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- Almén, Markus Sällman, et al.
(author)
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The obesity gene, TMEM18, is of ancient origin, found in majority of neuronal cells in all major brain regions and associated with obesity in severely obese children
- 2010
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In: BMC Medical Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2350. ; 11, s. 58-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: TMEM18 is a hypothalamic gene that has recently been linked to obesity and BMI in genome wide association studies. However, the functional properties of TMEM18 are obscure. METHODS: The evolutionary history of TMEM18 was inferred using phylogenetic and bioinformatic methods. The gene's expression profile was investigated with real-time PCR in a panel of rat and mouse tissues and with immunohistochemistry in the mouse brain. Also, gene expression changes were analyzed in three feeding-related mouse models: food deprivation, reward and diet-induced increase in body weight. Finally, we genotyped 502 severely obese and 527 healthy Swedish children for two SNPs near TMEM18 (rs6548238 and rs756131). RESULTS: TMEM18 was found to be remarkably conserved and present in species that diverged from the human lineage over 1500 million years ago. The TMEM18 gene was widely expressed and detected in the majority of cells in all major brain regions, but was more abundant in neurons than other cell types. We found no significant changes in the hypothalamic and brainstem expression in the feeding-related mouse models. There was a strong association for two SNPs (rs6548238 and rs756131) of the TMEM18 locus with an increased risk for obesity (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: We conclude that TMEM18 is involved in both adult and childhood obesity. It is one of the most conserved human obesity genes and it is found in the majority of all brain sites, including the hypothalamus and the brain stem, but it is not regulated in these regions in classical energy homeostatic models.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Caruso, Vanni, et al.
(author)
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mRNA GPR162 changes are associated with decreased food intake in rat, and its human genetic variants with impairments in glucose homeostasis in two Swedish cohorts
- 2016
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In: Gene. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1119 .- 1879-0038. ; 581:2, s. 139-145
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a class of integral membrane proteins mediating intercellular interactions of fundamental physiological importance for survival including regulation of food intake, blood pressure, and hormonal sensing signaling, among other roles. Homeostatic alterations in the physiological status of GPCRs are often associated with underlying causes of disease, and to date, several orphan GPCRs are still uncharacterized. Findings from our previous study demonstrate that the Rhodopsin family protein GPR162 is widely expressed in GABAergic as well as other neurons within the mouse hippocampus, whereas extensive expression is observed in hypothalamus, amygdala, and ventral tegmental area, regions strictly interconnected and involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis and hedonic feeding. In this study, we provide a further anatomical characterization of GPR162 in mouse brain via in situ hybridization as well as detailed mRNA expression in a panel of rat tissues complementing a specie-specific mapping of the receptor. We also provide an attempt to demonstrate a functional implication of GPR162 in food intake-related behavior via antisense knockdown studies. Furthermore, we performed human genetic studies in which for the first time, variants of the GPR162 gene were associated with impairments in glucose homeostasis.
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| 4. |
- Fredriksson, Robert, et al.
(author)
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The polyamine transporter Slc18b1(VPAT) is important for both short and long time memory and for regulation of polyamine content in the brain.
- 2019
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In: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 15:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- SLC18B1 is a sister gene to the vesicular monoamine and acetylcholine transporters, and the only known polyamine transporter, with unknown physiological role. We reveal that Slc18b1 knock out mice has significantly reduced polyamine content in the brain providing the first evidence that Slc18b1 is functionally required for regulating polyamine levels. We found that this mouse has impaired short and long term memory in novel object recognition, radial arm maze and self-administration paradigms. We also show that Slc18b1 KO mice have altered expression of genes involved in Long Term Potentiation, plasticity, calcium signalling and synaptic functions and that expression of components of GABA and glutamate signalling are changed. We further observe a partial resistance to diazepam, manifested as significantly lowered reduction in locomotion after diazepam treatment. We suggest that removal of Slc18b1 leads to reduction of polyamine contents in neurons, resulting in reduced GABA signalling due to long-term reduction in glutamatergic signalling.
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| 5. |
- Hägglund, Maria G. A., et al.
(author)
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Identification of SLC38A7 (SNAT7) Protein as a Glutamine Transporter Expressed in Neurons
- 2011
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In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 286:23, s. 20500-20511
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The SLC38 family of transporters has in total 11 members in humans and they encode amino acid transporters called sodium-coupled amino acid transporters (SNAT). To date, five SNATs have been characterized and functionally subdivided into systems A (SLC38A1, SLC38A2, and SLC38A4) and N (SLC38A3 and SLC38A5) showing the highest transport for glutamine and alanine. Here we present identification of a novel glutamine transporter encoded by the Slc38a7 gene, which we propose should be named SNAT7. This transporter has L-glutamine as the preferred substrate but also transports other amino acids with polar side chains, as well as L-histidine and L-alanine. The expression pattern and substrate profile for SLC38A7 shows highest similarity to the known system N transporters. Therefore, we propose that SLC38A7 is a novel member of this system. We used in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry with a custom-made antibody to show that SLC38A7 is expressed in all neurons, but not in astrocytes, in the mouse brain. SLC38A7 is unique in being the first system N transporter expressed in GABAergic and also other neurons. The preferred substrate and axonal localization of SLC38A7 close to the synaptic cleft indicates that SLC38A7 could have an important function for the reuptake and recycling of glutamate.
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| 6. |
- Hägglund, Maria G A, et al.
(author)
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Transport of L-glutamine, L-alanine, L-arginine and L-histidine by the neuron-specific Slc38a8 (SNAT8) in CNS
- 2015
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In: Journal of Molecular Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-2836 .- 1089-8638. ; 427:6, s. 1495-1512
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Glutamine transporters are important for regulating levels of glutamate and GABA in the brain. To date, six members of the SLC38 family (SNATs) have been characterized and functionally subdivided into System A (SNAT1, SNAT2 and SNAT4) and System N (SNAT3, SNAT5 and SNAT7). Here we present a first functional characterization of SLC38A8, one of the previous orphan transporters from the family and we suggest that the encoded protein should be named SNAT8 to adhere with the SNAT nomenclature. We show that SLC38A8 have preference for transporting L-glutamine, L-alanine, L-arginine, L-histidine, and L-aspartate using a Na(+)-dependent transport mechanism and that the functional characteristics of SNAT8 has highest similarity to the known System A transporters. We also provide a comprehensive CNS expression profile in mouse brain for the Slc38a8 gene and the SNAT8 protein. We show that Slc38a8 (SNAT8) is expressed in all neurons, both excitatory and inhibitory, in mouse brain using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, proximity ligation assay show highly similar subcellular expression of SNAT7 and SNAT8. In conclusion, the neuronal SLC38A8 have a broad amino acid transport profile and is the first identified neuronal System A transporter. This suggests a key role of SNAT8 in the glutamine/glutamate(GABA) cycle in the brain.
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| 8. |
- Peuckert, Christiane, 1975-, et al.
(author)
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Multimodal Eph/Ephrin signaling controls several phases of urogenital development
- 2016
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In: Kidney International. - : Elsevier BV. - 0085-2538 .- 1523-1755. ; 90:2, s. 373-388
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A substantial portion of the human population is affected by urogenital birth defects resulting from a failure in ureter development. Although recent research suggests roles for several genes in facilitating the ureter/bladder connection, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Signaling via Eph receptor tyrosine kinases is involved in several developmental processes. Here we report that impaired Eph/Ephrin signaling in genetically modified mice results in severe hydronephrosis caused by defective ureteric bud induction, ureter maturation, and translocation. Our data imply that ureter translocation requires apoptosis in the urogenital sinus and inhibition of proliferation in the common nephric duct. These processes were disturbed in EphA4/EphB2 compound knockout mice and were accompanied by decreased ERK-2 phosphorylation. Using a set of Eph, Ephrin, and signaling-deficient mutants, we found that during urogenital development, different modes of Eph/Ephrin signaling occur at several sites with EphrinB2 and EphrinA5 acting in concert. Thus, Eph/Ephrin signaling should be considered in the etiology of congenital kidney and urinary tract anomalies.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Sreedharan, Smitha, 1981-
(author)
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Functional Characterization of Centrally Expressed Solute Carriers and G Protein-Coupled Receptors
- 2011
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Transmembrane proteins are gatekeepers of the cells; controlling the transport of substrates as well as communicating signals among cells and between the organelles and cytosol. Solute carriers (SLC) and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are the largest family of membrane transporters and membrane receptors respectively. The overall aim of this thesis was to provide a basic understanding of some of the novel SLCs and GPCRs with emphasis on expression, transport property, evolution and probable function. The first part of the thesis directs towards the study of some novel solute carriers. In an initial study, we provided an overall picture of the sequence relationship and tissue expression of 14 diverse atypical SLCs confirming some of their evolutionary conservation and highly specific expression pattern. The focus then was on the SLC17 family (mainly vesicular proteins) and a novel member named Slc17a9. This study revealed that SLC17 family could be divided into four main phylogenetic clades which were all present before the divergence of the insect lineage with Slc17a9 having the most restricted evolutionary history. Detailed expression study of Slc17a9 in the mouse brain suggests that it is also expressed in some regions important for purinergic neurotransmission. Further, we deorphanised an aminoacid transporter Slc38a7 which was expressed in a majority of neurons in the CNS and showed that it preferably mediate transport of L–glutamine and L–histidine. The second part of the thesis focuses on the study of two GPCRs belonging to the Rhodopsin superfamily, Gpr162 and Gpr153. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that both Gpr153 and Gpr162 originated from a common ancestor before the radiation of the mammalian lineage. Expression study revealed that Gpr162 had a predominant expression in the CNS and relatively lower expression in the other tissue tested whereas Gpr153 had a more widespread and similar expression pattern in both CNS and peripheral tissues. The functional studies of the two GPCRs were done using the antisense oligodeoxynucleotide knockdown rat model. These studies provided evidence linking the orphan Gpr162 gene with the regulation of food intake– related behaviour whereas Gpr153 gene caused only a slight reduction in food intake.
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