International audienceSphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor expression and the effects of S1P on migration were studied in one papillary (NPA), two follicular (ML-1, WRO) and two anaplastic (FRO, ARO) thyroid cancer cell lines, as well as in human thyroid cells in primary culture. Additionally, the effects of S1P on proliferation, adhesion and calcium signalling were addressed in ML-1 and FRO cells. All cell types expressed multiple S1P receptors. S1P evoked intracellular calcium signalling in primary cultures, ML-1 cells and FRO cells. Neither proliferation nor migration was affected in primary cultures, whereas S1P partly inhibited proliferation in ML-1 and FRO cells. Low nanomolar concentrations of S1P inhibited migration in FRO, WRO and ARO cells, but stimulated ML-1 cell migration. Consistently, S1P 1} and S1P 3}, which mediate migratory responses, were strongly expressed in ML-1 cells and S1P 2}, which inhibits migration, was the dominating receptor in the other cell lines. The migratory effect in ML-1 cells was mediated by G i} and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. Both S1P and the S1P 1}-specific agonist SEW-2871 induced Akt phosphorylation at Ser-473. However, SEW-2871 failed to stimulate migration, whereas the S1P 1}/S1P 3} antagonist VPC 23019 inhibited S1P-induced migration. The results implicate that aberrant S1P receptor expression may enhance thyroid cancer cell migration and thus contribute to the metastatic behaviour of some thyroid tumours

Background: Injured neurons display dendritic beadings, which represent focal swellings of dendrites. Results: Increased synaptic activity and overexpression of ATF3 reduce dendritic beading after an excitotoxic insult. Conclusion: ATF3 overexpression facilitates recovery of neuronal network function after an excitotoxic insult. Significance: ATF3-based dendroprotection promotes functional recovery after neuronal injury.

N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are essential mediators of synaptic plasticity under normal physiological conditions. During brain ischemia, these receptors are excessively activated due to glutamate overflow and mediate excitotoxic cell death. Although organotypical hippocampal slice cultures are widely used to study brain ischemia in vitro by induction of oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD), there is scant data regarding expression and functionality of NMDARs in such slice cultures. Here, we have evaluated the contribution of NMDARs in mediating excitotoxic cell death after exposure to NMDA or OGD in organotypical hippocampal slice cultures after 14 days in vitro (DIV14). We found that all NMDAR subunits were expressed at DIV14. The NMDARs were functional and contributed to cell death, as evidenced by use of the NMDAR antagonist MK-801 (dizocilpine). Excitotoxic cell death induced by NMDA could be fully antagonized by 10 μM MK-801, a dose that offered only partial protection against OGD-induced cell death. Very high concentrations of MK-801 (50-100 μM) were required to counteract cell death at long delays (48-72 h) after OGD. The relative high dose of MK-801 needed for long-term protection after OGD could not be attributed to down-regulation of NMDARs at the gene expression level. Our data indicate that NMDAR signaling is just one of several mechanisms underlying ischemic cell death and that prospective cytoprotective therapies must be directed to multiple targets.

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