Lens cells demonstrate a terminal differentiation process with loss of their organelles including nuclei. Chromatin disappearance is characterised by the same changes as most apoptotic cells, i.e. condensation of chromatin and cleavage into high molecular weight fragments and oligonucleosomes. The endo-deoxyribonucleases (bicationic (Ca2+, Mg2+), mono-cationic (Ca2+ or Mg2+) and acidic non-cationic dependent nucleases) are present in lens fibre cells. Our results suggest that the acidic non-cationic nuclease (DNase II) plays a major role in chromatin cleavage. This nuclease, known to be lysosomal, is found in lens fibre nuclei and only an antibody directed against DNase II inhibits the acidic DNA cleavage of lens fibre nuclei. In addition, there must be another DNase implicated in the process which is not DNase I but appears to be a Ca2+, Mg2+ dependent molecule. Regulation of these DNase activities may be accomplished by the effect of post-translational modifications, acidic pH, mitochondrial release molecules, growth factors or oncogenes. Finally, fibre cells lose organelles without cytoplasmic elimination. The survival of these differentiated cells might be due to the action of survival factors such as FGF 1.

Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia injury, and the flavonoids have shown to be neuroprotective in experimental models of cerebral ischemia. Previously, we have shown that an aqueous preparation of quercetin did not reach the brain while a liposomal preparation produced measurable cerebral amounts of quercetin that reduced significantly the cerebral damage provoked by permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAo) of rats. In this context, the protective effects of liposomal quercetin (LQ) were investigated in the same model after 1 and 4 hours of arterial occlusion. LQ was administered in a single dose (30 mg/kg), at 30 min, 1 and 4 h after pMCAo, and the brain was studied 24 h later. Cerebral damage and the oedema volume were assessed with a tetrazolium salt (TTC). The status of brain tissue, the neuronal population, the global motor behaviour as well as the antioxidant, endogenous reduced glutathione (GSH), were also assessed in the brain. Thirty min after LQ there was a significantly protective effect against ischemic lesion demonstrated by a significant increase in numbers of cells in striatum and cortex, together with a partial reversal of motor deficits. GSH levels decreased after ischemia in ipsilateral striatum and cortex, and the LQ preparation reversed these effects 24 h after the occlusion. Our results suggest that endogenous brain GSH is critical in the defense mechanisms after ischemia, as a significant mediator of the protective effects of the LQ preparation.

Protein phosphorylation is the most common post-translational modification that regulates several pivotal functions in cells. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase which is mostly active in the nervous system. It regulates several biological processes such as neuronal migration, cytoskeletal dynamics, axonal guidance and synaptic plasticity among others. In search for novel substrates of Cdk5 in the brain we performed quantitative phosphoproteomics analysis, isolating phosphoproteins from whole brain derived from E18.5 Cdk5+/+ and Cdk5−/− embryos, using an Immobilized Metal-Ion Affinity Chromatography (IMAC), which specifically binds to phosphorylated proteins. The isolated phosphoproteins were eluted and isotopically labeled for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) and mass spectrometry identification. We found 40 proteins that showed decreased phosphorylation at Cdk5−/− brains. In addition, out of these 40 hypophosphorylated proteins we characterized two proteins, :MARCKS (Myristoylated Alanine-Rich protein Kinase C substrate) and Grin1 (G protein regulated inducer of neurite outgrowth 1). MARCKS is known to be phosphorylated by Cdk5 in chick neural cells while Grin1 has not been reported to be phosphorylated by Cdk5. When these proteins were overexpressed in N2A neuroblastoma cell line along with p35, serine phosphorylation in their Cdk5 motifs was found to be increased. In contrast, treatments with roscovitine, the Cdk5 inhibitor, resulted in an opposite effect on serine phosphorylation in N2A cells and primary hippocampal neurons transfected with MARCKS. In summary, the results presented here identify Grin 1 as novel Cdk5 substrate and confirm previously identified MARCKS as a a bona fide Cdk5 substrate.

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Epithelial cells from the lens equator differentiate into elongated fiber cells. In the final steps of differentiation, the chromatin appears quite condensed and chromatin breakdown into nucleosomes occurs. DNA breaks due to an endodeoxyribonuclease activity corresponding to at least two polypeptides of 30 and 40 kDa have been identified. To identify the nature and the developmental appearance of initial breaks, nick translation reaction was followed both biochemically and in situ in fiber and epithelial cells from chick embryonic lenses. There is no accumulation of single-strand breaks (SSB) with 3'OH ends in lens fiber cells during embryonic development. Such damage can be increased in these cells by treatment with DNAase I indicating the absence of an inhibitor of the nick translation reaction in fiber cells. However, there are indications of the presence of DNA breaks with blocked termini when the phosphatase activity of nuclease P1 is used. The presence of breaks is also indicated by the large amounts of (ADP-ribose)n found in lens fibers particularly at 11 days of embryonic development (E11) as ADP-ribosyl transferase binds to and is activated by DNA strand breaks. Incubation of lens cells in vitro, which causes nucleosomal fragmentation only in fiber cells, produces SSB with 3'OH ends in both epithelia and fibers. Incubation for short periods, observed in experiments in situ, induces SSB first in the central fiber nuclei, which are late in differentiation. This may indicate that these SSB play a physiological role. Long incubations produce larger numbers of SSB in epithelia than fibers. The SSB in the fibers may have been converted into double-strand breaks (D SB), seen as nucleosomal fragments, and therefore no longer act as substrates for nick translation. The nuclease activity responsible for SSB production is independent of divalent cations and could be implicated in lens terminal differentiation.