leupeptins and Nerve-Degeneration

It seems plausible to hypothesize that in all forms of neurodegeneration or other forms of tissue degeneration, a common pathway exists that, when deciphered, could lead to our understanding of a variety of diseases that result in tissue necrosis, as well as offer potential for therapeutic intervention. In recent years progress toward elucidating this common pathway has been accelerated through the studies of a number of laboratories, including our own, on the role of the protease calpain in this process. Thus, in a variety of disorders, such as stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic nerve injury, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy, cataract formation, unregulated calpain proteolysis, initiated via dysregulation of calcium ion homeostasis, participates in the pathogenesis and is a potentially unifying mechanistic event. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach we have taken in using the calpain inhibitor leupeptin as a therapeutic agent, I will describe two areas of research in which we have been engaged over the past 20 years. One is our long-standing interest in muscular dystrophy. The other is of more recent vintage, and involves the use of calpain inhibitors to protect sensory hair cells and spiral ganglion neurons from damage associated with acoustic trauma, this latter in collaboration with Dr. R. Salvi at SUNY-Buffalo and Dr. A. Shulman at SUNY-Downstate.

Topics: Animals; Glycoproteins; Hair Cells, Auditory; Haplorhini; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced; Leupeptins; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal; Nerve Degeneration; Spiral Ganglion

Dysfunction of the proteasome system has been suggested to be implicated in neuronal degeneration. Modulation of KATP channels appears to affect the viability of neuronal cells exposed to toxic insults. However, the effect of KATP channel blockers on the neuronal cell death mediated by proteasome inhibition has not been studied. The present study investigated the effect of KATP channel blockers on proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis in differentiated PC12 cells and SH-SY5Y cells. 5-Hydroxydecanoate (a selective KATP channel blocker) and glibenclamide (a cell surface and mitochondrial KATP channel inhibitor) reduced the proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis. Addition of the KATP channel blockers attenuated the proteasome inhibitor-induced changes in the levels of apoptosis-related proteins, the loss of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential, the increase in the formation of reactive oxygen species and the depletion of glutathione in both cell lines. The results show that KATP channel blockers may attenuate proteasome inhibitor-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells by suppressing activation of the mitochondrial pathway and of the caspase-8- and Bid-dependent pathways. The preventive effect appears to be associated with the inhibition of the formation of reactive oxygen species and the depletion of glutathione. KATP channel blockade appears to prevent proteasome inhibition-induced neuronal cell death.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; Decanoic Acids; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Therapy, Combination; Glutathione; Glyburide; Humans; Hydroxy Acids; KATP Channels; Leupeptins; Mitochondria; Nerve Degeneration; Neurogenesis; Neurons; Oxidative Stress; PC12 Cells; Potassium Channel Blockers; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Proteasome Inhibitors; Rats; Reactive Oxygen Species; Signal Transduction

The proteins' ubiquitination and their further degradation by proteasomes are crucial for cell cycle regulation, transcription and DNA replication, inflammatory response, and apoptosis. Proteasome inhibitors have recently become considered as a promising method in cancer and inflammatory disease therapy. In this study, utilizing the rat model, we try to establish the influence of proteasome inhibitor MG-132: (1) on the basis of spontaneous and evoked locomotor activity and (2) on the condition of nigrostriatal projections eight weeks after MG-132 intraperitoneal administration. We also discuss the current status of knowledge about intraperitoneal administration of MG-132, a laboratory method that is being used more and more. Our results revealed a lack of motor abnormalities, but significant loss (20%) of substantia nigra pars compacta dopaminergic neurons after systemic MG-132 administration. This loss was accompanied by a corresponding decrease (8%) of density of dopaminergic terminals in dorsolateral striatum. Moreover, evidence of very limited but ongoing fibre degeneration within the dorsal striatum suggests that MG-132 severely disturbed the nigrostriatal pathway. In summary, intraperitoneal application of proteasome inhibitor MG-132, despite the encouraging results of experimental treatment and prevention of many pathological processes, should be used with caution because of the potential adverse effects on the structure of the central nervous system, especially elements of the nigrostriatal pathway.

Topics: Animals; Immunohistochemistry; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Leupeptins; Male; Motor Activity; Nerve Degeneration; Proteasome Inhibitors; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Substantia Nigra

α-latrotoxin and snake presynaptic phospholipases A2 neurotoxins target the presynaptic membrane of axon terminals of the neuromuscular junction causing paralysis. These neurotoxins display different biochemical activities, but similarly alter the presynaptic membrane permeability causing Ca(2+) overload within the nerve terminals, which in turn induces nerve degeneration. Using different methods, here we show that the calcium-activated proteases calpains are involved in the cytoskeletal rearrangements that we have previously documented in neurons exposed to α-latrotoxin or to snake presynaptic phospholipases A2 neurotoxins. These results indicate that calpains, activated by the massive calcium influx from the extracellular medium, target fundamental components of neuronal cytoskeleton such as spectrin and neurofilaments, whose cleavage is functional to the ensuing nerve terminal fragmentation.

Topics: Acrylates; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Calcium Signaling; Calpain; Cell Membrane Permeability; Cells, Cultured; Cytoskeleton; Dipeptides; Leupeptins; Nerve Degeneration; Neurofilament Proteins; Neurons; Neurotoxins; Phospholipases A2; Presynaptic Terminals; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Snake Venoms; Spectrin; Spider Venoms

Infrasound is a kind of environmental noise. It can evoke biological resonance in organismic tissues including the central nervous system (CNS), causing displacement and distortion of cellular architectures. Several studies have revealed that certain intensity infrasound can impair normal functions of the brain, but the underlying mechanisms still remain largely unknown. Growing evidence has demonstrated that axonal degeneration is responsible for a variety of CNS dysfunctions. To explore whether neuronal axons are affected under infrasonic insults, we exposed cultured hippocampal neurons to infrasound with a frequency of 16 Hz and a pressure level of 130 dB for 1h, and examined the morphological and molecular changes of neuronal axons by immunocytochemistry and Western blotting, respectively. Our results showed that infrasound exposure significantly resulted in axonal degeneration of cultured hippocampal neurons, which was relatively independent of neuronal cell death. This infrasound-induced axonal degeneration can be significantly blocked by Ca²⁺ chelator EGTA and Rho kinase inhibitor Fasudil, but not by proteasome inhibitor MG132. Moreover, calcium imaging and RhoA activation assays revealed a great enhancement of Ca²⁺ influx within axons and RhoA activation after infrasound exposure, respectively. Depletion of Ca²⁺ by EGTA markedly inhibited this Ca²⁺ influx and attenuated RhoA activation as well. Thus, our findings revealed that axonal degeneration may be one of the important mechanisms underlying infrasound-induced CNS impairment, and Ca²⁺ influx pathway is likely implicated in the process.

Topics: Animals; Axons; Calcium; Calcium Signaling; Cells, Cultured; Egtazic Acid; Leupeptins; Nerve Degeneration; Noise; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Defects in the ubiquitin-proteasome system have been related to aging and the development of neurodegenerative disease, although the effects of deficient proteasome activity during early postnatal development are poorly understood. Accordingly, we have assessed how proteasome dysfunction during early postnatal development, induced by administering proteasome inhibitors daily during the first 10 days of life, affects the behaviour of adult mice. We found that this regime of exposure to the proteasome inhibitors MG132 or lactacystin did not produce significant behavioural or morphological changes in the first 15 days of life. However, towards the end of the treatment with proteasome inhibitors, there was a loss of mitochondrial markers and activity, and an increase in DNA oxidation. On reaching adulthood, the memory of mice that were injected with proteasome inhibitors postnatally was impaired in hippocampal and amygdala-dependent tasks, and they suffered motor dysfunction and imbalance. These behavioural deficiencies were correlated with neuronal loss in the hippocampus, amygdala and brainstem, and with diminished adult neurogenesis. Accordingly, impairing proteasome activity at early postnatal ages appears to cause morphological and behavioural alterations in adult mice that resemble those associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases and/or syndromes of mental retardation.

Topics: Amygdala; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Ataxia; Biomarkers; Brain; Cognition Disorders; Depression; Disease Models, Animal; DNA; Dopaminergic Neurons; Enzyme Inhibitors; Exploratory Behavior; Hippocampus; Leupeptins; Memory; Mice; Mitochondria; Motor Activity; Nerve Degeneration; Nervous System; Oxidation-Reduction; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Proteasome Inhibitors; Ubiquitinated Proteins

The accumulation of misfolded and unfolded proteins in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) induces ER stress, activating the unfolded protein response (UPR). Recent evidence has suggested the relationship between UPR and dopaminergic neuronal cell death in Parkinson's disease (PD); however, it remains unclear whether it makes sense to modulate UPR, to mitigate the progression of PD. In this study, we investigated a role of the IRE1 alpha-XBP1 pathway in the survival of dopaminergic cells, under stress induced by PD-related insults. The exogenous expression of the active-form XBP1 (XBP1s) protein had protective effects against cell death induced by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) and proteasome inhibitors. Moreover, adenoviral XBP1s expression significantly suppressed the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the mouse model of PD, as induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). These results demonstrate that the enhancement of XBP1 could be a novel PD therapeutic strategy.

Topics: 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; 1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium; Acetylcysteine; Animals; Cell Death; Cell Line; Cell Survival; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; DNA-Binding Proteins; Dopamine; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Endoribonucleases; Humans; Leupeptins; Male; Membrane Proteins; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nerve Degeneration; Neurons; Parkinsonian Disorders; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors; RNA, Messenger; Signal Transduction; Stress, Physiological; Transcription Factors; X-Box Binding Protein 1

Dopamine (DA) and its metabolites have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. DA can produce reactive-oxygen species and DA-derived quinones such as aminochrome can induce proteasomal inhibition. We therefore examined the ability of DA and MG132 to induce apoptosis and proteasomal inhibition in N27 rat dopaminergic cells. DA (0-500 micromol/L, 0-24 h) and MG132 (0-5 micromol/L, 0-24 h) treated N27 cells resulted in time- and concentration-dependent apoptosis. To better define DA and MG132-induced apoptosis, the activation of initiator caspases 2 and caspase 9 and the executioner caspase 3 was investigated. Activation of caspase 2, caspase 9, and caspase 3 occurred early and prior to cell death. In addition, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) blocked DA but not MG132-induced apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential loss. NAC can react with both reactive-oxygen and quinoid metabolites and its inhibitory activity suggests a role for reactive species in DA-induced apoptosis. Proteasomal inhibition was detected after DA treatment in N27 cells which occurred prior to cell death and was abrogated by NAC. Our results implicate DA-derived reactive species in proteasomal inhibition and caspase-dependent apoptosis in N27 cells. The ability of endogenous DA-derived metabolites to induce proteasomal inhibition and apoptosis may contribute to the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease.

Topics: Acetylcysteine; Animals; Apoptosis; Caspases; Cell Line, Transformed; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; Dopamine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Activation; Leupeptins; Mesencephalon; Nerve Degeneration; Neurons; Oxidative Stress; Parkinson Disease; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Rats; Reactive Oxygen Species; Substantia Nigra

Here, we investigated the effect of calpain inhibitors on apoptosis in organotypic adult spinal cord slices from mice. An increase in calpain I immunoreactivity was found in the nuclei of motor neurons from slices cultured for 30 min. After 4 h, the immunopositive motor neurons exhibited apoptotic changes including nuclear and chromatin condensation. Eight hours after excision, most motor neurons showed nuclear apoptotic features. Two calpain inhibitors, leupeptin and calpain inhibitor XI, inhibited apoptosis in the motor neurons while the caspase inhibitor Z-VAD.fmk had no effect. Leupeptin, but not calpain inhibitor XI and Z-VAD.fmk, also inhibited nucleosomal DNA fragmentation. These results suggest the involvement of calpain I in the induction of apoptosis in motor neurons of adult spinal cord and that apoptosis can be triggered independent of caspase activation.

Topics: Age Factors; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; Animals; Apoptosis; Calpain; Caspases; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; DNA Fragmentation; Female; Glycoproteins; Immunohistochemistry; Leupeptins; Mice; Motor Neurons; Nerve Degeneration; Organ Culture Techniques; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord Injuries; Time Factors

Impairment in ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) has recently been implicated in Parkinson's disease, as demonstrated by reduced proteasomal activities, protein aggregation and mutation of several genes associated with UPS. However, experimental studies with proteasome inhibitors failed to yield consensus regarding the effect of proteasome inhibition on dopaminergic degeneration. In this study, we systematically examined the effect of the proteasome inhibitor MG-132 on dopaminergic degeneration in cell culture and animal models of Parkinson's disease. Exposure of immortalized dopaminergic neuronal cells (N27) to low doses of MG-132 (2-10 microM) resulted in dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicity. Further, exposure to MG-132 (5 microM) for 10 min led to dramatic reduction of proteasomal activity (>70%) accompanied by a rapid accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins in these cells. MG-132 treatment also induced increases in caspase-3 activity in a time-dependent manner, with significant activation occurring between 90 and 150 min. We also noted a 12-fold increase in DNA fragmentation in MG-132 treated N27 cells. Similarly, primary mesencephalic neurons exposed to 5 microM MG-132 also induced >60% loss of TH positive neurons but only a minimal loss of non-dopaminergic cells. Stereotaxic injection of MG-132 (0.4 microg in 4 microl) into the substantia nigra compacta (SNc) in C57 black mice resulted in significant depletion of ipisilateral striatal dopamine and DOPAC content as compared to the vehicle-injected contralateral control sides. Also, we observed a significant decrease in the number of TH positive neurons in the substantia nigra of MG-132-injected compared to the vehicle-injected sites. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the proteasomal inhibitor MG-132 induces dopamine depletion and nigral dopaminergic degeneration in both cell culture and animal models, and suggest that proteasomal dysfunction may promote nigral dopaminergic degeneration in Parkinson's disease.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Caspase 3; Caspases; Cell Death; Cells, Cultured; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; Disease Models, Animal; DNA Fragmentation; Dopamine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Embryo, Mammalian; Immunohistochemistry; Leupeptins; Mesencephalon; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nerve Degeneration; Neurons; Neurotransmitter Agents; Proteasome Inhibitors; Rats; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

The effect of treatment with leupeptin, a calpain inhibitor, on motoneuron survival and muscle function was examined in in vitro and in vivo models of motoneuron degeneration. Exposure of primary rat motoneurons to alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) is an established in vitro model of excitotoxic motoneuron death. Here we show that leupeptin treatment improved motoneuron survival following exposure to AMPA (50 microM). Application of leupeptin (100 microM) to AMPA treated cultures rescued many motoneurons so that 74% (+/-3.4 S.E.M., n=5) survived compared with only 49% (+/-2.4 S.E.M., n=5) in untreated cultures. The effect of treatment with leupeptin on motoneuron survival and muscle function was also examined in vivo. In 3 day-old rats, the sciatic nerve was crushed and at the time of injury, a silicon implant containing leupeptin was inserted onto the lumbar spinal cord. The effect on long-term motoneuron survival and muscle function was assessed 12 weeks after injury. The results showed that there was long-term improvement in motoneuron survival in the leupeptin treated group. Thus, in untreated animals 12 weeks after nerve crush only 30% (+/-2.8. S.E.M., n=3) of sciatic motoneurons survived compared with 43% (+/-1.5 S.E.M., n=3) in the leupeptin-treated group. This improvement in motoneuron survival was reflected in a significant improvement in muscle function in the leupeptin-treated group. For example in the soleus muscle of treated rats 20.8 (+/-1.40 S.E.M., n=5) motor units survived compared with only 14.6 (+/-1.21 S.E.M., n=5) in untreated animals. Thus, treatment with leupeptin, a calpain inhibitor, rescues motoneurons from cell death and improves muscle function following nerve injury.

Topics: alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Calpain; Cell Count; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Disease Models, Animal; Excitatory Amino Acid Agents; Female; Immunohistochemistry; Isometric Contraction; Leupeptins; Male; Microtubule-Associated Proteins; Motor Neuron Disease; Motor Neurons; Muscle Fatigue; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal; Muscle, Skeletal; Myosins; Nerve Crush; Nerve Degeneration; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sciatic Neuropathy; Spinal Cord; Staining and Labeling; Time Factors

Changes in prion protein (PrP) folding are associated with fatal neurodegenerative disorders, but the neurotoxic species is unknown. Like other proteins that traffic through the endoplasmic reticulum, misfolded PrP is retrograde transported to the cytosol for degradation by proteasomes. Accumulation of even small amounts of cytosolic PrP was strongly neurotoxic in cultured cells and transgenic mice. Mice developed normally but acquired severe ataxia, with cerebellar degeneration and gliosis. This establishes a mechanism for converting wild-type PrP to a highly neurotoxic species that is distinct from the self-propagating PrP(Sc) isoform and suggests a potential common framework for seemingly diverse PrP neurodegenerative disorders.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Brain; Cell Survival; Cysteine Endopeptidases; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; Cytosol; Glycosylation; In Situ Nick-End Labeling; Leupeptins; Membrane Proteins; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Multienzyme Complexes; Nerve Degeneration; Neurons; Presenilin-1; Prion Diseases; Prions; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Protein Conformation; Protein Folding; Protein Transport; PrPSc Proteins; Transfection; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Effects of a protease inhibitor, leupeptin, on the memory function and the morphological changes in the hippocampus were examined in rats. The leupeptin was infused by an implanted-osmotic minipump into the lateral ventricle of the rats for 14 days. The acquisition and the maintenance of memory were evaluated by a step-down passive avoidance task. The control rats, infused with an artificial cerebral spinal fluid, showed good retention for the passive avoidance training for 21 days after training. The leupeptin-treated rats showed good retention for 7 days following training; however, pronounced impaired retention was observed on day 10 and thereafter. These rats were accompanied by a degeneration of the dentate gyrus in the histological examinations on Days 14 and 21. The granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus appeared much more eosinophilic pyknotic. Numerous eosinophilic spherical structures of the cell processes were seen in the neuropil beneath the granule cell layer. Electron microscopic examination disclosed a marked accumulation of lipofuscin-like granules in the perikaryon of the cells and in the dendrites and the axons. These findings suggest that the memory impairment is closely related to the degeneration of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus in the leupeptin-treated rats.

Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Axons; Cerebral Ventricles; Cytoplasmic Granules; Dendrites; Dentate Gyrus; Hippocampus; Infusions, Parenteral; Leupeptins; Lipofuscin; Memory; Memory Disorders; Motor Activity; Nerve Degeneration; Neurons; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which are composed of paired helical filament (PHF)-like filaments, were induced by the long-term intraventricular infusion of leupeptin, a potent protease inhibitor. The fibrils composing the NFTs were 20 nm in maximal width and had periodic constrictions at 40-nm intervals. They were identical to the PHF that had been found in aged rat neurons. Dystrophic axons filled with mainly tubular structures were also abundantly found in the parietal and temporal isocortices, which were not affected in the acute or subacute phases of leupeptin treatment. An immunohistochemical study using antibodies related to the neuronal cytoskeleton showed that neuronal cytoskeletal changes accompanying ubiquitination occurred in dystrophic axons distributed widely in the isocortex as well as the hippocampal formation. The present findings suggest that long-term administration of leupeptin accelerates the neuronal ageing process in rats and causes other neuronal changes: NFT formation, such as seen in the aged brain or in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease, in addition to accumulation of lipofuscin granules and degeneration of neuronal processes. In other words, some disturbance of the balance between proteases and their inhibitors may play an important role in the neuronal ageing process, and some regulatory intervention in the intraneuronal protease activity may provide a new therapeutic strategy for the neurodegenerative diseases.

Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Animals; Cerebral Cortex; Disease Models, Animal; Injections, Intraventricular; Leupeptins; Male; Models, Neurological; Nerve Degeneration; Neurofibrillary Tangles; Parietal Lobe; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Severe degeneration of neuronal processes, including axons and dendrites, as well as accumulation of lipofuscin-like dense bodies have been induced in rats by continuous intraventricular administration by infusion of a protase inhibitor, leupeptin. The aggregation of degenerated processes in neuropils mingled with glial cells and their processes resembled the aggregation of degenerated neurites that are important constituents of the senile plaque of Alzheimer's disease. The present findings provide morphological evidence supporting the hypothesis that protease inhibitors participate in the process of senile plaque formation.

Topics: Animals; Central Nervous System; Enzyme Inhibitors; Injections, Intraventricular; Leupeptins; Microscopy, Electron; Nerve Degeneration; Neurotoxins; Oligopeptides; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains

Lesions of the various afferents to the hippocampus have been widely used to investigate the mechanisms underlying growth and degeneration in adult mammalian CNS. It has been proposed that disturbances in intracellular calcium and activation of calcium-dependent proteases represent key steps in producing come of the consequences of the lesions. In this study, we show that lesions of the entorhinal cortex or of the commissural pathway result in profound changes in the distribution of brain spectrin. At 2 days after lesions of the entorhinal cortex, immunoreactivity to spectrin is markedly increased in the outer molecular layer (OML) of the dentate gyrus; conversely at 2 days after commissural lesions, immunoreactivity to the same antigen is increased in the inner molecular layer. The increase in immunoreactivity to spectrin varies with survival time after lesions of the entorhinal cortex. By 24 h post lesion, the increase is homogeneous across the OML, and becomes more intense by 48 h. Between 1 and 3 weeks the increase is much less than at 48 h and is concentrated at the inner border of the OML. Pretreatment of the animals with the calpain inhibitor leupeptin reduces the increase in spectrin immunoreactivity normally seen 48 h after the lesion of the entorhinal cortex. Changes in the pattern of immunoreactivity to GFAP are very different to that seen with spectrin antibodies and are consistent with the known modifications in astrocytes that follow lesions of hippocampal afferents.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Animals; Calpain; Cerebral Cortex; Enzyme Inhibitors; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; Hippocampus; Immunohistochemistry; Injections, Intraventricular; Leupeptins; Male; Nerve Degeneration; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Spectrin; Time Factors

Biopsy specimens of human and monkey peripheral nerves, when incubated in calcium containing media, showed a loss of neurofilaments and microtubules with replacement by granular debris. Cytoskeletal structures remained intact when incubated in calcium-free media. Disruption of neurofilaments and microtubules in calcium containing media was inhibited by the thiol protease inhibitor, leupeptin. Similar incubations of excised Pacinian corpuscles revealed evidence of early terminal axon degeneration in the presence of calcium. These data substantiate the hypothesis that neural cytoskeletal degradation in primates and in man is calcium-mediated.

Topics: Animals; Calcium; Calpain; Cebus; Culture Media; Cytoskeleton; Humans; Intermediate Filaments; Leupeptins; Microtubules; Nerve Degeneration; Peripheral Nerves; Wallerian Degeneration

Investigations were undertaken on the regeneration of transected rat sciatic nerves. The ability of the protease inhibitor leupeptin to inhibit wallerian degeneration and muscle atrophy was evaluated. After transection of a sciatic nerve and immediate neurorrhaphy, animals were treated with leupeptin for a period of 1 week to 6 months. Our results indicate a significant increase in the numbers of myelinated and unmyelinated neurofibers in the distal segment of treated nerves. Peroxidase tracer, injected intramuscularly, was transported by retrograde axonal flow and was observed to label increased numbers of treated axons both distal and proximal to the repair site. This finding suggests that treated neurofibers are functionally viable. Evaluation of muscle showed that secondary muscular atrophy is also significantly inhibited by leupeptin.

Topics: Animals; Axons; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Leupeptins; Microscopy, Electron; Muscles; Muscular Atrophy; Nerve Degeneration; Nerve Fibers; Nerve Regeneration; Oligopeptides; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Sciatic Nerve; Wallerian Degeneration