adrenoceptor signalling pathways.

The sustained release of alprenolol, a ß-adrenergic antagonist, could be beneficial for the treatment of various heart diseases while reducing the side effects resulting from its continuous use. The novel and branched copolymers uniquely composed of biodegradable components (lactide and glycolide) have been synthesized using natural and therapeutically-efficient ß-aescin-initiator, and consequently characterized to determine their structures and physicochemical properties. The obtained matrices were not cyto- and genotoxic towards bacterial luminescence, protozoan, and Salmonella typhimurium TA1535. The copolymers release the drug in vitro in a sustained manner and without burst release. The value of the drug released was strongly dependent on the copolymer composition and highly correlated with the hydrolytic matrices’ degradation results.

Two therapeutically active compounds from the group of β-blockers, acebutolol (AC) and alprenolol (AL), in solid form were subjected to ionizing radiation emitted by a beam of high energy electrons from an accelerator with a standard sterilization dose of 25 kGy and in higher doses of 50–400 kGy. The effects of irradiation were detected by chromatographic methods (TLC, HPLC) and a hyphenated method (HPLC/MS/MS). No significant changes in the physicochemical properties of both compounds studied irradiated with 25 kGy were noted, but upon irradiation with the highest dose (400 kGy) the loss of AC and AL content determined by HPLC was 2.79 and 9.12%, respectively. The product of AC decomposition and the two products of AL decomposition were separated and identified by HPLC/MS/MS. It has been established that radiodegradation of AC and AL takes place by oxidation, leading to formation of the products of radiolysis, most probably alcohol derivatives of the β-blockers studied. The additional product that appears on radiodegradation of AL is probably formed as a result of two simultaneous reactions: oxidation and CH2 group elimination.

Prion diseases are transmissible neurodegenerative disorders of humans and animals, which are characterized by the aggregation of abnormal prion protein (PrPSc) in the central nervous system. Although several small compounds that bind to normal PrP (PrPC) have been shown to inhibit structural conversion of the protein, an effective therapy for human prion disease remains to be established. In this study, we screened 1200 existing drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for anti-prion activity using surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi). Of these drugs, 31 showed strong binding activity to recombinant human PrP, and three of these reduced the accumulation of PrPSc in prion-infected cells. One of the active compounds, alprenolol hydrochloride, which is used clinically as a β-adrenergic blocker for hypertension, also reduced the accumulation of PrPSc in the brains of prion-infected mice at the middle stage of the disease when the drug was administered orally with their daily water from the day after infection. Docking simulation analysis suggested that alprenolol hydrochloride fitted into the hotspot within mouse PrPC, which is known as the most fragile structure within the protein. These findings provide evidence that SPRi is useful in identifying effective drug candidates for neurodegenerative diseases caused by abnormal protein aggregation, such as prion diseases.

Carvedilol is reported to prevent cancers in humans and animal models. However, a molecular mechanism has yet to be established, and the extent to which other β-blockers are chemopreventive remains relatively unknown. A comparative pharmacological approach was utilized with the expectation that a mechanism of action could be devised. JB6 Cl 41-5a (JB6 P+) murine epidermal cells were used to elucidate the chemopreventative properties of β-blockers, as JB6 P+ cells recapitulate in vivo tumor promotion and chemoprevention. The initial hypothesis was that β-blockers that are GRK/β-arrestin biased agonists, like carvedilol, are chemopreventive. Sixteen β-blockers of different classes, isoproterenol, and HEAT HCl were individually co-administered with epidermal growth factor (EGF) to JB6 P+ cells to examine the chemopreventative properties of each ligand. Cytotoxicity was examined to ensure that the anti-transformation effects of each ligand were not due to cellular growth inhibition. Many of the examined β-blockers suppressed EGF-induced JB6 P+ cell transformation in a non-cytotoxic and concentration-dependent manner. However, the IC50 values are high for the most potent inhibitors (243, 326, and 431 nM for carvedilol, labetalol, and alprenolol, respectively) and there is no correlation between pharmacological properties and inhibition of transformation. Therefore, the role of α1- and β2-adrenergic receptors (AR) was examined by standard competition assays and shRNA targeting β2-ARs, the only β-AR expressed in JB6 P+ cells. The results reveal that pharmacological inhibition of α1- and β2-ARs and genetic knockdown of β2-ARs did not abrogate carvedilol-mediated inhibition of EGF-induced JB6 P+ cell transformation. Furthermore, topical administration of carvedilol protected mice from UV-induced skin damage, while genetic ablation of β2-ARs increased carvedilol-mediated effects. Therefore, the prevailing hypothesis that the chemopreventive property of carvedilol is mediated through β-ARs is not supported by this data.

A comparative study of the electrochemical conversion and the biotransformation performed by the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) obtained by rat liver microsomes has been achieved to elucidate the oxidation mechanism of both acebutolol and alprenolol. For this purpose, a wide range of reactions such as N-dealkylation, O-dealkoxylation, aromatic hydroxylation, benzyl hydroxylation, alkyl hydroxylation, and aromatic hydroxylation have been examined in this study, and their mechanisms have been compared. Most of the results of the electrochemical oxidation have been found to be in accordance with those obtained by incubating acebutolol and alprenolol in the presence of CYP450, i.e., N-dealkylation, benzyl hydroxylation, and O-dealkoxylation reactions catalyzed by liver microsomes were found to be predicted by the electrochemical oxidation. The difficulty for the electrochemical process to mimic both aromatic and alkyl hydroxylation reactions has also been discussed, and the hypothesis for the absence of aromatic hydroxylated and alkyl hydroxylated products, respectively, for alprenolol and acebutolol, under the anodic oxidation has been supported by theoretical calculation. The present study highlights the potential and limitation of coupling of electrochemistry-liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry for the study of phase I and phase II reactions of acebutolol and alprenolol.

Capillary columns were packed firstly with silica modified-teicoplanin (teico-CSP) particles for a short zone (1-5. cm) and then with a Cogent Bidentate C18(TM) silica phase (25. cm). The first part of the column (inlet) was intended for focusing the sample model, consisted of selected basic compounds, while the second zone, containing RP18 particles, was used for their separation. For method optimization, some important experimental parameters were studied including the sample solvent, injected volume and teico-CSP particles length. 3. cm teico-CSP resulted to be effective for the on-line pre-concentration, before the separation, of acebutolol, alprenolol, nadolol, oxprenolol and terbutaline with limit of detection at levels of few ng/mL. The comparison of the data obtained in absence of the chiral stationary phase revealed that the use of this chiral short sector into the capillary allowed the increase of the sensitivity of 5-12 times. Injection of larger sample volumes were easily done using higher length of the teico-CSP into the capillary, however the use of 5. cm length was not appropriate because caused the partial chiral separation of some studied compounds. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by severe angiogenic remodeling of the pulmonary artery wall and right ventricular hypertrophy. Thus, there is an increasing need for novel biomarkers to dissect disease heterogeneity, and predict treatment response. Although β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) dysfunction is well documented in left heart disease while endothelial cell-derived microparticles (Ec-MPs) are established biomarkers of angiogenic remodeling, methods for easy large clinical cohort analysis of these biomarkers are currently absent. Here we describe flow cytometric methods for quantification of βAR density on circulating white blood cells (WBC) and Ec-MPs in urine samples that can be used as potential biomarkers of right heart failure in PAH. Biotinylated β-blocker alprenolol was synthesized and validated as a βAR specific probe that was combined with immunophenotyping to quantify βAR density in circulating WBC subsets. Ec-MPs obtained from urine samples were stained for annexin-V and CD144, and analyzed by a micro flow cytometer. Flow cytometric detection of alprenolol showed that βAR density was decreased in most WBC subsets in PAH samples compared to healthy controls. Ec-MPs in urine was increased in PAH compared to controls. Furthermore, there was a direct correlation between Ec-MPs and Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) in PAH patients. Therefore, flow cytometric quantification of peripheral blood cell βAR density and urinary Ec-MPs may be useful as potential biomarkers of right ventricular function in PAH.

SummaryG protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a class of versatile proteins that transduce signals across membranes. Extracellular stimuli induce inter- and intramolecular interactions that change the functional state of GPCRs and activate intracellular messenger molecules. How these interactions are established and how they modulate the functional state of GPCRs remain to be understood. We used dynamic single-molecule force spectroscopy to investigate how ligand binding modulates the energy landscape of the human β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR). Five different ligands representing either agonists, inverse agonists or neutral antagonists established a complex network of interactions that tuned the kinetic, energetic, and mechanical properties of functionally important structural regions of β2AR. These interactions were specific to the efficacy profile of the ligands investigated and suggest that the functional modulation of GPCRs follows structurally well-defined interaction patterns.

Neuromodulatory systems such as noradrenaline (NE), acetylcholine (ACh), and serotonin (5HT) serve important functions in sensory perception. We use the olfactory bulb (OB) as a model system to study the roles of individual neuromodulators in sensory perception. Using a spontaneous, nonreward motivated detection task, as well as a reward-motivated task, we show that rats can easily respond to odorants at very low concentrations when motivated to do so in a food-rewarded task, despite not showing spontaneous responses to these low concentration odorants. Using the same tasks paired with local bulbar infusions of noradrenergic and cholinergic drugs, we then show that rats engage their noradrenergic, but not their cholinergic system, to better respond to near threshold odorants. These results suggest that while cholinergic modulation of OB function is mostly important for odor decorrelation and discrimination, noradrenergic modulation is important for signal-to-noise modulation.

Mechanism of G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) activation and their modulation by functionally distinct ligands remains elusive. Using the technique of amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange coupled with mass spectrometry we examined the ligand-induced changes in conformational states and stability within the beta-2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR). Differential HDX reveals ligand-specific alterations in the energy landscape of the receptor’s conformational ensemble. The inverse agonists timolol and carazolol were found to be most stabilizing even compared to the antagonist alprenolol, notably in intracellular regions where G-proteins are proposed to bind, while the agonist isoproterenol induced the largest degree of conformational mobility. The partial agonist clenbuterol displayed found in both the inverse agonists and the agonist. This study confirms the regional plasticity of the receptor, supports current models for GPCR signaling, and characterizes unique conformations spanning the entire receptor sequence stabilized solely by functionally selective ligands all of which differ from the apo state of the receptor.

A novel fluorescent labeling method for alprenolol was developed based on Mizoroki-Heck coupling reaction. We designed and synthesized fluorescent aryl iodide, 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)iodobenzene (DIBI) as a labeling reagent. DIBI has a lophine skeleton carrying an iodide atom acting as fluorophore and reactive center, respectively. In order to evaluate the usefulness of DIBI, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection method was developed for the determination of alprenolol as a model compound of terminal double bond. The fluorescent labeling of alprenolol with DIBI was achieved in the presence of palladium acetate as a catalyst, and the labeled alprenolol was detected fluorometrically. In addition, it was found that the fluorescence of DIBI derivative increased and red shifted when compared with that of DIBI. Furthermore, the proposed method could be applied to determine the alprenolol concentration in rat plasma after administration of alprenolol without interferences from biological components. The detection limit (S/N=3) for alprenolol in rat plasma was 0.74 ng/mL (30 fmol on column)., Journal of Chromatography. A, 1218(20), pp.3002-3006; 2011

In this work, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) combined with zeta potential measurements was used to study the binding and partitioning of three beta-blockers, alprenolol, labetalol and propranolol, and the local anaesthetic tetracaine into liposomes. The thermodynamic parameters of enthalpy, entropy, the Gibbs energy and the binding constant were determined using the one site model. Furthermore, the binding constants corrected for the electrostatic contribution were used to assess the partition coefficients for the drugs. Also, the effect of the concentration, ionic strength, temperature and membrane curvature on the interaction was included in the evaluation.

The possibility of radiation sterilization of alprenolol (AL) has been studied. Irradiation of AL in solid form with a 25 kGy beam of electrons caused only an insignificant change in color that became more intense with increasing irradiation dose. Moreover, with increasing dose a decrease in pH, the content of water, and the degree of crystallinity were observed. AL in solid form was radiated with a high-energy electron beam (9.96 MeV) at doses from 25400 kGy and analyzed by HPTLC using the mobile phase methanolammonia 25 (99 + 1, v/v). Densitometric analysis was carried out directly from chromatograms at 270 nm. The applied method was validated and characterized by good precision (RSD = 3.95); good accuracy (80 level 100.15, 100 level 99.99, and 120 level 104.44); and low LOD (LOD = 0.52 g/zone and LOQ = 1.55 g/zone). Chromatograms recorded for samples irradiated at the doses of 25 kGy were unchanged, but at higher doses (100400 kGy) additional peaks corresponding to the radiodegradation products appeared (Rf = 0.24 and Rf = 0.40). The decrease in the concentration of AL was proportional to the applied radiation dose, and for 400 kGy the concentration of AL was 90.23. The calculated radiolytic yield of the radiodegradation process was G(AL) = 7.12 107 mol/J.

Secretory vesicle swelling is required for vesicular discharge during cell secretion. The G(αo) -mediated water channel aquaporin-6 (AQP-6) involvement in synaptic vesicle (SV) swelling in neurons has previously been reported. Studies demonstrate that in the presence of guanosine triphosphate (GTP), mastoparan, an amphiphilic tetradecapeptide from wasp venom, activates G(o) protein GTPase, and stimulates SV swelling. Stimulation of G proteins is believed to occur via insertion of mastoparan into the phospholipid membrane to form a highly structured α-helix that resembles the intracellular loops of G protein-coupled adrenergic receptors. Consequently, the presence of adrenoceptors and the presence of an endogenous β-adrenergic agonist at the SV membrane is suggested. Immunoblot analysis of SV using β-adrenergic receptor antibody, and vesicle swelling experiments using β-adrenergic agonists and antagonists, demonstrate the presence of functional β-adrenergic receptors at the SV membrane. Since a recent study shows vH(+) -ATPase to be upstream of AQP-6 in the pathway leading from G(αo) -mediated swelling of SV, participation of an endogenous β-adrenergic agonist, in the binding and stimulation of its receptor to initiate the swelling cascade is demonstrated.

Site-directed mutagenesis guided by evolutionary trace analysis revealed that substitution of V179 and W183 within a cluster of evolutionarily important residues on the surface of the fourth transmembrane domain of the beta(1)-adrenergic receptor (beta(1)AR) significantly reduced the propensity of the receptor to self-assemble into homodimers as assessed by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer in living cells. These results suggest that mutation of V179 and W183 result in conformational changes that reduce homodimerization either directly by interfering with the dimerization interface or indirectly by causing local misfolding that result in reduced self-assembly. However, the mutations did not cause a general misfolding of the beta(1)AR as they did not prevent heterodimerization with the beta(2)AR. The homodimerization-compromised mutants were significantly retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and could not be properly matured and trafficked to the cell surface. Lipophilic beta-adrenergic ligands acted as pharmacological chaperones by restoring both dimerization and plasma membrane trafficking of the ER-retained dimerization-compromised beta(1)AR mutants. These results clearly indicate that homodimerization occurs early in the biosynthetic process in the ER and that pharmacological chaperones can promote both dimerization and cell surface targeting, most likely by stabilizing receptor conformations compatible with the two processes.

In this article, a single-label separation-free fluorescence technique is presented as a potential screening method for cell-based receptor antagonists and agonists.The time-resolved fluorescence technique, quenching resonance energy transfer (QRET), relies on a single-labeled binding partner in combination with a soluble quencher. The quencher efficiently suppresses the luminescence of the unbound labeled ligand, whereas the luminescence of the bound fraction is not affected. This approach allows the development of cell-based screening assays in a simple and cost-effective manner. The authors have applied the technique to the screening of β2-adrenoreceptor (β2AR) antagonists and agonists in intact human embryonic kidney HEK293i cells overexpressing human β2-adrenergic receptors. Two antagonists (propranolol, alprenolol) and 2 agonists (metaproterenol, terbutaline) for β2AR were investigated in a displacement assay using europium(III)-labeled pindolol ligand. The assay Z′ values ranged from 0.68 to 0.78, the coefficient of variation was less than 10%, and the Ki values were 19 nM for propranolol and alprenolol and 14 and 5.9 µM for metaproterenol and terbutaline, respectively. The QRET technique with β2AR was also applied to LOPAC compound library screening, yielding nearly error-free recognition of known binders. This simple and cost-effective technique can be readily adapted to laboratory and industrial-scale screening.

This manuscript discusses the results of studies that were performed to determine optimum capillary electrophoresis (CE) conditions for the enantiomeric resolution of twelve chiral analytes with eight amino acid based polymeric surfactants. The parameters that were optimized include pH, buffer type, and concentration of surfactant. The results indicated that the optimum conditions for enantiomeric separations with the amino acid based polymeric surfactants examined in this study using CE were analyte dependent, not surfactant dependent. In other words, the optimum conditions for a particular analyte were the same for all the amino acid based polymeric surfactants examined in this study. The results of these studies indicate that when using a large group of related amino acid based polymeric surfactants only a few surfactants need to be optimized for each analyte under study. These studies were limited to anionic surfactants that contain the amino acids glycine, L-alanine, L-valine, and L-leucine only. No inference can be necessarily drawn about surfactants containing other types of amino acids such as threonine and serine, which contain extra heteroatoms, or phenylalanine that has an aromatic moiety.

Recent evidence suggests that binding of agonist to its cognate receptor initiates not only classical G protein-mediated signaling, but also β-arrestin-dependent signaling. One such β-arrestin-mediated pathway uses the β 1 -adrenergic receptor (β 1 AR) to transactivate the EGFR. To determine whether β-adrenergic ligands that do not activate G protein signaling (i.e., β-blockers) can stabilize the β 1 AR in a signaling conformation, we screened 20 β-blockers for their ability to stimulate β-arrestin-mediated EGFR transactivation. Here we show that only alprenolol (Alp) and carvedilol (Car) induce β 1 AR-mediated transactivation of the EGFR and downstream ERK activation. By using mutants of the β 1 AR lacking G protein-coupled receptor kinase phosphorylation sites and siRNA directed against β-arrestin, we show that Alp- and Car-stimulated EGFR transactivation requires β 1 AR phosphorylation at consensus G protein-coupled receptor kinase sites and β-arrestin recruitment to the ligand-occupied receptor. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of Src and EGFR blocked Alp- and Car-stimulated EGFR transactivation. Our findings demonstrate that Alp and Car are ligands that not only act as classical receptor antagonists, but can also stimulate signaling pathways in a G protein-independent, β-arrestin-dependent fashion.

The reported data for compound screening with the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET 2 ) assay is very limited, and several questions remain unaddressed, such as the behavior of agonists. Eleven β2 adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) agonists were tested for full or partial agonism in an improved version of the receptor/β-arrestin2 BRET 2 assay and in 2 cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) assays (column cAMP assay and ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay). Tested in the highly sensitive ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay, all selected agonists behaved as full agonists, using isoproterenol as a reference compound. In the less sensitive column cAMP assay, ephedrine and dopamine had a clear partial response. For the BRET 2 assay, a highly graded picture was obtained. Moreover, β2-AR antagonists were tested for inverse agonism. Pronounced inverse agonism was detected in the ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay. Only marginal inverse agonistic responses were seen for alprenolol and pindolol in the column cAMP assay, and no inverse agonism was seen in the BRET 2 assay. For the β2-AR, the BRET 2 assay may be superior for secondary screening of agonists where a separation of full and partial agonists is needed and the ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay may be preferred for primary screening of agonists where all receptor activating compounds are desired. (Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2007:41-49)

A long-standing hypothesis posits that a G protein-coupled signaling pathway mediates β-adrenergic nervous system functions, including learning and memory. Here we report that memory retrieval (reactivation) induces the activation of β1-adrenergic β-arrestin signaling in the brain, which stimulates ERK signaling and protein synthesis, leading to postreactivation memory restabilization. β-Arrestin2-deficient mice exhibit impaired memory reconsolidation in object recognition, Morris water maze, and cocaine-conditioned place preference paradigms. Postreactivation blockade of both brain β-adrenergic Gs protein- and β-arrestin-dependent pathways disrupts memory reconsolidation. Unexpectedly, selective blockade of the Gs/cAMP/PKA signaling but not the β-arrestin/ERK signaling by the biased β-adrenergic ligands does not inhibit reconsolidation. Moreover, the expression of β-arrestin2 in the entorhinal cortex of β-arrestin 2-deficient mice rescues β1-adrenergic ERK signaling and reconsolidation in a G protein pathway-independent manner. We demonstrate that β-arrestin-biased signaling regulates memory reconsolidation and reveal the potential for β-arrestin-biased ligands in the treatment of memory-related disorders.

Objectives: It has been shown that sarcolemmal rupture can occur during reenergization in cardiomyocytes in which previous ischemia has induced sarcolemmal fragility by calpain-dependent hydrolysis of structural proteins. We tested the hypothesis that attenuated calpain activation contributes to the protection against reperfusion-induced cell death afforded by ischemic preconditioning (IPC), and investigated the involvement of protein kinase A (PKA) in this effect. Methods: Calpain activity and degradation of different structural proteins were studied along with the extent of necrosis in isolated rat hearts submitted to 60 min of ischemia and 30 min of reperfusion with or without previous IPC (two cycles of 5 min ischemia-5 min reperfusion), and the ability of different treatments to mimic or blunt the effects of IPC were analyzed. Results: IPC accelerated ATP depletion and rigor onset during ischemia but reduced LDH release during reperfusion by 69% (P

The clinical effects of treatment withn β-adrenoceptor (β-AR) agonists and antagonists in heart failure vary with duration of therapy, as do the effects of β-AR agonists in asthma. Therefore, we hypothesized that chronic effects of “β-blockers” in asthma may differ from those observed acutely. We tested this hypothesis in an antigen (ovalbumin)-driven murine model of asthma. Airway resistance responses ( R aw ) to the muscarinic agonist methacholine were measured by using the forced oscillation technique. In comparison with nontreated asthmatic mice, we observed that: ( i ) The β-AR antagonists nadolol or carvedilol, given as a single i.v. injection (acute treatment) 15 min before methacholine, increased methacholine-elicited peak R aw values by 33.7% and 67.7% ( P < 0.05), respectively; when either drug was administered for 28 days (chronic treatment), the peak R aw values were decreased by 43% ( P < 0.05) and 22.9% ( P < 0.05), respectively. ( ii ) Chronic treatment with nadolol or carvedilol significantly increased β-AR densities in lung membranes by 719% and 828%, respectively. ( iii ) Alprenolol, a β-blocker with partial agonist properties at β-ARs, behaved as a β-AR agonist, and acutely reduced peak R aw value by 75.7% ( P < 0.05); chronically, it did not alter R aw .( iv ) Salbutamol, a β-AR partial agonist, acutely decreased peak R aw by 41.1%; chronically, it did not alter R aw . ( v ) None of the β-blockers produced significant changes in eosinophil number recovered in bronchoalveolar lavage. These results suggest that β-AR agonists and β-blockers with inverse agonist properties may exert reciprocating effects on cellular signaling dependent on duration of administration.

On-line cITP-NMR with chiral selectors separates and concentrates analytes and identifies host-guest interactions of analytes with selectivity enhancers in the electrolyte. An NMR microcoil designed for a 200 microm i.d. capillary creates a high-mass-sensitivity 30 nL NMR cell and is used as an on-line detector for cITP. Using a mixture of 2 nmol racemic alprenolol in acetate buffer with alpha-cyclodextrin and sulfated beta-cyclodextrin at pD 6.0, cITP-NMR successfully separates and concentrates both R- and S-alprenolol. The concentration enhancement for the R isomer is 224-fold and for the S isomer is 200-fold. The estimated concentration at peak maximum for R-alprenolol is approximately 28 mmol L(-1) and a slightly lower concentration, 25 mmol L(-1) is achieved for S-alprenolol. These concentrations convert to placing 76% of the injected S-alprenolol and 84% of the R-alprenolol into the 30 nL detection cell at peak maximum. With on-flow cITP-NMR, intermolecular interactions between the cyclodextrins and the alprenolol are observed in the NMR spectra. Aromatic and methyl moieties of R- and S-alprenolol are identified as two important sites that bind with these particular cyclodextrins.

The objective of this study was to determine the responsiveness, affinity constants and β-adrenoceptor reserves for isoprenaline on the isolated aorta in the maturation of normotensive and hypertensive rats. The effects of a very slowly reversible antagonist, bromoacetylalprenololmenthane (BAAM), on the relaxant responses of the aortae of 5- and 14-week-old Wistar kyoto normotensive rats (WkY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) to isoprenaline were determined. Five-week-old SHRs are pre-hypertensive and the aortic rings are less responsive to isoprenaline than age-matched WkY (pD2 values: WkY, 8.40; SHRs, 8.03). Similar relaxant responses to forskolin were obtained on the aortae of 5- and 14-week-old WkY and SHRs. The kA value for isoprenaline at the aortic β2-adrenoceptors of the 5-week-old WkY was 2.1 times 10−7 M, and similar values were obtained on the aortae of 5-week-old SHR and 14-week-old WkY and SHRs. In the maturation of the WkY aortae from 5 to 14 weeks, there was a reduction in the maximum response, a major loss of sensitivity and a loss of β2-adrenoceptor reserve for isoprenaline. On 5-week-old SHR aorta, the sensitivity to isoprenaline was 2.5-fold lower, and the β2-adrenoceptor reserve was less than on age-matched WkY. In the development of hypertension on the SHR aorta from 5 to 14 weeks, there was a reduction in the maximum response to isoprenaline. At 14 weeks, the sensitivity and the β2-adrenoceptor reserve to isoprenaline were similar, but the maximum responses were lower on the SHR than WkY. As there are differences in pre-hypertensive SHR and age-matched WkY aortic responses to isoprenaline, it is no longer valid to consider that the loss of responsiveness to isoprenaline in hypertension is solely owing to the hypertension. There are no changes in affinity, but major changes in the sensitivity, maximum responses and aortic β2-adrenoceptor reserves to isoprenaline in the maturation of normotensive and pre-hypertensive aortae.