WO2004056309A2 - Neuroprotective activity of activated protein c is independent of its anticoagulant activity - Google Patents
Neuroprotective activity of activated protein c is independent of its anticoagulant activity Download PDFInfo
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- WO2004056309A2 WO2004056309A2 PCT/US2003/038764 US0338764W WO2004056309A2 WO 2004056309 A2 WO2004056309 A2 WO 2004056309A2 US 0338764 W US0338764 W US 0338764W WO 2004056309 A2 WO2004056309 A2 WO 2004056309A2
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- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
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- A61K38/16—Peptides having more than 20 amino acids; Gastrins; Somatostatins; Melanotropins; Derivatives thereof
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- A61K38/46—Hydrolases (3)
- A61K38/48—Hydrolases (3) acting on peptide bonds (3.4)
- A61K38/482—Serine endopeptidases (3.4.21)
- A61K38/4866—Protein C (3.4.21.69)
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- G01N33/502—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics for testing non-proliferative effects
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- G01N33/5044—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics involving specific cell types
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- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5008—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics
- G01N33/5044—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics involving specific cell types
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- G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
- G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
- G01N33/5005—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells
- G01N33/5008—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving human or animal cells for testing or evaluating the effect of chemical or biological compounds, e.g. drugs, cosmetics
- G01N33/5082—Supracellular entities, e.g. tissue, organisms
- G01N33/5088—Supracellular entities, e.g. tissue, organisms of vertebrates
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- G01N2510/00—Detection of programmed cell death, i.e. apoptosis
Definitions
- This invention relates to the use of activated protein C (APC), prodrug, and/or a variant thereof as an inhibitor of apoptosis or cell death and/or a cell survival factor, especially for cells or tissues of the nervous system which are stressed or injured.
- APC activated protein C
- prodrug and/or a variant thereof as an inhibitor of apoptosis or cell death and/or a cell survival factor, especially for cells or tissues of the nervous system which are stressed or injured.
- This biological function of APC can be separated from its anticoagulant function (i.e., inhibition of clotting).
- the invention can be used to treat a neurodegenerative disease by inhibiting the p53-signaling pro-apoptotic pathway in stressed or injured brain cells.
- APC may act via the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) and the protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) on stressed brain endothelial cells, or the PAR-1 and the protease activated receptor-3 (PAR-3) on stressed neurons, to activate anti-apoptotic pathways and/or pro-survival pathways in these stressed and/or injured brain cells.
- EPCR endothelial protein C receptor
- PAR-1 protease activated receptor-1
- PAR-3 protease activated receptor-3
- activated protein C is a serine protease which deactivates Factors V a and Vlll a .
- Human protein C is primarily made in the liver as a single polypeptide of 461 amino acids.
- This precursor molecule is then post-translationally modified by (i) cleavage of a 42 amino acid signal sequence, (ii) proteolytic removal from the one-chain zymogen of the lysine residue at position 155 and the arginine residue at position 156 to produce the two-chain form (i.e., light chain of 155 amino acid residues attached by disulfide linkage to the serine protease-containing heavy chain of 262 amino acid residues), (iii) carboxylation of the glutamic acid residues clustered in the first 42 amino acids of the light chain resulting in nine gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) residues, and (iv) glycosylation at four sites (one in the light chain and three in the heavy chain).
- cleavage of a 42 amino acid signal sequence ii) proteolytic removal from the one-chain zymogen of the lysine residue at position 155 and the arginine residue at position 156 to produce the two-chain
- the heavy chain contains the serine protease triad of Asp257, His211 and Ser360. Similar to most other zymogens of extracellular proteases and the coagulation factors, protein C has a core structure of the chymotrypsin family, having insertions and an N-terminus extension that enable regulation of the zymogen and the enzyme. Of interest are two domains with amino acid sequences similar to epidermal growth factor (EGF). At least a portion of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences for protein C from human, monkey, mouse, rat, hamster, rabbit, dog, cat, goat, pig, horse, and cow are known, as well as mutations and polymorphisms of human protein C (see GenBank accession P04070).
- NF- ⁇ B is a transcription factor which may have a dual function in the nervous system and endothelium, and could be anti-apoptotic or pro-apoptotic (Ryan et al. Nature 404:892-897, 2000; Yu et al. J. Neurosci.
- Taylor & Esmon U.S. Patent 5,009,889 disclose that APC inhibits the inflammatory stimuli which disrupt cell permeability and normal coagulation processes in a patient suffering from dysfunction of the vascular endothelium. They were concerned with treating a systemic disorder of endothelial cells in sepsis (presumably by reducing the inflammatory response), instead of preventing apoptosis or promoting cell survival. They also did not suggest treatment of neurodegenerative diseases or the prevention of neuronal cell death and injury.
- APC uses the endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) as a coreceptor for activation of protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) on endothelial cells. They also found Bcl2A1 and clAP1 are upregulated. However, their results on endothelium were limited to HUVEC and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation. In addition, there are significant differences in cellular responses and their regulation of gene expression between HUVEC and brain endothelial cells, or any other type of brain cells (Berger et al., Molec. Med.
- EPCR endothelial cell protein C receptor
- NMDA neuronal N-methyl-D-aspartate
- the anti-apoptotic pathway of APC during hypoxia and brain endothelial cell injury which we describe is distinct from the induction of anti- apoptotic genes by APC in HUVEC previously described by Joyce et al. and Riewald et al. Similar, activation of the anti-apoptotic pathway by APC in injured or stressed neurons has not been previously described.
- APC can be used as a neuroprotective agent by virtue of its action to prevent transmigration of leukocytes across the blood- brain barrier (BBB) into brain parenchyma during an ischemic insult to the brain.
- BBB blood- brain barrier
- neuroprotection with low dose APC is achieved in the absence of a significant decrease of neutrophils in brain tissue or at least does not depend on reduction of the number of leukocytes in ischemic brain tissue.
- APC in an in vivo NMDA model of brain excitotoxic lesions confirm that APC exerts direct neuronal protective effects and that its neuroprotective effects do not depend on its anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory effects associated with the reduction of the number of leukocytes in injured brain tissue.
- APC blocks NMDA-induced neuronal apoptosis by reducing p53- dependent and caspase-3-dependent pro-apoptotic signaling.
- Use of activated protein C at low doses with reduced or no anticoagulant effects to inhibit apoptosis and/or as a cell survival factor can be separated from other functions like inhibiting thrombosis and leukocyte infiltration.
- a low dose of APC may be administered to provide neuroprotection, and the neuroprotective effect does not depend on APC's anticoagulant properties. This shows that APC's anticoagulant activity is not required for APC-mediated neuroprotection.
- activated protein C APC
- prodrugs and variants thereof as neuroprotective agents to inhibit p53- mediated apoptosis in brain cells as a result of a neurodegenerative disease and/or to act as cell survival factors by inhibiting p53-mediated programmed cell death in brain cells or, more particularly, brain vascular endothelium.
- An adverse effect of treatment with drotrecogin alfa (activated) is bleeding (see Lyseng-Williamson & Perry. Drugs 62:617-630, 2002).
- another objective of the invention is to provide variant products (e.g., mutant APC) or processes (e.g., low dose) to reduce its anticoagulant and anti- thrombotic activities and, ultimately, the incidence or severity of bleeding.
- a long-felt need for new therapeutic and prophylactic pharmaceutical compositions is addressed thereby.
- therapeutic and prophylactic methods for inhibition of apoptosis or cell death and promotion of cell survival are also provided.
- Variants of protein C i.e., a prodrug
- variants of activated protein C may be selected for their effect on the p53 signaling pathway or ability to act via EPCR and PAR-1 on endothelium, and PAR-1 and PAR-3 on neurons. Processes for using and making the aforementioned products are described. Further objectives and advantages of the invention are described below.
- the present invention is directed to at least improved neuroprotection, cytoprotection, inhibition of apoptosis or cell death, and/or promotion of cell survival in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, etc.
- An effective amount of activated protein C (APC), at least one prodrug (e.g., protein C and variants thereof), or at least one variant thereof (e.g., APC protease domain mutants with reduced anticoagulant activity) may be used to provide at least neuroprotection, to inhibit apoptosis or cell death, and/or to promote cell survival in stressed or injured brain cells and, more particularly, in stressed or injured brain endothelium and neurons.
- APC or a mimetic thereof may prevent neurodegeneration resulting from cell stress or injury by acting through the endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) and/or protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) on brain endothelium, and PAR-1 and/or protease activated receptor-3 (PAR-3) on neurons, or any combination thereof in different brain cells.
- EPCR endothelial cell protein C receptor
- PAR-1 and/or protease activated receptor-3 PAR-3
- this may activate a specific p53-dependent anti-apoptotic pathway.
- cytoprotection In achieving neuroprotection, cytoprotection, inhibition of apoptosis or cell death, and/or promotion of cell survival, it might be possible to avoid treatment complications arising from one or more activities (e.g., anticoagulant, profibrinolytic, antithrombotic activity) associated with treatment using APC (e.g., intracerebral bleeding).
- activities e.g., anticoagulant, profibrinolytic, antithrombotic activity
- APC e.g., intracerebral bleeding.
- Modulation of p53 signaling may also be used to select for or against variants of protein C, activated protein C (APC), and agonists or antagonists of APC receptor binding and signaling using an in vitro cell culture systems or an in vivo animal models. Such inhibition or promotion of p53 signaling may be used in combination with determining the effect on signaling through EPCR, PAR-1 , PAR-3, or other APC receptors.
- APC activated protein C
- the invention provides a treatment for therapy or prophylaxis of a neurological disease, and the products used therein.
- Pharmaceutical compositions may be manufactured and assessed in accordance therewith. Further aspects of the invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following detailed description and claims, and generalizations thereto.
- Figures 1a-1e show the anti-apoptotic effects of APC in hypoxic human brain endothelial cells (BEC).
- Fig. 1a LDH release from BEC was time dependent under hypoxic and normoxic conditions.
- Fig. 1 b Cytoprotective effect of APC was dose dependent in hypoxic BEC and had no effect on normoxic BEC.
- Fig. 1c TUNEL (left) and Hoechst staining (right) was performed simultaneously in normoxic BEC (upper panels) and hypoxic BEC in the absence (middle panels) and presence of 100 nM APC (lower panels).
- Fig. 1d Percentage of TUNEL-positive BEC under hypoxic and normoxic conditions versus APC is shown.
- Fig. 1e Effects of reagents on hypoxic BEC injury (left to right): buffer alone, APC (100 nM), Ser360Ala-APC (100 nM) 17 , protein C zymogen (100 nM), boiled APC (100 nM).
- APC IgG C3, 11 ⁇ g/ml
- anti-PAR-1 H-111 , 20 ⁇ g/ml
- anti-PAR-2 SAM-11 , 20 ⁇ g/ml
- anti-EPCR RCR-252, 15 ⁇ g/ml)
- hypoxia values were compared to normoxia values; for Figs. 1 b and 1d-1 e, hypoxia values in the presence of APC or other studied molecular reagents were compared with values in the absence of APC.
- Figures 2a-2e show that APC blocks p53-dependent apoptosis in hypoxic human BEC.
- Fig. 2a Time course of p53, Bax, or Bcl-2 protein expression in hypoxic BEC was studied by Western blot analysis.
- Fig. 2b The intensity of p53, Bax, or Bcl-2 signal during hypoxia was determined by scanning densitometry and normalized to ⁇ -actin. Protein abundance was expressed relative to zero time whose value was arbitrarily taken as 1.
- Figs. 2c- 2d APC (100 nM) effects on p53, Bax, or Bcl-2 expression in hypoxic BEC were studied by Western blotting and densiometry (as in Figs.
- FIG. 2e Immunostaining for the active form of caspase-3 under normoxic (upper panel, left) and hypoxic conditions in the absence (middle panel, left) or the presence of 100 nM APC (lower panel, left) was performed simultaneously with the Hoechst staining (right panels).
- Figs. 2b and 2d data are mean + SD, from 3 to 5 independent measurements performed for each time point; * P ⁇ 0.05 and ** P ⁇ 0.01.
- Figures 3a-3b show that APC inhibits p53 transcription in hypoxic BEC.
- Fig. 3a Agarose gel electrophoresis of the PCR products corresponding to p53 and GAPDH (internal control) mRNA transcripts in normoxic and hypoxic BEC in the absence and presence of 100 nM APC is shown.
- Fig. 3b Relative abundance of p53 mRNA normalized by GAPDH in hypoxic BEC in the absence or the presence of APC is shown. Data are mean + SD, from 4 independent measurements performed for each time point with P ⁇ 0.01 where indicated.
- Fig. 3c APC (100 nM) does not affect the expression of Bcl2-related protein A1 , clAP1 , or eNOS in hypoxic BEC studied by Western blot analysis (as in Figure 2).
- FIGs 4a-4i show that in vivo neuroprotective effects of murine (mouse) recombinant APC during focal ischemic stroke in mice require EPCR and PAR-1.
- FIGs. 4a-4b Infarction and edema volumes in mice with a severe deficiency of EPCR (EPCR-) treated with APC (APC+) or vehicle (APC-), and in genetically-matched normal littermate controls (EPCR+) treated with either APC (APC+) or vehicle (APC-) are shown.
- Mean + SE, n 6.
- APC 0.2 mg/kg was administered 10 min after the MCAO.
- Figures 5a-5e show the protective effects of APC on NMDA-induced apoptosis in cultured mouse cortical neurons.
- Fig. 5a Immunostaining for active caspase-3 in cortical neurons 24 hr after exposure to NMDA in the absence or presence of human APC (100 nM) was performed simultaneously with TUNEL and Hoechst staining.
- Fig. 5b The number of TUNEL-positive cells (left) and caspase-3 positive cells (right) in experiments illustrated in Fig. 5a expressed as the percentage of total number of Hoechst positive nuclei.
- Fig. 5a Immunostaining for active caspase-3 in cortical neurons 24 hr after exposure to NMDA in the absence or presence of human APC (100 nM) was performed simultaneously with TUNEL and Hoechst staining.
- Fig. 5b The number of TUNEL-positive cells (left) and caspase-3 positive cells (right) in experiments illustrated in Fig. 5
- FIG. 5c Time-dependent changes in caspase-3 activity in cultured cortical neurons were determined after exposure to NMDA in the absence (filled circle) or presence (open circle) of human APC (100 nM).
- Fig. 5d Neuroprotective effect of human APC (100 nM) on NMDA-induced neuronal apoptosis shown as a function of time; the number of apoptotic cells was quantitated using TUNEL and Hoechst staining. Filled circle, NMDA only; open circle, NMDA and human APC.
- Fig. 5e Human APC (hAPC) and recombinant mouse APC (mAPC) had dose-dependent effects on cortical neurons 24 hr after exposure to NMDA.
- FIG. 6a-6f show that APC blocks p53-dependent apoptosis in NMDA- treated mouse cortical neurons.
- FIGs. 6a-6b Western blot analyses for p53 in nuclear protein extracts from NMDA-treated cells in the absence or presence of human APC (100 nM) at different time points are illustrated.
- Fig. 6c Western blots analyses for Bax and Bcl-2 on whole cell extracts from experiments similar to those shown in Fig.
- Fig. 6a Densitometric analyses of optical density of p53, Bax, and Bcl-2 bands normalized to ⁇ -actin are shown for NMDA-treated cells in the absence (open) or presence (filled) of human APC. Data are mean + SEM (3 to 5 independent measurements for each time point).
- Fig. 6e Electrophoretic mobility shift assays show no change in NF- ⁇ B DNA binding activities following exposure of neurons to NMDA. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) exposed to E. coli LPS served as a positive control.
- Fig. 6f Western blot analyses for intact cortical NMDA receptor subunits NR1 and NR2A in membrane fractions 24 hr after treatment with human APC (100 nM) are illustrated.
- Figures 7a-7e show the specificity of APC protection on NMDA-induced neuronal death in cultured mouse cortical neurons and in mouse brains in vivo.
- Fig. 7a Cortical neurons were treated with NMDA and incubated for 24 hr with vehicle, human APC (100 nM), protein C zymogen (100 nM), anti-APC IgG (C3), Ser360Ala-APC (100 nM) and boiled APC (100 nM); apoptosis was quantitated as in Fig. 5a.
- Fig. 7a Cortical neurons were treated with NMDA and incubated for 24 hr with vehicle, human APC (100 nM), protein C zymogen (100 nM), anti-APC IgG (C3), Ser360Ala-APC (100 nM) and boiled APC (100 nM); apoptosis was quantitated as in Fig. 5a.
- Fig. 7c Coronal sections of mouse brains infused ⁇ with NMDA in the absence (APC-) or presence (APC+) of mouse APC (0.2 ⁇ g) were stained with cresyl violet.
- Fig. 7d Dose-dependent protective effect of mouse APC on NMDA-induced injury (lesion volume) in mouse striatum was determined at 48 hr. Fig.
- NMDA + APC 0.2 ⁇ g
- NMDA + APC 0.2 ⁇ g
- anti-PAR-1 H-111 , 0.2 ⁇ g
- anti-PAR-2 SAM11 , 0.2 ⁇ g
- anti-PAR-3 H-103, 0.2 ⁇ g
- Figure 8 illustrates surface loops in the vicinity of the protease active site of APC with the numbering scheme of chymotrypsin indicated.
- Anticoagulant activity of human APC mutants (Gale et al., Blood 96:585-593, 2000; Gale et al., J. Biol. Chem. 277:28836-28840, 2002) is expressed as a percentage of recombinant wild-type human APC (defined as 100%).
- Figures 9a-9f show the direct neuroprotective effects of human APC mutants in either loop 37 (KKK191-193AAA, "3K3A-APC”) or the Ca ++ -binding loop (RR229/230AA, "229/30-APC”) as compared to recombinant wild-type human APC ("rwt-APC").
- Fig. 9a Immunostaining for TUNEL and Hoechst in isolated mouse neurons 24 hr after exposure to 300 ⁇ M NMDA in the absence or presence of rwt-APC (100 nM).
- Fig. 9a Immunostaining for TUNEL and Hoechst in isolated mouse neurons 24 hr after exposure to 300 ⁇ M NMDA in the absence or presence of rwt-APC (100 nM).
- Fig. 9a Immunostaining for TUNEL and Hoechst in isolated mouse neurons 24 hr after exposure to 300 ⁇ M NMDA in the absence or presence of
- FIG. 9b Dose-dependent neuroprotective effects of APC mutants and rwt-APC on isolated neurons at 24 hr of exposure to 300 ⁇ M NMDA.
- Fig. 9c Lesion volume in mouse brain infused with NMDA (20 nmol) in the absence or presence of APC mutants or rwt-APC (0.2 ⁇ g).
- Filled bar NMDA only; open bar, NMDA and rwt-APC; diagonally hashed bar, NMDA and 3K3A-APC; horizontally hashed bar, NMDA and 229/30APC.
- Fig. 9b Dose-dependent neuroprotective effects of APC mutants and rwt-APC on isolated neurons at 24 hr of exposure to 300 ⁇ M NMDA.
- FIGd Immunostaining for TUNEL and Hoechst of isolated human brain endothelial cells (BEC) 8 hr after hypoxia/aglycemia in the absence or presence of rwt- APC (100 nM).
- Figs. 9e-9f Dose-dependent neuroprotective effects of APC mutants and rwt-APC on hypoxic human BEC at 8 hr of hypoxia/aglycemia estimated from LDH release and the percentage of apoptotic BEC by TUNEL. Open circle, 3K3A-APC; filled circle, 229/30APC; triangle, rwt-APC. Data are mean + SEM (3-5 independent measurements).
- the present invention is useful for treating many neurodegenerative diseases involving apoptosis and/or cell death in the central nervous system.
- Inhibition of p53 signaling by activated protein C (APC) or a variant thereof may be demonstrated by in vitro and in vivo assays (e.g., cell cultures and animal models).
- Apoptosis and/or cell death are reduced as a result of practicing the invention.
- Injury due to ischemia or hypoxia may be prevented or at least mitigated.
- injury from ultraviolet (UV) or gamma irradiation (i.e., physical insults of the environment) or chemical contaminants and pollutants may be prevented or at least mitigated.
- NMDA N-methyl-D-aspartate
- the present invention provides methods for protecting neuronal cells from cell death in a subject having or at risk of neurodegenerative disease.
- the method includes administering an effective amount of activated protein C, a prodrug, or a variant thereof to the subject, thereby providing neuroprotection to the subject.
- the effective amount may be a low dose of APC or a variant thereof which is directly neuroprotective but with at least reduced anticoagulant activity as compared to prior art treatments.
- Variants of APC with reduced anticoagulant activity have been described (Gale et al., J. Biol. Chem. 277:28836-28840, 2002).
- Such diseases include, but are not limited to, aging, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease, ischemia, epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mental retardation, and stroke. Improvement in treating neurodegenerative disease may be clinically measurable by neurological or psychiatric tests; similarly, therapeutic effects on coagulation, fibrinolysis, thrombosis, and inflammation may be clinically determined. Multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as other neuropathologies may also be treated; at least demyelination, impaired nerve conduction, or paralysis may be reduced thereby. Neurological damage may be at least reduced or limited, and symptoms ameliorated thereby.
- MS multiple sclerosis
- neurodegenerative diseases neuronal cells degenerate to bring about deterioration of cognitive function.
- diseases and neurological deficiencies may bring about such degeneration including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington disease or chorea, hypoxia or ischemia caused by stroke, cell death caused by epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mental retardation and the like, as well as neurodegenerative changes resulting from aging.
- neurodegenerative disease is used to denote conditions which result from loss of neurons, neuronal cell injury or loss, and/or injury of other types of brain cells such as oligodendrocytes, brain endothelial cells, other vascular cells, and/or other cell types in the nervous system which may bring about deterioration of a motor or sensory function of the nervous system, cognitive function, higher integrative intellectual functions, memory, vision, hearing etc.
- Such degeneration of neural cells may be caused by Alzheimer's disease characterized by synaptic loss and loss of neurons; Huntington disease or chorea; by pathological conditions caused by temporary lack of blood or oxygen supply to the brain, e.g., brought about by stroke; by epileptic seizures; due to chronic conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mental retardation and the like; as well as due to normal degeneration due to aging.
- diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease have both a neurodegenerative and a vascular component, with or without an inflammatory response, and thus can be treated by the methods of the invention.
- One aspect of the invention includes activated protein C's activities such as a inhibitor of apoptosis or cell death, cell survival factor, and cytoprotective agent.
- the cell may be derived from brain vessels (e.g., an endothelial or smooth muscle cell) of a subject, especially from the endothelium of a brain vessel.
- a neuron an astrocyte, a microglial cell, an oligodendrocyte, or a pericyte; a precursor or a progenitor cell thereof; or other types of differentiated cell from the subject's central or peripheral nervous system.
- neuron includes hundreds of different types of neurons, each with distinct properties. Each type of neuron produces and responds to different combinations of neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors. Neurons are thought not to divide in the adult brain, nor do they generally survive long in vitro.
- the method of the invention provides for the protection from death or senescence of neurons from virtually any region of the brain and spinal cord.
- Neurons include those in embryonic, fetal or adult neural tissue, including tissue from the hippocampus, cerebellum, spinal cord, cortex (e.g., motor or somatosensory cortex), striatum, basal forebrain (e.g., cholinergic neurons), ventral mesencephalon (e.g., cells of the substantia nigra), and the locus ceruleus (e.g., neuroadrenaline cells of the central nervous system).
- cortex e.g., motor or somatosensory cortex
- striatum e.g., basal forebrain (e.g., cholinergic neurons)
- ventral mesencephalon e.g., cells of the substantia nigra
- locus ceruleus e.g., neuroadrenaline cells of the central nervous system
- the present invention may be used to treat myocardial infarction, other heart diseases and their clinical symptoms, endothelial injury, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and failure of the liver, kidney, or central nervous system (CNS).
- ARDS adult respiratory distress syndrome
- CNS central nervous system
- diseases which benefit from the methodologies of the present invention such as for example, coronary arterial occlusion, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, bronchitis, neurotrauma, graft/transplant rejection, myocarditis, diabetic neuropathy, and stroke.
- compositions and methodologies of the present invention are useful in treatment of such injury or prevention thereof.
- Protein C refers to native genes and proteins belonging to this family as well as variants thereof (e.g., mutations and polymorphisms found in nature or artificially designed).
- the chemical structure of the genes and proteins may be a polymer of natural or non-natural nucleotides connected by natural or non- natural covalent linkages (i.e., polynucleotide) or a polymer of natural or non- natural amino acids connected by natural or non-natural covalent linkages (i.e., polypeptide). See Tables 1-4 of WIPO Standard ST.25 (1998) for a nonlimiting list of natural and non-natural nucleotides and amino acids.
- Protein C genes and proteins may be recognized as belonging to this family by comparison to the human homolog PROC, use of nucleic acid binding (e.g., stringent hybridization under conditions of 400 mM NaCI, 40 mM PIPES pH 6.4, 1 mM EDTA, at 50°C or 70°C for an oligonucleotide; 500 mM NaHP0 4 pH 7.2, 7% SDS, 1% BSA, 1 mM EDTA, at 45°C or 65°C for a polynucleotide of 50 bases or longer; and appropriate washing) or protein binding (e.g., specific immunoassay under stringent binding conditions of 50 mM Tris-HCI pH 7.4, 500 mM NaCI, 0.05% TWEEN 20 surfactant, 1 % BSA, at room temperature and appropriate washing); or computer algorithms (Doolittle, Of URFS and ORFS, 1986; Gribskov & Devereux, Sequence Analysis Primer, 1991 ; and references cited therein).
- a “mutation” refers to one or more changes in the sequence of polynucleotides and polypeptides as compared to native protein C, and has at least one function that is more active or less active, an existing function that is changed or absent, a novel function that is not naturally present, or combinations thereof.
- a “polymorphism” also refers to a difference in its sequence as compared to native protein C, but the changes do not necessarily have functional consequences. Mutations and polymorphisms can be made by genetic engineering or chemical synthesis, but the latter is preferred for non-natural nucleotides, amino acids, or linkages. Fusions of domains linked in their reading frames are another way of generating diversity in sequence or mixing-and-matching functional domains.
- homologous protein C and protein S work best together and this indicates that their sequences may have coevolved to optimize interactions between the enzyme and its cofactor.
- Exon shuffling or gene shuffling techniques may be used to select desirable phenotypes in a chosen background (e.g., separable domains with different biological activities, hybrid human/mouse sequences which locate the species determinants).
- Percentage identity between a pair of sequences may be calculated by the algorithm implemented in the BESTFIT computer program (Smith & Waterman. J. Mol. Biol. 147:195-197, 1981 ; Pearson, Genomics 11 :635-650, 1991).
- Another algorithm that calculates sequence divergence has been adapted for rapid database searching and implemented in the BLAST computer program (Altschul et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 25:3389-3402, 1997).
- the protein C polynucleotide or polypeptide may be only about 60% identical at the amino acid level, 70% or more identical, 80% or more identical, 90% or more identical, 95% or more identical, 97% or more identical, or greater than 99% identical.
- amino acid substitutions may also be considered when making comparisons because the chemical similarity of these pairs of amino acid residues are expected to result in functional equivalency in many cases.
- Amino acid substitutions that are expected to conserve the biological function of the polypeptide would conserve chemical attributes of the substituted amino acid residues such as hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, side-chain charge, or size.
- the protein C polypeptide may be only about 80% or more similar, 90% or more similar, 95% or more similar, 97% or more similar, 99% or more similar, or about 100% similar.
- the codons used may also be adapted for translation in a heterologous host by adopting the codon preferences of the host. This would accommodate the translational machinery of the heterologous host without a substantial change in chemical structure of the polypeptide.
- Protein C and variants thereof may be used to determine structure-function relationships (e.g., alanine scanning, conservative or nonconservative amino acid substitution). For example, protein C folding and processing, secretion, receptor binding, signaling through EPCR, PAR-1 , and/or PAR-3, inhibition of p53 signaling, any of the other biological activities described herein, or combinations thereof may be related to changes in the amino acid sequence. See Wells (Bio/Technology 13:647-651', 1995) and U.S. Patent 5,534,617.
- Directed evolution by directed or random mutagenesis or gene shuffling using protein C may be used to acquire new and improved functions in accordance with selection criteria.
- Mutant and polymorphic variant polypeptides are encoded by suitable mutant and polymorphic variant polynucleotides.
- Structure-activity relationships of protein C may be studied (i.e., SAR studies) using variant polypeptides produced with an expression construct transfected in a host cell with or without expressing endogenous protein C.
- mutations in discrete domains of protein C may be associated with decreasing or even increasing activity in the protein's function.
- Gale et al. J. Biol. Chem. 277:28836-28840, 2002 have demonstrated that mutations in the surface loops of APC affect its anticoagualant activity. It has been shown that APC mutants KKK191/193AAA (loop 37), RR229/230AA (calcium loop), RR306/312AA (autolysis loop), RKRR306/314AAAA (autolysis loop) have approximately ⁇ 10%, 5%, 17%, and ⁇ 2% of the anticoagulant activity of native APC, respectively.
- a follow-up study (Mosnier, Gale, & Griffin, unpublished observations) has demonstrated that these APC mutants with reduced anticoagulant activity (i.e., KKK191/193AAA, RR229/230AA,
- RR306/312AA and RKRR306/312AAAA retain the anti-apoptotic activity of APC in staurosporine model of apoptosis.
- Protein C zymogen the precursor of activated protein C, is readily converted to activated protein C within the body by proteases. Protein C may be considered a prodrug form of activated protein C. Thus, the use of activated protein C is expressly intended to include protein C and variants thereof. Treatments with protein C would require appropriately larger doses known to those of skill in the art (see below).
- Recombinant forms of protein C can be produced with a selected chemical structure (e.g., native, mutant, or polymorphic).
- a gene encoding human protein C is described in U.S. Patent 4,775,624 and can be used to produce recombinant human protein C as described in U.S. Patent 4,981 ,952.
- Human protein C can be recombinantly produced in tissue culture and activated as described in U.S. Patent 6,037,322.
- Natural human protein C can be purified from plasma, activated, and assayed as described in U.S.
- Patent 5,084,274 The nucleotide and amino acid sequence disclosed in these patents may be used as a reference for protein C. Dosages, dosing protocols, and protein C variants that reduce bleeding in a subject as compared to activated protein C which is endogenous to subject are preferred. Mutations in the sequence of native protein C may separate the ability to ⁇ educe p53 signaling from other biological activities (e.g., anti- coagulant activity). The cytoprotective activity of protein C may thereby be maintained or increased while decreasing undesirable side effects of the administration of activated protein C (e.g., bleeding in the brain and other organs).
- Activated protein C, a prodrug, or a variant thereof may be used to formulate pharmaceutical compositions with one or more of the utilities disclosed herein. They may be administered in vitro to cells in culture, in vivo to cells in the body, or ex vivo to cells outside of a subject which may then be returned to the body of the same subject or another. The cells may be removed from, transplanted into, or be present in the subject (e.g., genetic modification of endothelial cells in vitro and then returning those cells to brain endothelium).
- Candidate agents may also be screened in vitro or in vivo to select those with desirable properties.
- the cell may be from the endothelium (e.g., an endothelial or smooth muscle cell), especially from the endothelium of a brain vessel. It may also be a neuron; a glial cell; a precursor, progenitor, or stem cell thereof; or another differentiated cell from the central or peripheral nervous system.
- endothelium e.g., an endothelial or smooth muscle cell
- compositions which further comprise a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and compositions which further comprise components useful for delivering the composition to a subject's brain are known in the art. Addition of such carriers and other components to the composition of the invention is well within the level of skill in this art. For example, a permeable material may release its contents to the local area or a tube may direct the contents of a reservoir to a distant location of the brain.
- a pharmaceutical composition may be administered as a formulation which is adapted for direct application to the central nervous system, or suitable for passage through the gut or blood circulation. Alternatively, pharmaceutical compositions may be added to the culture medium. In addition to active compound, such compositions may contain pharmaceutically-acceptable carriers and other ingredients known to facilitate administration and/or enhance uptake.
- a unit dose of the composition is an amount of APC or APC mutants which provides neuroprotection, cytoprotection, inhibits apoptosis or cell death, and/or promotes cell survival but does not provide a clinically significant anticoagulant, profibrinolytic, or antithrombotic effect, a therapeutic level of such activity, or has at least reduced activity in comparison to previously described doses of activated protein C. Measurement of such values are within the skill in the art: clinical laboratories routinely determine these values with standard assays and hematologists classify them as normal or abnormal depending on the situation.
- compositions may be administered by any known route.
- the composition may be administered by a mucosal, pulmonary, topical, or other localized or systemic route (e.g., enteral and parenteral).
- a mucosal, pulmonary, topical, or other localized or systemic route e.g., enteral and parenteral
- achieving an effective amount of activated protein C, prodrug, or functional variant in the central nervous system may be desired. This may involve a depot injection into or surgical implant within the brain.
- "Parenteral" includes subcutaneous, intradermal, intramuscular, intravenous, intra-arterial, intrathecal, and other injection or infusion techniques, without limitation.
- Suitable choices in amounts and timing of doses, formulation, and routes of administration can be made with the goals of achieving a favorable response in the subject (i.e., efficacy), and avoiding undue toxicity or other harm thereto (i.e., safety).
- "effective” refers to such choices that involve routine manipulation of conditions to achieve a desired effect (e.g., inhibition of apoptosis or cell death, promotion of cell survival, neuroprotection, cytoprotection, or combinations thereof).
- effective amount refers to the total amount of activated protein C, prodrug (e.g., protein C), or functional variant which achieves the desired effect.
- Activity can be determined by reference to a low amount of activated protein C (e.g., 0.005 mg/kg or less, 0.01 mg/kg or less, 0.02 mg/kg or less, 0.03 mg/kg or less, 0.04 mg/kg of less); similarly, an "equivalent amount" of prodrug or functional variant with reduced anticoagulant activity can be determined by achieving the same or similar desired neuro- protecive effect as the reference amount of activated protein C, but with reduced risk for bleeding due to reduced anticoagulant activity.
- a low amount of activated protein C e.g., 0.005 mg/kg or less, 0.01 mg/kg or less, 0.02 mg/kg or less, 0.03 mg/kg or less, 0.04 mg/kg of less
- an "equivalent amount" of prodrug or functional variant with reduced anticoagulant activity can be determined by achieving the same or similar desired neuro- protecive effect as the reference amount of activated protein C, but with reduced risk for bleeding due to reduced anticoagulant activity.
- a bolus of the formulation administered only once to a subject is a 5 convenient dosing schedule although achieving an effective concentration of activated protein C in the brain may require more frequent administration.
- Treatment may involve a continuous infusion (e.g., for 3 hr after stroke) or a slow infusion (e.g., for 24 hr to 72 hr when given within 6 hr of stroke). Alternatively, it may be administered every other day, once a week, or once a month.
- Dosage levels of active ingredients in a pharmaceutical composition can also be varied so as to achieve a transient or sustained concentration of the compound or derivative thereof in a subject and to result in the desired therapeutic response. But it is also within the skill of the art to start doses at levels lower than required to achieve the desired therapeutic effect and to gradually increase the dosage 5 until the desired effect is achieved.
- the amount of compound administered is dependent upon factors such as, for example, bioactivity and bioavailability of the compound (e.g., half-life in the body, stability, and metabolism); chemical properties of the compound (e.g., molecular weight, hydrophobicity, and solubility); route and scheduling of 0 administration; and the like. It will also be understood that the specific dose level to be achieved for any particular subject may depend on a variety of factors, including age, health, medical history, weight, combination with one or more other drugs, and severity of disease.
- a low dose may be used to prevent apoptosis or cell death 5 and/or to promote cell survival.
- APC's inhibition of thrombosis, clotting, and/or inflammation which were obtained at higher doses.
- APC's anti-inflammatory effects are possibly mediated by down regulation of the NF- ⁇ B pathway.
- a single bolus of APC (e.g., 0 0.005 mg/kg or less, 0.01 mg/kg or less, 0.02 mg/kg or less, 0.03 mg/kg or less, 0.04 mg/kg or less administered over 1 min) may be sufficient to be directly neuroprotective without having a significant anti-thrombotic effect in brain circulation.
- less than 0.005 mg/kg, less than 0.01 mg/kg, less than 0.02 mg/kg, less than 0.03 mg/kg, or less than 0.04 mg/kg are doses which can be formulated and administered in accordance with the teachings herein.
- An illustrative amount may be calculated for a 70 kg adult human, and this may be sufficient to treat humans of between 50 kg and 90 kg.
- the effective or equivalent amount may be packaged in a "unit dose" with written instructions for achieving one or more desired effects and/or avoiding one or more undesired effects.
- the aforementioned formulations, routes of administration, and dosing schedules are merely illustrative of the techniques which may be used.
- treatment refers to, inter alia, reducing or alleviating one or more symptoms of neurodegenerative disease.
- standard therapy such as stroke treatment with a tissue plasminogen activator may be compared with and without activated protein C, a drug, or a variant thereof.
- improvement in a symptom, its worsening, regression, or progression may be determined by objective or subjective measures.
- the subject in need of treatment may be at risk for or already affected by neurodegenerative disease; treatment may be initiated before and/or after diagnosis.
- an indication that treatment is effective may be improved neurological outcome, motor or sensory functions, cognitive functions, psychomotor functions, motor neurological functions, higher integrative intellectual functions, memory, vision, hearing, etc.; reduced brain damage and injury as evidenced by noninvasive image analysis (e.g., MRI or brain perfusion imaging); or combinations thereof.
- This effect may be confirmed by neuropathological analysis of brain tissue.
- reduction in a neurodegenerative process by stabilizing brain endothelial cell functions and preventing their death will lead to improvements in the cerebral blood flow (CBF) and normalization of CBF regulatory functions.
- CBF cerebral blood flow
- apoptosis or a marker thereof e.g., DNA content and fragmentation
- increased cell survival, decreased cell death, or combinations thereof can be demonstrated in an animal model.
- These benefits may be achieved with little or no significant system anticoagulation in human or animal subjects.
- reduced p53 signaling, normalized Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, reduced caspase-3 signaling, or combinations thereof may be observed.
- Increase or decrease may be determined by comparison to treatment with or without activated protein C, a prodrug, or a variant thereof, or to the expected effects of untreated disease.
- Treatment may also involve other existing modes of treatment and agents (e.g., protein S, fibrinolytic or antithrombotic agents, steroidal or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents).
- agents e.g., protein S, fibrinolytic or antithrombotic agents, steroidal or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents.
- combination treatment may be practiced (e.g., APC and tPA administered concurrently or sequentially).
- APC a systemic anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory factor 1"3 , reduces organ damage in animal models of sepsis, ischemic injury and stroke 1 ,4 ' 5 .
- APC significantly reduces mortality in patients with severe sepsis 6 .
- Whether APC acts as a direct cell survival factor or whether the neuroprotection by APC 5,7 is secondary to its anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory effects is not known 1"3 .
- APC prevents apoptosis in hypoxic human brain endothelium through transcriptionally-dependent inhibition of tumor suppressor protein p53, normalization of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and reduction of caspase-3 signaling.
- APC anti-apoptotic genes
- Bcl2-related protein A1 inhibitor of apoptosis 1
- APC cytoprotection of brain endothelium in vitro required endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) and protease activated receptor 1 (PAR-1), as did APC's in vivo neuroprotective activity in an ischemic stroke model 5 in mice with a severe deficiency of EPCR 10 , consistent with work showing APC direct effects on cultured cells via EPCR and PAR-1 9 .
- the in vivo neuroprotective effects of low dose APC appeared to be independent of its anticoagulant activity.
- APC protects brain from ischemia by acting directly on brain cells.
- APC can directly protect perturbed neurons from cell injury and apoptosis.
- APC interferes with N-methyl-D- aspartate (NMDA) apoptosis in cultured mouse cortical neurons by blocking p53 and caspase-3 pro-apoptotic signaling.
- NMDA N-methyl-D- aspartate
- APC's direct neuroprotective effects on perturbed mouse neurons in vitro and in vivo required PAR-1 and PAR-3 on neurons, consistent with our findings in hypoxic brain endothelial cells that EPCR-dependent signaling by APC through PAR-1 prevents p53-dependent apoptosis of endothelium.
- the present work also demonstrates that APC directly prevents in vitro and in vivo NMDA-induced neuronal apoptosis, suggesting APC may limit neuronal damage in neurodegenerative disorders caused by overstimulation of NMDA receptors.
- APC lacking the active site serine, recombinant murine APC, and mouse anti- human APC IgG were prepared as described 17 ' 24 or using known techniques.
- BEC Human microvascular brain endothelial cells
- Primary BEC were isolated from rapid (less than 3 hr) autopsies from neurologically normal young individuals after trauma. BEC were characterized and cultured as described previously 27 . After FACS sorting using Dil-Ac-LDL, cells were greater than 98% positive for the endothelial markers von Willebrand factor and CD105, and negative for GFAP (astrocytes), CD11 b (macrophages/microglia) and ⁇ -actin (smooth muscle cells). Early passage (P3-P5) cells were used for all studies.
- hypoxia/aglycemia as an in vitro model of ischemic injury as described 14 . Briefly, 0.7 x 10 6 BEC were seeded on 100 mm plate in RPMI1640 medium supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum, endothelial cell growth supply (30 ⁇ g/ml, Sigma), and heparin (5 U/ml, Sigma). Twenty-four hours later, the cells were washed twice with PBS and then transferred to serum-free Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Media (DMEM) medium without glucose and exposed to severe hypoxia (less than 2% oxygen) using an anaerobic chamber (Forma Scientific) equipped with a humidified, temperature-controlled incubator.
- DMEM Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Media
- Protein samples were collected for Western blot analysis after 2 hr, 4 hr, 8 hr or 24 hr of either hypoxia or normoxia (control). Protein concentration was determined using bicinchoninic acid kit (Pierce). Equal amounts of protein (10 ⁇ g/lane) were separated by 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and transferred onto nitrocellulose membrane. The membranes were probed with different antibodies using standard immuno- blotting techniques. The relative abundance of each protein was determined by scanning densitometry using ⁇ -actin as an internal control. Comparisons between different treatments were performed within the linear intensity range of their respective signals.
- BEC 5.6 x 10 4 /well, 12-well plate
- IgG active caspase-3 staining
- RNA Reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis.
- Total RNA was isolated from BEC using RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen). About 1 ⁇ g total RNA was used for the cDNA syntheses with SuperscriptTM First-Strand Synthesis System (Invitrogen). Semiquantitative RT-PCR was conducted with 3 ⁇ l RT product; the thermal cycle conditions were 94°C for 4 min; 94°C for 30 sec/60°C for 30 sec/72°C for 45 sec (30 cycles); 72°C for 10 min.
- p53 and GAPDH specific primer sets were purchased from Biosource International.
- PCR products (p53: 213 bp; GAPDH: 231 bp) were electrophoresed on 1.5% agarose gel and detected with ethidium bromide staining. Comparisons between different treatments were performed by scanning densitometry using 30 cycles that was within the linear range of the signal.
- Neurological examinations were scored as follows: no neurological deficit (0), failure to extend left forepaw fully (1), turning to left (2), circling to left (3), unable to walk spontaneously (4), and stroke-related death (5).
- Unfixed 1-mm coronal brain slices were incubated in 2% tnphenyltetrazolium chloride in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and serial coronal sections were displayed on a digitizing video screen (Jandel Scientific). Brain infarct and edema volume were calculated with Swanson correction as described 5 .
- murine APC 0.2 mg/kg was determined in mice with severe deficiency in EPCR 10 and in wild-type C57BL/6 mice in the presence and absence of anti-PAR-1 antibodies (H-111 , 40 g/mouse) infused 10 min prior the MCAO.
- anti-PAR-1 antibodies H-111 , 40 g/mouse
- fibrin was quantified by Western blotting with anti-fibrin II antibody (NYB-T2G1 , Accurate Chemical Scientific Corp.) and leukocytes were stained with CD11 b antibody (DAKO, 1 :250) 5 .
- Endothelial dysfunction is critical during ischemic injury including ischemic brain damage. Stress signals 11"13 and hypoxia 14"16 cause cellular injury partly through the action of the tumor suppressor protein p53.
- APC exerts anti-apoptotic effects during ischemic brain damage by preventing p53-mediated apoptosis
- Fig. 1 a illustrates time-dependent release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from hypoxic primary human BEC. LDH release (corrected for the basal release under normoxic conditions) indicated hypoxic injury in 60% to 70% of cells between 8 hr and 24 hr.
- Hirudin a specific thrombin inhibitor (1 ⁇ g/ml)
- hypoxic BEC were greater than 65% TUNEL-positive and also exhibited chromatin condensation and nuclear shrinkage (Fig. 1c, middle panels; Fig. 1d).
- Fig. 1d demonstrates dose-dependent anti-apoptotic effect of APC in hypoxic BEC with EC 5 o of about 15 nM.
- pro-apoptotic transcription factor p53 and an increased pro-apoptotic Bax/Bcl-2 ratio are involved in ischemic injury of brain endothelium as previously reported for hypoxic injury in several different cell types 14"16 .
- This chain of events resulted in activation of caspase-3, a major protease that plays a role in disassembling the nucleus by proteolysis of several nuclear substrates 21 , in about 65% of cells (Fig. 2e, middle panel, left).
- Caspase-3 positive cells had condensed chromatin and/or nuclear fragmentation on Hoechst staining consistent with apoptosis (Fig. 2e, middle panel, right) and increased caspase-3 activity.
- APC reduced the increased levels of p53 in hypoxic BEC at 2 hr and 4 hr by 77% and 79% and of Bax by 65% and 68%, respectively (Figs. 2c-2d).
- APC markedly increased the amount of Bcl-2 at 2 hr and 4 hr of hypoxia compared to vehicle-treated controls (Fig. 2c-2d).
- the APC-induced normalizations of p53 levels and of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were associated with a significant reduction (greater than 60%) of caspase-3 positive cells in the presence of APC (Fig. 2e, lower panel). Similar reductions in the number of cells exhibiting apoptotic nuclear changes were also observed in the presence of APC.
- hypoxia induced a rapid transient increase in p53 mRNA transcripts within the first 30 min that was strongly inhibited by APC (Figs. 3a-3b). At later time points, hypoxia did not alter the levels of p53 transcripts and they normalized within 1 hr (Fig. 3). In contrast to hypoxic BEC, APC did not affect p53 levels in normoxic cells.
- a major pathway regulating post-translational p53 proteosomal degradation involves binding to the oncoprotein, murine double minute-2 (Mdm2), while phosphorylation of p53 stabilizes the protein by precluding the Mdm2 binding and subsequent proteosomal degradation of p53 11 ' 13 .
- Mdm2 murine double minute-2
- phosphorylation of p53 stabilizes the protein by precluding the Mdm2 binding and subsequent proteosomal degradation of p53 11 ' 13 .
- p53 phosphorylation on Ser20 or Ser15 a known phosphorylation site for an ataxia telengiectasia mutated kinase in response to DNA damage 12 , was undetectable. Changes in Mdm2 protein during hypoxia were undetectable, and direct effects of APC on Mdm2 protein levels were not observed.
- BcI2-related protein A1 Bcl2A1
- clAPI inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1
- eNOS endothelial nitric oxide synthase
- APC did not affect clAPI (Fig. 3c) or eNOS levels that were increased in hypoxia at 4 hr as reported 23 .
- clAPI Fig. 3c
- eNOS eNOS
- NMDA N-methyl- D-aspartate
- NMDA-induced neuronal apoptosis Several mechanisms potentially involved in NMDA-induced neuronal apoptosis include increases in p53 and Bax 33'35 , a proapototic member of the Bcl-2 gene family and a transcriptional product of p53 19 , activation of caspase-3 signaling 36,37 resulting in proteolysis of several nuclear substrates, and generation of nitric oxide 29,30,38 . Since EPCR-dependent signaling by APC through PAR-1 prevents p53-dependent apoptosis of endothelium as shown in Figs. 1-4 39 , we hypothesized that APC may exert its direct neuronal protective effects on NMDA- induced apoptosis by blocking p53 and caspase-3 signaling through PARs on neurons.
- APC blocks NMDA-induced apoptosis in cultured mouse cortical neurons by reducing p53 and caspase-3 pro-apoptotic signaling. Moreover, direct intracerebral infusions of APC significantly reduced NMDA excitotoxic brain lesions in mice. APC's direct neuroprotective effects on perturbed mouse neurons in vitro and in vivo required PAR-1 and PAR-3 on neurons, suggesting APC may limit neuronal damage in neurodegenerative disorders caused by overstimulation of NMDA receptors.
- EXAMPLE 2 EXAMPLE 2:
- N-methyl-D-aspartate was purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO).
- Human APC, recombinant mouse APC, protein C zymogen, APC mutants, and mouse IgG against human APC (C3 antibody) were prepared as described 17,26 .
- Neuronal culture Primary neuronal cultures were established as described 40 .
- cerebral cortex was dissected from fetal C57BL/6J mice at 16 days of gestation, treated with trypsin for 10 min at 37°C, and dissociated by trituration.
- Dissociated cell suspensions were plated at 5 x 10 5 cells per well on 12-well tissue culture plates or at 4 x 10 6 cells per dish on 60 mm tissue culture dishes coated with poly-D-lysine, in serum-free Neurobasal medium plus B27 supplement (Gibco BRL, Rockville, MD). The medium suppresses glial growth to less than 2% of the total cell population. The absence of astrocytes was confirmed by the lack of glial fibrillary acidic protein staining. Cultures were maintained in a humidified 5% CO 2 incubator at 37°C for seven days before treatment. Medium was replaced every three days.
- NMDA-induced apoptosis in neuronal culture For induction of neuronal apoptosis, cultures were exposed for 10 min to 300 ⁇ M NMDA/5 ⁇ M glycine in Mg 2+ -free Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) as described 29 . Control cultures were exposed to EBSS alone.
- EBSS Earle's balanced salt solution
- cultures were rinsed with EBSS, returned to the original culture medium and incubated with different concentrations of either human APC (1-100 nM) or recombinant mouse APC (1-100 nM) for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 hr, protein C zymogen (100 nM), anti- APC IgG (C3, 11 ⁇ g/ml), Ser360Ala-APC (100 nM) or boiled APC (100 nM) for 24 hr.
- Different anti-PARs antibodies (20 ⁇ g /ml) were added to the incubation medium simultaneously with mouse recombinant APC (10 nM) after NMDA exposure.
- TFLLRNPNDK (10 ⁇ M) and SLIGRL (100 ⁇ M) were added to the incubation medium after NMDA exposure.
- Detection of apoptosis Apoptotic cells were visualized by in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated digoxigenin-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay according to the manufacturer's instructions (Intergen Company, Purchase, NY). Cells were counterstained with the DNA-binding fluorescent dye, Hoechst 33342 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) at 1 mg/ml for 10 min at room temperature to reveal nuclear morphology. The number of apoptotic cells was expressed as the percentage of TUNEL-positive cells of the total number of nuclei determined by Hoechst staining.
- the cells were counted in 10 to 20 random fields (30X magnification) by two independent observers blinded to the experimental conditions. The number of cells under basal conditions (vehicle only) was subtracted from the number of apoptotic cells in control and experimental groups.
- Double-labeling for in situ DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 Subsequent to visualization of fragmented DNA with TUNEL, cells were permeabilized with 0.4% Tween 20 for 30 min and blocked with 10% normal goat serum in PBS for 30 min at room temperature. A primary anti-caspase-3 antibody was applied overnight at 4°C. After washing in PBS three times, cells were incubated with rhodamine conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG (1 :150) for 1 hr at 37°C.
- Proteolytic activity of caspase-3 was analyzed by using an ApoAlert caspase colorimetric assay kit (Clontech, Palo Alto, CA). Cells were washed with PBS and resuspended in cell lysis buffer. Protein (50 ⁇ g) was incubated with 50 ⁇ M caspase 3 substrate (DEVD-pNA) at 37°C. The colorimetric release of p-nitroaniline from Ac-DEVD-pNA substrate was recorded every 10 min at 405 nm with a microplate reader. Enzymatic activity was expressed in arbitrary units of per mg protein per min.
- Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Nuclear proteins were extracted from cortical neuronal cultures at 0, 0.5, 1 , 2, 3 and 6 hr after exposure to NMDA using NE-PERTM nuclear and cytoplasmic extraction reagents according to manufacturer's instructions (Pierce, Rockford, IL). Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were exposed to E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (200 ng/ml) for 4 hr as a positive control. The activation of NF- ⁇ B was determined by its binding to the consensus sequence (5'-AGT TGA GGG GAC TTT CCC AGG-3').
- NF- ⁇ B consensus oligonucleotides (Promega, Wl) were labeled using digoxigenin gel shift kit (Roche, Indianapolis, IN). Labeled oligonucleotides were incubated with 30 ⁇ g nuclear protein extracts at room temperature for 20 min in the reaction buffer (Roche, Indianapolis, IN). Nuclear extracts incubated with NF- ⁇ B consensus sequence were run immediately on 4% native polyacrylamide gel in 0.25x TBE. The gel was transferred to Nitron* membrane (Amersham, Piscataway, NJ) and the signal detected according to the manufacturer's manual (Roche, Indianapolis, IN).
- mice Intrastriatal NMDA microinjections in mice. All procedures were done as described 30 and in accordance with the Animal Care Guidelines at the University of Rochester approved by the National Institutes of Health. C57BL/6J mice, 23-25 g, male were anesthetized with i.p. ketamine (100 mg/kg) and xylazine (10 mg/kg).
- the solutions were infused over 2 min using a microinjection system (World Precision Instruments, Sarasota, FL).
- mice were sacrificed under deep anesthesia for analysis of excitotoxic lesions. Mice were transcardially perfused with PBS followed by 4% paraformaldehyde in 0.1 M of PBS, pH 7.4. The brains were removed and coronal sections at a 30 ⁇ m thickness were prepared using a Vibratome. Every fifth section 1 mm anterior and posterior to the site of injection was stained with cresyl violet. The lesion area was identified by the loss of staining as reported 30 . The lesion areas were determined by an image analyzer (Image-ProPlus, Media Cybernetics, Silver Spring, MD) and integrated to obtain the volume of injury. Statistical analysis. Data were presented as mean ⁇ SEM. ANOVA was used to determine statistically significant differences. P ⁇ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
- Fig. 5a illustrates significant anti-apoptotic effect of human APC (100 nM) on NMDA-perturbed mouse cortical neurons.
- APC reduced in a time-dependent manner the NMDA-induced increase in caspase-3 activity (Fig. 5c) and the number of TUNEL-positive cells (Fig. 5d).
- Fig. 5e shows dose-dependent neuronal protection by human and mouse recombinant APC.
- the IC 5 o values for reducing neuronal apoptosis for human and mouse APC in the NMDA model were 49 and 5 nM, respectively, confirming significantly higher efficacy of the species homologous mouse APC consistent with the above and a recent report in a mouse stroke model 39 .
- APC significantly reduces up to 60% the increased levels of the tumor suppressor protein p53 in nuclear extracts of NMDA-treated neurons between 3 hr and 24 hr (Figs. 6a and 6d), and reduces the levels of p53 mRNA transcripts (Fig. 6b), consistent with its effects in ischemic brain endothelium 39 .
- NMDA nuclear factor KB
- NF-KB nuclear factor KB 42 that can be either anti-apoptotic or pro-apoptotic 43
- NMDA did not induce NF- ⁇ B translocation into the nucleus in cortical cells (Fig. 6e) whereas in the positive control, E. coli lipopolysacharide did cause NF- ⁇ B translocation in umbilical vein endothelium (Fig. 6e). This confirms that in the present NMDA- induced apoptosis model, NF- ⁇ B nuclear translocation is not involved in neuronal apoptosis.
- APC tissue plasminogen activator 44 .
- APC did not cleave either the NR1 or NR2A subunits of NMDA receptors (Fig. 6f), confirming that APC does not modify the properties of NMDA receptors and suggesting APC acts downstream from NMDA receptor stimulation.
- NMDA receptors mediate ischemic brain injury, but blocking these receptors can be deleterious to animals and humans 45,46 .
- activation of PAR-1 in neurons may be anti-apoptotic, as in the case of APC and low dose thrombin.
- the pro-apoptotic activity of higher levels of thrombin may involve the action of thrombin on substrates other than PAR-1 (e.g., PAR- 4) and/or differences in amplitude and duration of PAR-1 signaling.
- APC cleaves a synthetic PAR-1 N-terminal polypeptide at Arg 41 , the thrombin cleavage site, at a rate 5,000 times slower than thrombin 52 . Presumably, binding of APC to plasma membrane phospholipids or EPCR near the extracellular N-terminal tail of PAR-1 accelerates APC's cleavage at Arg 41.
- APC mutants which lack wild-type levels of anticoagulant activity may retain normal neuroprotective activity.
- Human APC protease domain mutants with low anticoagulant activity were assayed for their anti-apoptotic activity using NMDA-perturbed mouse neurons in vitro and in vivo as well as hypoxic human brain endothelial cells in vitro (Figs. 9a-9f). The procedures and animal models used to assay neuroprotective activity of APC mutants were as described above.
- Such APC mutants are termed "functional mutants" because they are selectively deficient in APC's anticoagulant activity and therefore may have less risk of bleeding.
- the IC 5 o values of 3K3A-APC and 229/30-APC on NMDA-treated mouse neurons and hypoxic human BEC were approximately 11 nM and 18 nM, respectively, and around 10-12 nM for both.
- the present findings indicate that APC has direct neuronal protective properties that do not depend on its systemic actions, and that APC prevents neuronal apoptosis by directly acting on perturbed neurons.
- APC prevents neuronal apoptosis by directly acting on perturbed neurons.
- clot-dissolving tPA protease exerts direct brain cell neurotoxicity 24,44 .
- APC acting via PAR-1 and PAR-3 may critically limit neuronal damage by preventing NMDA-induced neuronal apoptosis in neurodegenerative disorders associated with overstimulation of NMDA receptors.
- EPCR endothelial cell protein C receptor
- Tumor suppressor p53 is a direct transcriptional activator of the human bax gene. Cell 80:293-299 (1995). 20.Yamamoto et al. Contribution of Bcl-2, but not Bcl-xL and Bax, to antiapoptotic actions of hepatocyte growth factor in hypoxia-conditioned human endothelial cells. Hypertension 37:1341-1348 (2001 ). 21. Faleiro et al. Caspases disrupt the nuclear-cytoplasmic barrier. J. Cell Biol.
- NMDA N-methyl-D-aspartate
- protease thrombin is an endogenous mediator of hippocampal neuroprotection against ischemia at low concentrations but causes degeneration at high concentrations.
Abstract
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ES03790377.0T ES2504365T3 (en) | 2002-12-05 | 2003-12-05 | The neuroprotective activity of activated protein C is independent of its anticoagulant activity |
DK03790377.0T DK1567199T3 (en) | 2002-12-05 | 2003-12-05 | Neuroprotective activity of activated protein C is independent of its anticoagulant activity |
US10/537,545 US20070142272A1 (en) | 2003-01-24 | 2003-12-05 | Neuroprotective activity of activated protein c independent of its anticoagulant activity |
AU2003293429A AU2003293429A1 (en) | 2002-12-05 | 2003-12-05 | Neuroprotective activity of activated protein c is independent of its anticoagulant activity |
CA2508276A CA2508276C (en) | 2002-12-05 | 2003-12-05 | Neuroprotective activity of activated protein c is independent of its anticoagulant activity |
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EP1651252A2 (en) * | 2003-07-08 | 2006-05-03 | The Scripps Research Institute | Activated protein c variants with normal cytoprotective activity but reduced anticoagulant activity |
EP2086568A2 (en) * | 2006-10-30 | 2009-08-12 | The Scrips Research Institute | Activated protein c variants with normal cytoprotective activity but reduced anticoagulant activity |
US7968515B2 (en) | 2002-09-30 | 2011-06-28 | Socratech L.L.C. | Protein S protects the nervous system from injury |
US9982035B2 (en) | 2013-12-13 | 2018-05-29 | Cambridge Enterprise Limited | Modified serpins for the treatment of bleeding disorders |
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