Oxidative stress has been implicated as a key trigger of neuronal apoptosis in stroke and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The Bcl-2 homology 3 (BH3)-only subfamily of Bcl-2 genes consists of multiple members that can be activated in a cell-type-and stimulus-specific manner to promote cell death. In the present study, we demonstrate that, in cortical neurons, oxidative stress induces the expression of the BH3-only members Bim, Noxa, and Puma. Importantly, we have determined that Puma؊/؊ neurons, but not Bim؊/؊ or Noxa؊/؊ neurons, are remarkably resistant to the induction of apoptosis by multiple oxidative stressors. Furthermore, we have determined that Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) is also required for oxidative stress induced cell death and that Puma plays a dominant role in regulating Bax activation. Specifically, we have established that the induction of Puma, but not Bim or Noxa, is necessary and sufficient to induce a conformational change in Bax to its active state, its translocation to the mitochondria and mitochondrial membrane permeabilization. Finally, we demonstrate that whereas both Puma and Bim EL can bind to the antiapoptotic family member Bcl-X L , only Puma was found to associate with Bax. This suggests that in addition to neutralizing antiapoptotic members, Puma may play a dominant role by complexing with Bax and directly promoting its activation. Overall, we have identified Puma as a dominant regulator of oxidative stress induced Bax activation and neuronal apoptosis, and suggest that Puma may be an effective therapeutic target for the treatment of a number of neurodegenerative conditions.

Neuroinflammation is a common feature of acute neurological conditions such as stroke and spinal cord injury, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that acute neuroinflammation can adversely affect the survival of neural precursor cells (NPCs) and thereby limit the capacity for regeneration and repair. However, the mechanisms by which neuroinflammatory processes induce NPC death remain unclear. Microglia are key mediators of neuroinflammation and when activated to induce a pro-inflammatory state produce a number of factors that could affect NPC survival. Importantly, in the present study we demonstrate that tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) produced by lipopolysaccharide-activated microglia is necessary and sufficient to trigger apoptosis in mouse NPCs in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrate that microglia-derived TNFα induces NPC apoptosis via a mitochondrial pathway regulated by the Bcl-2 family protein Bax. BH3-only proteins are known to play a key role in regulating Bax activation and we demonstrate that microglia-derived TNFα induces the expression of the BH3-only family member Puma in NPCs via an NF-κB-dependent mechanism. Specifically, we show that NF-κB is activated in NPCs treated with conditioned media from activated microglia and that Puma induction and NPC apoptosis is blocked by the NF-κB inhibitor BAY-117082. Importantly, we have determined that NPC apoptosis induced by activated microglia-derived TNFα is attenuated in Puma-deficient NPCs, indicating that Puma induction is required for NPC death. Consistent with this, we demonstrate that Puma-deficient NPCs exhibit an ∼13-fold increase in survival as compared with wild-type NPCs following transplantation into the inflammatory environment of the injured spinal cord in vivo. In summary, we have identified a key signaling pathway that regulates neuroinflammation induced apoptosis in NPCs in vitro and in vivo that could be targeted to promote regeneration and repair in diverse neurological conditions.

The AKT, GSK3 and JNK family kinases have been implicated in neuronal apoptosis associated with neuronal development and several neurodegenerative conditions. However, the mechanisms by which these kinase pathways regulate apoptosis remain unclear. In this study we have investigated the role of these kinases in neuronal cell death using an established model of trophic factor deprivation induced apoptosis in cerebellar granule neurons. BCL-2 family proteins are known to be central regulators of apoptosis and we have determined that the pro-apoptotic family member Puma is transcriptionally up-regulated in trophic factor deprived neurons and that Puma induction is required for apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, we demonstrate that Puma induction is dependent on both JNK activation and AKT inactivation. AKT is known to regulate a number of downstream pathways, however we have determined that PI3K-AKT inactivation induces Puma expression through a GSK3β-dependent mechanism. Finally we demonstrate that the JNK and AKT/GSK3β pathways converge to regulate FoxO3a-mediated transcriptional activation of Puma. In summary we have identified a novel and critical link between the AKT, GSK3β and JNK kinases and the regulation of Puma induction and suggest that this may be pivotal to the regulation of neuronal apoptosis in neurodegenerative conditions.

Prostate tissue-specific gene expression is crucial for driving potentially therapeutic genes to target specifically to the prostate. Prostate secretory protein of 94 amino acids (PSP94), also known as beta-MSP (microseminoprotein), is one of the three most abundant secretory proteins of the prostate gland, and is generally considered to be prostate tissue-specific. We have previously demonstrated that the expression of the rat PSP94 gene is strictly prostate tissue-specific by an antibody against a recombinant rat PSP94. In order to study prostate targeting utilizing the PSP94 gene in a mouse pre-clinical experimental model, we need to establish antibodies against mouse PSP94 to confirm if it is prostate tissue-specific as well. In this study, firstly we raised a polyclonal antibody against a recombinant glutathione-S-transferase- (GST-) mouse mature form of PSP94. However, it showed very poor immunoreactivity against prostate tissue PSP94 as tested in Western blotting experiments. Neither antibodies against rat PSP94 nor mouse PSP94 showed significant cross-reactivity. Thus a second antibody was established against a recombinant mouse mature PSP94 containing N-terminal polyhistidines, and stronger immunoreactivity against mouse prostate tissue PSP94 was identified in Western blotting experiments. Both of these antibodies showed immunohistochemical reactivity, while the latter showed stronger reactivity in IHC when tested with different fixatives. By studying tissue distribution, we demonstrated that, as with rat PSP94, mouse PSP94 is strictly prostate tissue-specific in experiments of both Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC). This conclusion was also derived from a comparison among antibodies against human, rat, and mouse PSP94, showing very different immunoreactivities in Western blotting and IHC. Finally, a competitive assay between different species was performed. We demonstrated that antibodies against PSP94 from different species (human, primate, rodents) have poor cross-reactivities. These observations also indicate that the PSP94 gene is a rapidly evolving gene in all species. Results from this study have led to the possibility of utilizing PSP94 as a targeting agent specifically to the prostate in a mouse experimental model.

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