Many cases of human exposures to high-dose radiation have been documented, including individuals exposed during the detonation of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear power plant disasters (e.g., Chernobyl), as well as industrial and medical accidents. For many of these exposures, injuries to the skin have been present and have played a significant role in the progression of the injuries and survivability from the radiation exposure. There are also instances of radiation-induced skin complications in routine clinical radiotherapy and radiation diagnostic imaging procedures. In response to the threat of a radiological or nuclear mass casualty incident, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tasked the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) with identifying and funding early-to mid-stage medical countermeasure (MCM) development to treat radiation-induced injuries, including those to the skin. To appropriately assess the severity of radiation-induced skin injuries and determine efficacy of different approaches to mitigate/treat them, it is necessary to develop animal models that appropriately simulate what is seen in humans who have been exposed. In addition, it is important to understand the techniques that are used in other clinical indications (e.g., thermal burns, diabetic ulcers, etc.) to accurately assess the extent of skin injury and progression of healing. For these reasons, the NIAID partnered with two other U.S. Government funding and regulatory agencies, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to identify state-of-the-art methods in assessment of skin injuries, explore animal models to better understand radiation-induced cutaneous damage and investigate treatment approaches. A two-day workshop was convened in May 2019 highlighting talks from 28 subject matter experts across five scientific sessions. This report provides an overview of information that was presented and the subsequent guided discussions.

We have examined the action of the thrombin receptor-derived polypeptide, S42FLLRNPNDKYEPF55 (TRP 42-55), in rat and guinea pig aortic rings and helical arterial strips, and we have compared the actions of the peptide with those of thrombin. In rat preparations, both TRP 42-55 and thrombin caused a concentration-dependent endothelium-dependent relaxation that was blocked by N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; the relaxation response of the intact rat aortic strip preparation to concentrations of the peptide in the range 30-60 micrograms/mL (17-34 microM) was equivalent to the response to 0.03-0.1 U/mL of thrombin (about 0.3-0.9 nM), yielding a potency ratio (TRP 42-55:thrombin) of about 38,000:1. In contrast with the complete desensitization of thrombin-treated rat aortic preparations to a second administration of the enzyme, the rat aortic tissue was not desensitized by repeated exposures to TRP 42-55 and remained responsive to the peptide even after treatment of the tissue by thrombin. In contrast with the rat aortic tissue, in either intact or endothelium-free guinea pig aortic preparations both TRP 42-55 and thrombin caused a concentration-dependent endothelium-independent contraction. The contractile action of 60 micrograms/mL of receptor peptide (34 microM) in guinea pig aortic strip preparations was equivalent to the contractile action of 0.1-0.3 U/mL thrombin (0.9-3 nM), yielding a potency ratio of about 17,000:1. In guinea pig aortic preparations with an intact endothelium that were precontracted with noradrenaline, neither thrombin nor TRP42-55 caused relaxation, whereas substance P did so.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

1 Using endothelium-denuded and intact rat aortic rings, we have determined the contractile and relaxant structure-activity profile for a series of thrombin receptor-derived polypeptides (TRPs) based on the human and rat receptor sequences: SFLLR (P5), SFLLR-NH2 (P5-NH2) SFFLR (Rat P5), SFFLR-NH2 (Rat P5-NH2), SFLLRNP (P7), SFLLRNP-NH2 (P7-NH2), SFFLRNP (Rat P7), SFFLRNP-NH2 (Rat P7-NH2), and SFLLRNPNDKYEPF (P14). 2 A contractile response to thrombin and the TRPs in the endothelium-denuded aortic tissue was minimal or absent in preparations obtained from animals weighing less than 180 g (<6 weeks of age), but increased with animal size, plateauing in tissues derived from animals weighing between 320 and 420 g (about 9 to 14 weeks of age). In contrast, the contractile responses to KCl and noradrenaline did not differ in the tissues and relaxant responses to the TRPs in endothelium-intact aortic preparations were comparable for tissues obtained from either young ( < 180 g) or older ( > 320 g) animals.3 The contractile response of the endothelium-denuded preparation to thrombin and the TRPs showed marked cross-desensitization: the relaxation response of the intact rings did not desensitize to the TRPs. 4 The relative potencies for the TRPs in the aortic contraction assay were comparable to those for the relaxation assay, but were distinct from the relative potencies we measured previously in a rat gastric longitudinal muscle contraction assay. Further, P5 behaved as a partial agonist in the aortic contraction assay, whereas it had been observed to be a full agonist in the gastric contraction assay. 5 The contractile activity of P5-NH2 in endothelium intact aortic rings was low or absent, but in the presence of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, Nw-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME), the contractions in the intact preparation were equivalent to the response of the endothelium-denuded preparation in the absence of L-NAME. 6 The contractile response of the endothelium-denuded aortic preparation to P5-NH2 was inhibited by nifedipine and the kinase C antagonist, chelerythrine, but was resistant to the action of indomethacin, tetrodotoxin and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein. 7 We conclude that the receptor system for the TRPs in the aortic smooth muscle elements, responsible for the contractile response, is similar to the aortic endothelial cell receptor responsible for the relaxation response, but is distinct from the receptor that we have previously characterized in gastric longitudinal smooth muscle, results pointing to the presence of receptor subtypes in the vascular and gastric smooth muscle elements.

1 The contractile actions of vanadate (VO4) and pervanadate (PV, peroxide(s) of vanadate) were studied in rat gastric longitudinal muscle strips and in aortic rings. The roles of extracellular sodium and calcium were evaluated and the potential effects of nerve-released agonists were considered. The possibility that these responses were due to the potentiation of tyrosine kinase activity, as a result of PV-mediated tyrosine phosphatase inhibition was explored with the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (genistein, tyrphostin) and by Western blot analysis of phosphotyrosyl proteins in PV-treated tissues. The ability of PV to mimic the action of the tyrosine kinase receptor-associated agonist, epidermal growth factor-urogastrone (EGF-Uro), in the gastric preparation was also studied. 2 PV caused concentration-dependent contractions in both gastric and aorta-derived tissues, with a potency that was 1 to 2 orders of magnitude greater than that of VO4. 3 Although repeated exposure of gastric and aortic tissues to a fixed concentration of V04 caused reproducible contractions in both tissues, repeated exposure of gastric tissue to PV caused an increased contractile response plateauing after 3 exposures. In contrast, a single exposure of aortic tissue to PV (20 JM) caused a prolonged desensitization of the tissue to the subsequent contractile actions of PV or other agonists. 4 The contractile responses to PV were unaffected in both preparations by tetrodotoxin, atropine, yohimbine and phenoxybenzamine; and in the aortic preparation, the responses to V04 and PV were the same in the presence or absence of a functional endothelium. 5 PV-induced contractions in both tissues were observed in the absence of extracellular sodium but required extracellular calcium and were attenuated by 1 JAM nifedipine. 6 In the gastric preparation, the characteristics of the contractile actions of PV paralleled those of EGF-Uro in terms of (1) inhibition by genistein, (2) inhibition by indomethacin and (3) a requirement for extracellular calcium. These response characteristics differed from those of other contractile agonists such as carbachol. 7 In both the gastric and aortic preparations genistein was able to inhibit PV-induced contractions selectively without causing comparable inhibition of KCI-induced contractions. Tyrphostin (AG18) also selectively blocked PV-induced contractions in the gastric, but not in the aortic preparation. 8 In both the gastric and aortic tissue, in step with an increased contractile response, PV caused increases in tissue phosphotyrosyl protein content, as detected by Western blot analysis using a monoclonal antiphosphotyrosine antibody; the increases in phosphotyrosyl protein content were reduced when tissues were treated with PV at the same time as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. 9 PV, at sub-contractile concentrations, potentiated the contractile action of angiotensin II in both the gastric and aorta tissue.10 We conclude that the growth factor-mimetic agent, PV, is a much more potent contractile agonist than V...

LANIYBNU, A.A., SAIFEDDINE, M., YAIVG, S.-G., and WBLLENBBRG, M.D. 1994. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the contractile action of G-protein-linked vascular agonists. Can. J. Physiol. Pharrnacol. 72: 1075-1885. In a porcine coronary artery helical strip preparation, the tyrosine kinase inhibitors genistein and tyrphostin (AG82) attenuated the contractile actions of angiotensin 11, arginine vasopressin, epidermal growth factor -urogastrone, noradrenaline, and prostaglandin F,,, under conditions where contractions due to acetylcholine and KC1 were not affected. Both genistein and typhostin also caused a selective inhibition of angiotensin 11 action in rat aorta helical strips, without affecting KCI-mediated contractions. The HC, , values for the inhibition of contraction in the porcine coronary artery were in the range of 2-5 pM for genistein and 8 -15 pM for tyrphostin. Comparable IC, values were observed for the inhibitory effects of genistein on angiotensin 11 and prostaglandin FZu action in the rat aorta, whereas much higher tyrphostin concentrations (BCSo r 40 pM) were required to block angiotensin III action in this preparation. Angiotensin 11 caused an elevation of phosphotyrosyl protein (antiphosphotyrosine Western blot) in the porcine coronary artery, which was reversed by genistein. In addition, porcine coronary artery derived membrane and cytosolic fractions exhibited sarcoma vims related tyrosine kinase activity, which was inhibited by both genistein and tyrphostin. Our data (i) document the selective inhibition by genistein and tyrphostin of the contractile action of some, but by no means all, G-protein-linked vascular agonists in porcine and rat arterial preparations, (ii) establish the presence of sarcoma vims related tyrosine kinase activity in the porcine coronary artery, and (iii) demonstrate angiotensin II mediated increases in phosphstyrosyl protein content in porcine coronary artery tissue. These data support the hypothesis that selected G-protein-linked contractile vascular agonists may act in part via the stimulation of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases. The data also indicate the complex actions of the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, even for the same agonist acting in vascular preparations obtained from different species.