Previous publications from our group [Gil, Chaib, Pelliccioni and Aguilera (2000) FEBS Lett. 481, 177-182; Gil, Chaib, Blasi and Aguilera (2001) Biochem. J. 356, 97-103] have reported the activation, in rat brain synaptosomes, of several phosphoproteins, such as neurotrophin tyrosine kinase (Trk) A receptor, phospholipase Cgamma-1, protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms and extracellular-signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK-1/2). In the present study, we examined, by means of phospho-specific antibodies, the activation of the signalling cascades involving neurotrophin Trk receptor, Akt kinase and ERK pathway, in cultured cortical neurons from foetal rat brain, by tetanus toxin (TeTx) as well as by the C-terminal part of its heavy chain (H(C)-TeTx). TeTx and H(C)-TeTx induce fast and transient phosphorylation of Trk receptor at Tyr(674) and Tyr(675), but not at Tyr(490), although the potency of TeTx in this action was higher when compared with H(C)-TeTx action. Moreover, H(C)-TeTx and TeTx also induced phosphorylation of Akt (at Ser(473) and Thr(308)) and of ERK-1/2 (Thr(202)/Tyr(204)), in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The detection of TeTx- and H(C)-TeTx-induced phosphorylation at Ser(9) of glycogen synthase kinase 3beta confirms Akt activation. In the extended analysis of the ERK pathway, phosphorylation of the Raf, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)-1/2 and p90Rsk kinases and phosphorylation of the transcription factor cAMP-response-element-binding protein were detected. The use of tyrphostin AG879, an inhibitor of Trk receptors, demonstrates their necessary participation in the H(C)-TeTx-induced activation of Akt and ERK pathways, as well as in the phosphorylation of phospholipase Cgamma-1. Furthermore, both pathways are totally dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase action, and they are independent of PKC action, as assessed using wortmannin and Ro-31-8220 as inhibitors. The activation of PKC isoforms was determined by their translocation from the cytosolic compartment to the membranous compartment, showing a clear H(C)-TeTx-induced translocation of PKC-alpha and -beta, but not of PKC- epsilon.

No abstract

The non-toxic carboxy-terminal fragment of tetanus toxin heavy chain (TTC) has been implicated in the activation of cascades responsible for trophic actions and neuroprotection by inhibition of apoptosis. Previous in vitro studies have described signalling pathways that underlie the administration of TTC to neurons. We investigated whether these properties were maintained in a mouse model of neurodegenerative disease. Naked DNA encoding for TTC was injected intramuscularly and neuromuscular function and clinical behaviour were monitored until endstage in the transgenic SOD1G93A mouse model that expresses a mutant variant of human superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). Our results indicate that TTC treatment ameliorated the decline of hindlimb muscle innervation, significantly delayed the onset of symptoms and functional deficits, improved spinal motor neuron survival, and prolonged lifespan. Furthermore, we found that caspase-1 and caspase-3 proapoptotic genes were down-regulated in the spinal cord of treated mice. Western blot analysis showed that the active form of caspase-3 was also down-regulated after TTC treatment and survival signals, such as the significant phosphorylation of serine/threonine protein kinase Akt, were also detected. These results suggest that fragment C of tetanus toxin, TTC, provides a potential therapy for neurodegenerative diseases.

When cultured cerebellar granule neurones are transferred from a medium containing high extracellular potassium concentration ( Abbreviations used: Akt/PKB, Akt/protein kinase B; BDNF, brainderived neurotrophic factor; CGN, cerebellar granule neurones; CREB, cAMP-response-element-binding protein; DAPI, 4¢,6-diamino-2-phenylindole; ERK, extracellular signal-regulated kinase; GSK3b, glycogen synthase kinase 3b; GST, glutathione S-transferase; Hc-TeTx, C-terminal domain of the heavy-chain of tetanus toxin; [K + ] e , extracellular potassium concentration; MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; MAPKK, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase; MTT, 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; NGF, nerve growth factor; PI3K, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; PKC, protein kinase C; PLCc-1, phospholipase Cc-1; p90rsk, p90 ribosomal S6 kinase; RBD, Ras-binding domain of Raf-1; TeTx, tetanus toxin; Trk, high-affinity tyrosine kinase receptor for neurotrophins.

No abstract