calpain and Fever

Calpain-mediated spectrin degradation is triggered by cerebral ischemia and, when persistent, is thought to signal irreversible neuronal injury. Hyperthermia superimposed upon cerebral ischemia may exacerbate the injury process. In this study, we compared the extent of spectrin degradation in the brains of rats subjected to 1 h of transient proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA) clip-occlusion performed under conditions of cranial normothermia (37 degrees C) or mild cranial hyperthermia (39 degrees C). Immunocytochemical localization of spectrin breakdown products was achieved by the use of a rabbit polyclonal antibody which reacted selectively with calpain-generated fragments of brain spectrin. The perfusion times studied were 1, 4 or 24 h. Following normothermic MCA occlusion, spectrin immunoreactivity was present only occasionally and only in scattered cortical neurons immediately upon reperfusion and 1 h later; all normothermic brains showed space immunoreactivity at 4 h of reperfusion; and no immunoreactivity was detected at 24 h. By contrast, following hyperthermic MCA occlusion, moderate-to-intense immunostaining was present in cortical pyramidal neurons even immediately upon reperfusion and persisted at 1 h of reperfusion. At 4 and 24 h, most brains exhibited dense immunoreactivity associated with morphologically shrunken neurons. Following 24 h survival, semi-thick plastic sections revealed intact neuropil and only selective neuronal necrosis in normothermic rats. By contrast, pan-necrosis was evident 24 h after the hyperthermic ischemic insult. These results indicate that mild cranial hyperthermia superimposed upon transient focal ischemia markedly enhances calpain activation and spectrin degradation; this process appears to be an important mechanism by which hyperthermia exacerbates ischemic injury.

Topics: Animals; Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Brain; Brain Chemistry; Calpain; Cytoskeleton; Fever; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Immunohistochemistry; Ischemic Attack, Transient; Male; Neurons; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reperfusion Injury; Spectrin; Tolonium Chloride

Protein degradation in skeletal muscle increases with fever and sepsis. Our studies indicate that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is an important regulator of muscle proteolysis that seems to signal this increase in fever. When rat skeletal or cardiac muscles were incubated with arachidonate, rates of protein breakdown rose and protein balance became more negative. Aspirin or indomethacin, which prevented synthesis of PGE2, markedly reduced this effect. By itself PGE2 stimulated proteolysis without altering protein synthesis. PGE2 seems to increase proteolysis in the lysosomes, inasmuch as leupeptin and Ep-475 inhibit this response. These inhibitors inactivate lysosomal thiol proteases in the muscles without affecting the Ca2+-activated protease. (In fact, complete inactivation of the latter enzyme with mersalyl did not reduce overall proteolysis in the muscles). When muscles from feverish rats were incubated in vitro, they showed greater protein breakdown and PGE2 synthesis than muscles from normal animals. Addition of indomethacin eliminated this difference. Leukocytic pyrogen (interleukin 1), a protein released by monocytes that signals the onset of fever, also seems to signal increased muscle PGE2 synthesis and muscle proteolysis. This protein enhanced both processes dramatically in the isolated muscles. These findings suggest that cyclooxygenase inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of patients showing excessive protein breakdown.

Topics: Animals; Arachidonic Acid; Arachidonic Acids; Calcium; Calpain; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors; Dinoprostone; Endopeptidases; Fever; Interleukin-1; Lysosomes; Muscle Proteins; Muscles; Myocardium; Peptide Hydrolases; Prostaglandins E; Rats; Sepsis