Nitroxyl (HNO) is a redox sibling of nitric oxide (NO) that targets distinct signalling pathways with pharmacological endpoints of high significance in the treatment of heart failure. Beneficial HNO effects depend, in part, on its ability to release calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) through an unidentified mechanism. Here we propose that HNO is generated as a result of the reaction of the two gasotransmitters NO and H2S. We show that H2S and NO production colocalizes with transient receptor potential channel A1 (TRPA1), and that HNO activates the sensory chemoreceptor channel TRPA1 via formation of amino-terminal disulphide bonds, which results in sustained calcium influx. As a consequence, CGRP is released, which induces local and systemic vasodilation. H2S-evoked vasodilatatory effects largely depend on NO production and activation of HNO–TRPA1–CGRP pathway. We propose that this neuroendocrine HNO–TRPA1–CGRP signalling pathway constitutes an essential element for the control of vascular tone throughout the cardiovascular system.

Infusion of the chemotherapeutic agent oxaliplatin leads to an acute and a chronic form of peripheral neuropathy. Acute oxaliplatin neuropathy is characterized by sensory paresthesias and muscle cramps that are notably exacerbated by cooling. Painful dysesthesias are rarely reported for acute oxaliplatin neuropathy, whereas a common symptom of chronic oxaliplatin neuropathy is pain. Here we examine the role of the sodium channel isoform Na V 1.6 in mediating the symptoms of acute oxaliplatin neuropathy. Compound and single-action potential recordings from human and mouse peripheral axons showed that cooling in the presence of oxaliplatin (30-100 μM; 90 min) induced bursts of action potentials in myelinated A, but not unmyelinated C-fibers. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from dissociated dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons revealed enhanced tetrodotoxin-sensitive resurgent and persistent current amplitudes in large, but not small, diameter DRG neurons when cooled (22°C) in the presence of oxaliplatin. In DRG neurons and peripheral myelinated axons from Scn8a med/med mice, which lack functional Na V 1.6, no effect of oxaliplatin and cooling was observed. Oxaliplatin significantly slows the rate of fast inactivation at negative potentials in heterologously expressed mNa V 1.6r in ND7 cells, an effect consistent with prolonged Na V open times and increased resurgent and persistent current in native DRG neurons. This finding suggests that Na V 1.6 plays a central role in mediating acute cooling-exacerbated symptoms following oxaliplatin, and that enhanced resurgent and persistent sodium currents may provide a general mechanistic basis for cold-aggravated symptoms of neuropathy.chemotherapy | peripheral nerve | abnormal axonal excitability | repetitive action potential discharge C linical use of the highly effective chemotherapeutic oxaliplatin is compromised by an acute and a chronic form of peripheral neuropathy. Acutely, 85-90% of patients exhibit muscle fasciculations (1, 2), sensory paresthesias, and occasional dysesthesias (3), all triggered by mild cooling. Although chronic oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy has been recently linked to changes in the expression and sensitivity of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels TRPM8 and TRPA1 (4, 5), two-pore domain potassium channels (TREK1, TRAAK) and the hyperpolarization-activated channel HCN1 (6), the mechanism underlying acute oxaliplatin neuropathy remains unresolved. Several candidate mechanisms have been proposed including potassium channel blockade (7), calcium chelation (8), and alterations in voltage-gated sodium channel (Na V ) kinetics (9, 10), but none adequately account for motor and sensory symptoms nor their exacerbation by cooling.

The Intracellular Fibroblast Growth Factor (iFGF) subfamily includes four members of the structurally related FGF superfamily. Previous studies showed that the iFGFs interact directly with the pore-forming (α) subunits of voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels and regulate the functional properties of sodium channel currents. Sequence heterogeneity among the iFGFs is thought to confer specificity to this regulation. Here, we demonstrate that the two N-terminal alternatively spliced FGF14 variants, FGF14-1a and FGF14-1b, differentially regulate currents produced by Nav1.2-and Nav1.6 channels. FGF14-1b, but not FGF14-1a, attenuates both Nav1.2 and Nav1.6 current densities. In contrast, co-expression of an FGF14 mutant, lacking the N-terminus, increased Nav1.6 current densities. In neurons, both FGF14-1a and FGF14-1b localized at the axonal initial segment, and deletion of the N-terminus abolished this localization. Thus, the FGF14 Nterminus is required for targeting and functional regulation of Nav channels, suggesting an important function for FGF14 alternative splicing in regulating neuronal excitability.

The hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a heterogeneous group of motorneuron diseases characterized by progressive spasticity and paresis of the lower limbs. Mutations in Spastic Gait 4 (SPG4), encoding spastin, are the most frequent cause of HSP. To understand how mutations in SPG4 affect human neurons, we generated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from fibroblasts of two patients carrying a c.1684C>T nonsense mutation and from two controls. These SPG4 and control hiPSCs were able to differentiate into neurons and glia at comparable efficiency. All known spastin isoforms were reduced in SPG4 neuronal cells. The complexity of SPG4 neurites was decreased, which was paralleled by an imbalance of axonal transport with less retrograde movement. Prominent neurite swellings with disrupted microtubules were present in SPG4 neurons at an ultrastructural level. While some of these swellings contain acetylated and detyrosinated tubulin, these tubulin modifications were unchanged in total cell lysates of SPG4 neurons. Upregulation of another microtubule-severing protein, p60 katanin, may partially compensate for microtubuli dynamics in SPG4 neurons. Overexpression of the M1 or M87 spastin isoforms restored neurite length, branching, numbers of primary neurites and reduced swellings in SPG4 neuronal cells. We conclude that neurite complexity and maintenance in HSP patient-derived neurons are critically sensitive to spastin gene dosage. Our data show that elevation of single spastin isoform levels is sufficient to restore neurite complexity and reduce neurite swellings in patient cells. Furthermore, our human model offers an ideal platform for pharmacological screenings with the goal to restore physiological spastin levels in SPG4 patients.