Heddwen L Brooks

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• Brooks, H. L., Barrett, K., Boitano, S., & Barman, S. (2012). Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology 24th edition.
• Brooks, H. L., Barrett, K., Boitano, S., & Barman, S. (2009). Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology 23rd edition.

Journals/Publications

• Uhlorn, J. A., Husband, N. A., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Moffett, C., Lindsey, M. L., Langlais, P. R., & Brooks, H. L. (2021). CD4 T Cell-Specific Proteomic Pathways Identified in Progression of Hypertension Across Postmenopausal Transition. Journal of the American Heart Association, 10(2), e018038.
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  Background Menopause is associated with an increase in the prevalence and severity of hypertension in women. Although premenopausal females are protected against T cell-dependent immune activation and development of angiotensin II (Ang II) hypertension, this protection is lost in postmenopausal females. Therefore, the current study hypothesized that specific CD4 T cell pathways are regulated by sex hormones and Ang II to mediate progression from premenopausal protection to postmenopausal hypertension. Methods and Results Menopause was induced in C57BL/6 mice via repeated 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide injections, while premenopausal females received sesame oil vehicle. A subset of premenopausal mice and all menopausal mice were infused with Ang II for 14 days (Control, Ang II, Meno/Ang II). Proteomic and phosphoproteomic profiles of CD4 T cells isolated from spleens were examined. Ang II markedly increased CD4 T cell protein abundance and phosphorylation associated with DNA and histone methylation in both premenopausal and postmenopausal females. Compared with premenopausal T cells, Ang II infusion in menopausal mice increased T cell phosphorylation of MP2K2, an upstream regulator of ERK, and was associated with upregulated phosphorylation at ERK targeted sites. Additionally, Ang II infusion in menopausal mice decreased T cell phosphorylation of TLN1, a key regulator of IL-2Rα and FOXP3 expression. Conclusions These findings identify novel, distinct T cell pathways that influence T cell-mediated inflammation during postmenopausal hypertension.
• Adams, J. C., Bell, P. D., Bodine, S. C., Brooks, H. L., Bunnett, N., Joe, B., Keehan, K. H., Kleyman, T. R., Marette, A., Morty, R. E., Ramírez, J. M., Thomsen, M. B., Yates, B. J., & Zucker, I. H. (2020). An American Physiological Society cross-journal Call for Papers on "Deconstructing Organs: Single-Cell Analyses, Decellularized Organs, Organoids, and Organ-on-a-Chip Models". American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology, 319(2), L266-L272.
• Hammond, M., Bell, E., Anderson, S., Webb-Davies, P., Ohala, D. K., Carnie, A. H., & Brooks, H. L. (2019). Category-specific effects in Welsh mutation. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 5(1), 1-. doi:http://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.1007
• Konhilas, J. P., Sanchez, J. N., Regan, J. A., Constantopoulos, E., Lopez-Pier, M., Cannon, D. K., Skaria, R., McKee, L. A., Chen, H., Lipovka, Y., Pollow, D., & Brooks, H. L. (2020). Using 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide as a model of menopause for cardiovascular disease. American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 318(6), H1461-H1473.
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  There is a sharp rise in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and progression with the onset of menopause. The 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) model of menopause recapitulates the natural, physiological transition through perimenopause to menopause. We hypothesized that menopausal female mice were more susceptible to CVD than pre- or perimenopausal females. Female mice were treated with VCD or vehicle for 20 consecutive days. Premenopausal, perimenopausal, and menopausal mice were administered angiotensin II (ANG II) or subjected to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Menopausal females were more susceptible to pathological ANG II-induced cardiac remodeling and cardiac injury from a myocardial infarction (MI), while perimenopausal, like premenopausal, females remained protected. Specifically, ANG II significantly elevated diastolic (130.9 ± 6.0 vs. 114.7 ± 6.2 mmHg) and systolic (156.9 ± 4.8 vs. 141.7 ± 5.0 mmHg) blood pressure and normalized cardiac mass (15.9 ± 1.0 vs. 7.7 ± 1.5%) to a greater extent in menopausal females compared with controls, whereas perimenopausal females demonstrated a similar elevation of diastolic (93.7 ± 2.9 vs. 100.5 ± 4.1 mmHg) and systolic (155.9 ± 7.3 vs. 152.3 ± 6.5 mmHg) blood pressure and normalized cardiac mass (8.3 ± 2.1 vs. 7.5 ± 1.4%) compared with controls. Similarly, menopausal females demonstrated a threefold increase in fibrosis measured by Picrosirus red staining. Finally, hearts of menopausal females (41 ± 5%) showed larger infarct sizes following I/R injury than perimenopausal (18.0 ± 5.6%) and premenopausal (16.2 ± 3.3, 20.1 ± 4.8%) groups. Using the VCD model of menopause, we provide evidence that menopausal females were more susceptible to pathological cardiac remodeling. We suggest that the VCD model of menopause may be critical to better elucidate cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the transition to CVD susceptibility in menopausal women. Before menopause, women are protected against cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with age-matched men; this protection is gradually lost after menopause. We present the first evidence that demonstrates menopausal females are more susceptible to pathological cardiac remodeling while perimenopausal and cycling females are not. The VCD model permits appropriate examination of how increased susceptibility to the pathological process of cardiac remodeling accelerates from pre- to perimenopause to menopause.
• Staruschenko, A., & Brooks, H. L. (2020). O'Brien Kidney Research Centers. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 319(6), F1042.
• Pollow, D. P., Uhlorn, J. A., Sylvester, M. A., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Uhrlaub, J. L., Lindsey, M. L., Nikolich-Zugich, J., & Brooks, H. L. (2019). Menopause and FOXP3 Treg cell depletion eliminate female protection against T cell-mediated angiotensin II hypertension. American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 317(2), H415-H423.
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  Although it is known that the prevalence and severity of hypertension increases in women after menopause, the contribution of T cells to this process has not been explored. Although the immune system is both necessary and required for the development of angiotensin II (ANG II) hypertension in men, we have demonstrated that premenopausal women are protected from T cell-mediated hypertension. The goal of the current study was to test the hypotheses that ) female protection against T cell-mediated ANG II hypertension is eliminated following progression into menopause and ) T regulatory cells (Tregs) provide premenopausal protection against ANG II-induced hypertension. Menopause was induced in Rag-1 mice (via 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide), and all mice received a 14-day ANG II infusion. Donor CD3 T cells were adoptively transferred 3 wk before ANG II infusion. In the absence of T cells, systolic blood pressure responses to ANG II were similar to those seen in premenopausal mice (Δ12 mmHg). After adoptive transfer of T cells, ANG II significantly increased systolic blood pressure in postmenopausal females (Δ28 mmHg). A significant increase in F4/80 positive renal macrophages, an increase in renal inflammatory gene expression, along with a reduction in renal expression of mannose receptor C-type 1, a marker for M2 macrophages, accompanied the increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP). Flow cytometric analysis identified that Tregs were significantly decreased in the spleen and kidneys of Rag-1 menopausal mice versus premenopausal females, following ANG II infusion. In a validation study, an anti-CD25 antibody was used to deplete Tregs in premenopausal mice, which induced a significant increase in SBP. These results demonstrate that premenopausal protection against T cell-mediated ANG II hypertension is eliminated once females enter menopause, suggesting that a change in hormonal status upregulates macrophage-induced proinflammatory and T cell-dependent responses. Furthermore, we are the first to report that the presence of Tregs are required to suppress ANG II hypertension in premenopausal females. Whether progression into menopause eliminated female protection against T cell-mediated hypertension was examined. Menopausal mice without T cells remained protected against angiotensin II (ANG II) hypertension; however, in the presence of T cells, blood pressure responses to ANG II increased significantly in menopause. Underlying mechanisms examined were anti-inflammatory protection provided by T regulatory cells in premenopausal females and renal inflammatory processes involving macrophage infiltration and cytokine activation.
• Sylvester, M. A., & Brooks, H. L. (2019). Sex-Specific Mechanisms in Inflammation and Hypertension. Current hypertension reports, 21(7), 53.
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  Despite enhanced screening and therapeutic management, hypertension remains the most prevalent chronic disease in the United States and the leading cause of heart disease, chronic kidney disease, and stroke in both men and women. It is widely accepted that hypertension is a pro-inflammatory disease and that the immune system plays a vital role in mediating hypertensive outcomes and end organ damage. Despite known discrepancies in the risk of hypertension development between men and women, preclinical models of immune-mediated hypertension were historically developed solely in male animals, leading to a lack of sex-specific clinical practice guidelines or therapeutic targets.
• Brooks, H. L., & Lindsey, M. L. (2018). Guidelines for Authors and Reviewers on Antibody Use in Physiology Studies. American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology.
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  Antibody use is a critical component of cardiovascular physiology research, and antibodies are used to monitor protein abundance (immunoblotting) and protein expression and localization (in tissue by immunohistochemistry and in cells by immunocytochemistry). With ongoing discussions on how to improve reproducibility and rigor, the goal of this review is to provide best practice guidelines regarding how to optimize antibody use for increased rigor and reproducibility in both immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry approaches.
• Irsik, D. L., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Chavez, E. M., Fallet, R. W., Brooks, H. L., Carmines, P. K., & Lane, P. H. (2018). Renoprotective impact of estrogen receptor-α and its splice variants in female mice with type 1 diabetes. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 315(3), F512-F520.
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  Estrogen has been implicated in the regulation of growth and immune function in the kidney, which expresses the full-length estrogen receptor-α (ERα66), its ERα splice variants, and estrogen receptor-β (ERβ). Thus, we hypothesized that these splice variants may inhibit the glomerular enlargement that occurs early in type 1 diabetes (T1D). T1D was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) injection in 8- to 12-wk-old female mice lacking ERα66 (ERα66KO) or all ERα variants (αERKO), and their wild-type (WT) littermates. Basal renal ERα36 protein expression was reduced in the ERα66KO model and was downregulated by T1D in WT mice. T1D did not alter ERα46 or ERβ in WT-STZ; however, ERα46 was decreased modestly in ERα66KO mice. Renal hypertrophy was evident in all diabetic mice. F4/80-positive immunostaining was reduced in ERα66KO compared with WT and αERKO mice but was higher in STZ than in Control mice across all genotypes. Glomerular area was greater in WT and αERKO than in ERα66KO mice, with T1D-induced glomerular enlargement apparent in WT-STZ and αERKO-STZ, but not in ERα66KO-STZ mice. Proteinuria and hyperfiltration were evident in ERα66KO-STZ and αERKO-STZ, but not in WT-STZ mice. These data indicate that ERα splice variants may exert an inhibitory influence on glomerular enlargement and macrophage infiltration during T1D; however, effects of splice variants are masked in the presence of the full-length ERα66, suggesting that ERα66 acts in opposition to its splice variants to influence these parameters. In contrast, hyperfiltration and proteinuria in T1D are attenuated via an ERα66-dependent mechanism that is unaffected by splice variant status.
• Ram, S., Majdi, M. S., Rodriguez, J. J., Gao, Y., & Brooks, H. L. (2018). Classification of Primary Cilia in Microscopy Images Using Convolutional Neural Random Forests. 2018 IEEE SOUTHWEST SYMPOSIUM ON IMAGE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION (SSIAI), 89-92.
• Small, D. M., Sanchez, W. Y., Roy, S. F., Morais, C., Brooks, H. L., Coombes, J. S., Johnson, D. W., & Gobe, G. C. (2018). N-acetyl cysteine increases cellular dysfunction in progressive chronic kidney damage after acute kidney injury by dampening endogenous antioxidant responses. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology.
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  Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction exacerbate acute kidney injury (AKI) but their role in any associated progress to chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. Antioxidant therapies often benefit AKI but their benefits in CKD are controversial since clinical and pre-clinical investigations often conflict. Here we examined the influence of the antioxidant, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) on oxidative stress and mitochondrial function during AKI (20-minute bilateral renal ischemia plus reperfusion/IR) and progression to chronic kidney pathologies in mice. NAC (5% in diet) was given to mice 7 days prior and up to 21 days post-IR (21d-IR). NAC treatment: prevented proximal tubular epithelial cell apoptosis at early IR (40-min post-ischemia), yet enhanced interstitial cell proliferation at 21d-IR; increased Transforming growth factor-β1 expression independent of IR time; and significantly dampened nuclear factor-like 2-initiated cytoprotective signalling at early IR. Long-term, NAC enhanced cellular metabolic impairment demonstrated by increased peroxisome proliferator activator-gamma serine-112 phosphorylation at 21d-IR. Intravital multiphoton microscopy revealed increased endogenous fluorescence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) in cortical tubular epithelial cells during ischemia and at 21d-IR that was not attenuated with NAC. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy demonstrated persistent metabolic impairment by increased free/bound NADH in the cortex at 21d-IR that was enhanced by NAC. Increased mitochondrial dysfunction in remnant tubular cells was demonstrated at 21d-IR by tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester fluorimetry. In summary, NAC enhanced progression to CKD following AKI not only by dampening endogenous cellular antioxidant responses at time of injury but also enhancing persistent kidney mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction.
• Poulsen, S. B., Kristensen, T. B., Brooks, H. L., Kohan, D. E., Rieg, T., & Fenton, R. A. (2017). Role of adenylyl cyclase 6 in the development of lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. JCI insight, 2(7), e91042.
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  Psychiatric patients treated with lithium (Li(+)) may develop nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI). Although the etiology of Li(+)-induced NDI (Li-NDI) is poorly understood, it occurs partially due to reduced aquaporin-2 (AQP2) expression in the kidney collecting ducts. A mechanism postulated for this is that Li(+) inhibits adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity, leading to decreased cAMP, reduced AQP2 abundance, and less membrane targeting. We hypothesized that Li-NDI would not develop in mice lacking AC6. Whole-body AC6 knockout (AC6(-/-)) mice and potentially novel connecting tubule/principal cell-specific AC6 knockout (AC6(loxloxCre)) mice had approximately 50% lower urine osmolality and doubled water intake under baseline conditions compared with controls. Dietary Li(+) administration increased water intake and reduced urine osmolality in control, AC6(-/-), and AC6(loxloxCre) mice. Consistent with AC6(-/-) mice, medullary AQP2 and pS256-AQP2 abundances were lower in AC6(loxloxCre) mice compared with controls under standard conditions, and levels were further reduced after Li(+) administration. AC6(loxloxCre) and control mice had a similar increase in the numbers of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cells in response to Li(+). However, AC6(loxloxCre) mice had a higher number of H(+)-ATPase B1 subunit-positive cells under standard conditions and after Li(+) administration. Collectively, AC6 has a minor role in Li-NDI development but may be important for determining the intercalated cell-to-principal cell ratio.
• Brooks, H. L., Pollow, D. P., & Hoyer, P. B. (2016). The VCD Mouse Model of Menopause and Perimenopause for the Study of Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease and the Metabolic Syndrome. Physiology (Bethesda, Md.), 31(4), 250-7.
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  In females, menopause, the cessation of menstrual cycling, is associated with an increase in risk for several diseases such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, and ovarian cancer. The majority of women enter menopause via a gradual reduction of ovarian function over several years (perimenopause) and retain residual ovarian tissue. The VCD mouse model of menopause (ovarian failure in rodents) is a follicle-deplete, ovary-intact animal that more closely approximates the natural human progression through perimenopause and into the postmenopausal stage of life. In this review, we present the physiological parameters of how to use the VCD model and explore the VCD model and its application into the study of postmenopausal disease mechanisms, focusing on recent murine studies of diabetic kidney disease, the metabolic syndrome, and hypertension.
• Moore-Dotson, J. M., Beckman, J. J., Mazade, R. E., Hoon, M., Bernstein, A. S., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Brooks, H. L., & Eggers, E. D. (2016). Early Retinal Neuronal Dysfunction in Diabetic Mice: Reduced Light-Evoked Inhibition Increases Rod Pathway Signaling. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 57(3), 1418-30.
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  Recent studies suggest that the neural retinal response to light is compromised in diabetes. Electroretinogram studies suggest that the dim light retinal rod pathway is especially susceptible to diabetic damage. The purpose of this study was to determine whether diabetes alters rod pathway signaling.
• Brooks, H. L., Beckman, J. J., Mazade, R. E., Hoon, M., Bernstein, A. S., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Moore-Dotson, J. M., & Eggers, E. D. (2015). Retinal GABAergic signaling is compromised in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes. TBD.
• Goldberg, E. L., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Renkema, K. R., Ventevogel, M. S., Chew, W. M., Uhrlaub, J. L., Smithey, M. J., Limesand, K. H., Sempowski, G. D., Brooks, H. L., & Nikolich-Žugich, J. (2015). Lifespan-extending caloric restriction or mTOR inhibition impair adaptive immunity of old mice by distinct mechanisms. Aging cell, 14(1), 130-8.
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  Aging of the world population and a concomitant increase in age-related diseases and disabilities mandates the search for strategies to increase healthspan, the length of time an individual lives healthy and productively. Due to the age-related decline of the immune system, infectious diseases remain among the top 5-10 causes of mortality and morbidity in the elderly, and improving immune function during aging remains an important aspect of healthspan extension. Calorie restriction (CR) and more recently rapamycin (rapa) feeding have both been used to extend lifespan in mice. Preciously few studies have actually investigated the impact of each of these interventions upon in vivo immune defense against relevant microbial challenge in old organisms. We tested how rapa and CR each impacted the immune system in adult and old mice. We report that each intervention differentially altered T-cell development in the thymus, peripheral T-cell maintenance, T-cell function and host survival after West Nile virus infection, inducing distinct but deleterious consequences to the aging immune system. We conclude that neither rapa feeding nor CR, in the current form/administration regimen, may be optimal strategies for extending healthy immune function and, with it, lifespan.
• Pollow, D. P., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Sanchez, J. N., Konhilas, J. P., & Brooks, H. L. (2015). ANG II-induced hypertension in the VCD mouse model of menopause is prevented by estrogen replacement during perimenopause. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 309(12), R1546-52.
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  Premenopausal females are resistant to the development of hypertension, and this protection is lost after the onset of menopause, resulting in a sharp increase in disease onset and severity. However, it is unknown how a fluctuating ovarian hormone environment during the transition from perimenopause to menopause impacts the onset of hypertension, and whether interventions during perimenopause prevent disease onset after menopause. A gradual transition to menopause was induced by repeated daily injections of 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD). ANG II (800 ng·kg(-1)·min(-1)) was infused into perimenopausal and menopausal female mice for 14 days. A separate cohort of mice received 17β-estradiol replacement during perimenopause. ANG II infusion produced significantly higher mean arterial pressure (MAP) in menopausal vs. cycling females, and 17β-estradiol replacement prevented this increase. In contrast, MAP was not significantly different when ANG II was infused into perimenopausal and cycling females, suggesting that female resistance to ANG II-induced hypertension is intact during perimenopause. ANG II infusion caused a significant glomerular hypertrophy, and hypertrophy was not impacted by hormonal status. Expression levels of aquaporin-2 (AQP2), a collecting duct protein, have been suggested to reflect blood pressure. AQP2 protein expression was significantly downregulated in the renal cortex of the ANG II-infused menopause group, where blood pressure was increased. AQP2 expression levels were restored to control levels with 17β-estradiol replacement. This study indicates that the changing hormonal environment in the VCD model of menopause impacts the severity of ANG II-induced hypertension. These data highlight the utility of the ovary-intact VCD model of menopause as a clinically relevant model to investigate the physiological mechanisms of hypertension that occur in women during the transition into menopause.
• Chen, H., Perez, J. N., Constantopoulos, E., McKee, L., Regan, J., Hoyer, P. B., Brooks, H. L., & Konhilas, J. (2014). A method to study the impact of chemically-induced ovarian failure on exercise capacity and cardiac adaptation in mice. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE.
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  The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) increases in post-menopausal women, yet, the role of exercise, as a preventative measure for CVD risk in post-menopausal women has not been adequately studied. Accordingly, we investigated the impact of voluntary cage-wheel exercise and forced treadmill exercise on cardiac adaptation in menopausal mice. The most commonly used inducible model for mimicking menopause in women is the ovariectomized (OVX) rodent. However, the OVX model has a few dissimilarities from menopause in humans. In this study, we administered 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) to female mice, which accelerates ovarian failure as an alternative menopause model to study the impact of exercise in menopausal mice. VCD selectively accelerates the loss of primary and primordial follicles resulting in an endocrine state that closely mimics the natural progression from pre- to peri- to post-menopause in humans. To determine the impact of exercise on exercise capacity and cardiac adaptation in VCD-treated female mice, two methods were used. First, we exposed a group of VCD-treated and untreated mice to a voluntary cage wheel. Second, we used forced treadmill exercise to determine exercise capacity in a separate group VCD-treated and untreated mice measured as a tolerance to exercise intensity and endurance.
• Fenton, R. A., & Brooks, H. L. (2014). 2014 Robert W. Berliner Award for Excellence in Renal Physiology. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology.
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  NA.
• Kusne, Y., Goldberg, E. L., Parker, S. S., Hapak, S. M., Maskaykina, I. Y., Chew, W. M., Limesand, K. H., Brooks, H. L., Price, T. J., Sanai, N., Nikolich-Zugich, J., & Ghosh, S. (2014). Contrasting effects of chronic, systemic treatment with mTOR inhibitors rapamycin and metformin on adult neural progenitors in mice. Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands), 36(1), 199-212.
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  The chronic and systemic administration of rapamycin extends life span in mammals. Rapamycin is a pharmacological inhibitor of mTOR. Metformin also inhibits mTOR signaling but by activating the upstream kinase AMPK. Here we report the effects of chronic and systemic administration of the two mTOR inhibitors, rapamycin and metformin, on adult neural stem cells of the subventricular region and the dendate gyrus of the mouse hippocampus. While rapamycin decreased the number of neural progenitors, metformin-mediated inhibition of mTOR had no such effect. Adult-born neurons are considered important for cognitive and behavioral health, and may contribute to improved health span. Our results demonstrate that distinct approaches of inhibiting mTOR signaling can have significantly different effects on organ function. These results underscore the importance of screening individual mTOR inhibitors on different organs and physiological processes for potential adverse effects that may compromise health span.
• Pollow, D. P., Uhrlaub, J., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Sandberg, K., Nikolich-Zugich, J., Brooks, H. L., & Hay, M. (2014). Sex differences in T-lymphocyte tissue infiltration and development of angiotensin II hypertension. Hypertension, 64(2), 384-90.
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  There is extensive evidence that activation of the immune system is both necessary and required for the development of angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension in males. The purpose of this study was to determine whether sex differences exist in the ability of the adaptive immune system to induce Ang II-dependent hypertension and whether central and renal T-cell infiltration during Ang II-induced hypertension is sex dependent. Recombinant activating gene-1 (Rag-1)(-/-) mice, lacking both T and B cells, were used. Male and female Rag-1(-/-) mice received adoptive transfer of male CD3(+) T cells 3 weeks before 14-day Ang II infusion (490 ng/kg per minute). Blood pressure was monitored via tail cuff. In the absence of T cells, systolic blood pressure responses to Ang II were similar between sexes (Δ22.1 mm Hg males versus Δ18 mm : Hg females). After adoptive transfer of male T cells, Ang II significantly increased systolic blood pressure in males (Δ37.7 mm : Hg; P
• Brooks, H., Brooks, H. L., Gao, Y., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Cai, Q., & Price, T. J. (2013). Rapamycin inhibition of mTORC1 reverses lithium-induced proliferation of renal collecting duct cells. American Journal of Physiology. Renal physiology, 305(8).
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  Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is the most common renal side effect in patients undergoing lithium therapy for bipolar affective disorders. Approximately 2 million US patients take lithium of whom ∼50% will have altered renal function and develop NDI (2, 37). Lithium-induced NDI is a defect in the urinary concentrating mechanism. Lithium therapy also leads to proliferation and abundant renal cysts (microcysts), commonly in the collecting ducts of the cortico-medullary region. The mTOR pathway integrates nutrient and mitogen signals to control cell proliferation and cell growth (size) via the mTOR Complex 1 (mTORC1). To address our hypothesis that mTOR activation may be responsible for lithium-induced proliferation of collecting ducts, we fed mice lithium chronically and assessed mTORC1 signaling in the renal medulla. We demonstrate that mTOR signaling is activated in the renal collecting ducts of lithium-treated mice; lithium increased the phosphorylation of rS6 (Ser240/Ser244), p-TSC2 (Thr1462), and p-mTOR (Ser2448). Consistent with our hypothesis, treatment with rapamycin, an allosteric inhibitor of mTOR, reversed lithium-induced proliferation of medullary collecting duct cells and reduced levels of p-rS6 and p-mTOR. Medullary levels of p-GSK3β were increased in the renal medullas of lithium-treated mice and remained elevated following rapamycin treatment. However, mTOR inhibition did not improve lithium-induced NDI and did not restore the expression of collecting duct proteins aquaporin-2 or UT-A1.
• Brooks, H. L. (2012). 2012 Young Investigator Award for Excellence in Renal Physiology. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology.
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  2012 Young Investigator Award for Excellence in Renal Physiology.
• Brooks, H., Cai, Q., & Brooks, H. L. (2011). Phosphorylation of eIF2α via the general control kinase, GCN2, modulates the ability of renal medullary cells to survive high urea stress. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 301(6).
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  The phosphorylation of the α-subunit of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) occurs under many stress conditions in mammalian cells and is mediated by one of four eIF2α kinases: PERK, PKR, GCN2, and HRI. Cells of the renal medulla are regularly exposed to fluctuating concentrations of urea and sodium, the extracellular solutes responsible for the high osmolality in the renal medulla, and thus the kidneys ability to concentrate the urine in times of dehydration. Urea stress is known to initiate molecular responses that diverge from those seen in response to hypertonic stress (NaCl). We show that urea-inducible GCN2 activation initiates the phosphorylation of eIF2α and the downstream increase of activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3). Loss of GCN2 sensitized cells to urea stress, increasing the expression of activated caspase-3 and decreasing cell survival. Loss of GCN2 ablated urea-induced phosphorylation of eIF2α and reduced the expression of ATF3.
• Brooks, H., Diamond-Stanic, M. K., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Hoyer, P. B., Greer, K., Hoying, J. B., & Brooks, H. L. (2011). Midkine, a heparin-binding protein, is increased in the diabetic mouse kidney postmenopause. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 300(1).
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  Estrogen is thought to protect against the development of chronic kidney disease, and menopause increases the development and severity of diabetic kidney disease. In this study, we used streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes in the 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD)-treated mouse model of menopause. DNA microarrays were used to identify gene expression changes in the diabetic kidney postmenopause. An ANOVA model, CARMA, was used to isolate the menopause effect between two groups of diabetic mice, diabetic menopausal (STZ/VCD) and diabetic cycling (STZ). In this diabetic study, 8,864 genes of the possible 15,600 genes on the array were included in the ANOVA; 99 genes were identified as demonstrating a >1.5-fold up- or downregulation between the STZ/VCD and STZ groups. We randomly selected genes for confirmation by real-time PCR; midkine (Mdk), immediate early response gene 3 (IEX-1), mitogen-inducible gene 6 (Mig6), and ubiquitin-specific protease 2 (USP2) were significantly increased in the kidneys of STZ/VCD compared with STZ mice. Western blot analysis confirmed that Mdk and IEX-1 protein abundance was significantly increased in the kidney cortex of STZ/VCD compared with STZ mice. In a separate study, DNA microarrays and CARMA analysis were used to identify the effect of menopause on the nondiabetic kidney; VCD-treated mice were compared with cycling mice. Of the possible 15,600 genes on the array, 9,142 genes were included in the ANOVA; 20 genes were identified as demonstrating a >1.5-fold up- or downregulation; histidine decarboxylase and vanin 1 were among the genes identified as differentially expressed in the postmenopausal nondiabetic kidney. These data expand our understanding of how hormone status correlates with the development of diabetic kidney disease and identify several target genes for further studies.
• Brooks, H., Cai, Q., Nelson, S. K., McReynolds, M. R., Diamond-Stanic, M. K., Elliott, D., & Brooks, H. L. (2010). Vasopressin increases expression of UT-A1, UT-A3, and ER chaperone GRP78 in the renal medulla of mice with a urinary concentrating defect. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 299(4).
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  Activation of V2 receptors (V2R) during antidiuresis increases the permeability of the inner medullary collecting duct to urea and water. Extracellular osmolality is elevated as the concentrating capacity of the kidney increases. Osmolality is known to contribute to the regulation of collecting duct water (aquaporin-2; AQP2) and urea transporter (UT-A1, UT-A3) regulation. AQP1KO mice are a concentrating mechanism knockout, a defect attributed to the loss of high interstitial osmolality. A V2R-specific agonist, deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin (dDAVP), was infused into wild-type and AQP1KO mice for 7 days. UT-A1 mRNA and protein abundance were significantly increased in the medullas of wild-type and AQP1KO mice following dDAVP infusion. The mRNA and protein abundance of UT-A3, the basolateral urea transporter, was significantly increased by dDAVP in both wild-type and AQP1KO mice. Semiquantitative immunoblots revealed that dDAVP infusion induced a significant increase in the medullary expression of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone GRP78. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that GRP78 expression colocalized with AQP2 in principal cells of the papillary tip of the renal medulla. Using immunohistochemistry and immunogold electron microscopy, we demonstrate that vasopressin induced a marked apical targeting of GRP78 in medullary principal cells. Urea-sensitive genes, GADD153 and ATF4 (components of the ER stress pathway), were significantly increased in AQP1KO mice by dDAVP infusion. These findings strongly support an important role of vasopressin in the activation of an ER stress response in renal collecting duct cells, in addition to its role in activating an increase in UT-A1 and UT-A3 abundance.
• Brooks, H., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Diamond-Stanic, M. K., Hasty, A. H., Hoyer, P. B., & Brooks, H. L. (2009). Loss of ovarian function in the VCD mouse-model of menopause leads to insulin resistance and a rapid progression into the metabolic syndrome. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 297(3).
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  Factors comprising the metabolic syndrome occur with increased incidence in postmenopausal women. To investigate the effects of ovarian failure on the progression of the metabolic syndrome, female B(6)C(3)F(1) mice were treated with 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) and fed a high-fat (HF) diet for 16 wk. VCD destroys preantral follicles, causing early ovarian failure and is a well-characterized model for the gradual onset of menopause. After 12 wk on a HF diet, VCD-treated mice had developed an impaired glucose tolerance, whereas cycling controls were unaffected [12 wk AUC HF mice 13,455 +/- 643 vs. HF/VCD 17,378 +/- 1140 mg/dl/min, P < 0.05]. After 16 wk on a HF diet, VCD-treated mice had significantly higher fasting insulin levels (HF 5.4 +/- 1.3 vs. HF/VCD 10.1 +/- 1.4 ng/ml, P < 0.05) and were significantly more insulin resistant (HOMA-IR) than cycling controls on a HF diet (HF 56.2 +/- 16.7 vs. HF/VCD 113.1 +/- 19.6 mg/dl x microU/ml, P < 0.05). All mice on a HF diet gained more weight than mice on a standard diet, and weight gain in HF/VCD mice was significantly increased compared with HF cycling controls. Interestingly, even without a HF diet, progression into VCD-induced menopause caused a significant increase in cholesterol and free fatty acids. Furthermore, in mice fed a standard diet (6% fat), insulin resistance developed 4 mo after VCD-induced ovarian failure. Insulin resistance following ovarian failure (menopause) was prevented by estrogen replacement. Studies here demonstrate that ovarian failure (menopause) accelerates progression into the metabolic syndrome and that estrogen replacement prevents the onset of insulin resistance in VCD-treated mice. Thus, the VCD model of menopause provides a physiologically relevant means of studying how sex hormones influence the progression of the metabolic syndrome.
• Rivera, Z., Christian, P. J., Marion, S. L., Brooks, H. L., & Hoyer, P. B. (2009). Steroidogenic capacity of residual ovarian tissue in 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide-treated mice. Biology of reproduction, 80(2), 328-36.
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  Menopause is an important public health issue because of its association with a number of disorders. Androgens produced by residual ovarian tissue after menopause could impact the development of these disorders. It has been unclear, however, whether the postmenopausal ovary retains steroidogenic capacity. Thus, an ovary-intact mouse model for menopause that uses the occupational chemical 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) was used to characterize the expression of steroidogenic genes in residual ovarian tissue of follicle-depleted mice. Female B6C3F1 mice (age, 28 days) were dosed daily for 20 days with either vehicle or VCD (160 mg kg(-1) day(-1)) to induce ovarian failure. Ovaries were collected on Day 181 and analyzed for mRNA and protein. Acyclic aged mice were used as controls for natural ovarian senescence. Relative to cycling controls, expression of mRNA encoding steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (Star); cholesterol side-chain cleavage (Cyp11a1); 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (Hsd3b); 17alpha-hydroxylase (Cyp17a1); scavenger receptor class B, type 1 (Scarb1); low-density lipoprotein receptor (Ldlr); and luteinizing hormone receptor (Lhcgr) was enriched in VCD-treated ovaries. In acyclic aged ovaries, mRNA expression for only Cyp17a1 and Lhcgr was greater than that in controls. Compared to cycling controls, ovaries from VCD-treated and aged mice had similar levels of HSD3B, CYP17A1, and LHCGR protein. The pattern of protein immunofluorescence staining for HSD3B in follicle-depleted (VCD-treated) ovaries was homogeneous, whereas that for CYP17A1 was only seen in residual interstitial cells. Circulating levels of FSH and LH were increased, and androstenedione levels were detectable following follicle depletion in VCD-treated mice. These findings support the idea that residual ovarian tissue in VCD-treated mice retains androgenic capacity.
• Fernandez, S. M., Keating, A. F., Christian, P. J., Sen, N., Hoying, J. B., Brooks, H. L., & Hoyer, P. B. (2008). Involvement of the KIT/KITL signaling pathway in 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide-induced ovarian follicle loss in rats. Biology of reproduction, 79(2), 318-27.
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  Repeated daily dosing of rats with the occupational chemical 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) depletes the ovary of primordial and primary follicles through an increase in the natural process of atresia. Additionally, in vitro exposure of Postnatal Day 4 (PND 4) rat ovaries to VCD causes similar follicular depletion. This study was designed to investigate survival signaling pathways that may be associated with VCD-induced ovotoxicity in small preantral follicles. Female Fischer 344 rats (PND 28) were dosed daily (80 mg/kg/day VCD i.p.; 12 days in vivo), and PND 4 ovaries were cultured (VCD 20 or 30 microM; 8 days in vitro). Microarray analysis identified a subset of 14 genes whose expression was increased or decreased by VCD in both experiments (i.e., via both exposure routes). Particularly, the analysis showed that relative to controls, VCD did not affect mRNA expression of growth and differentiation factor 9 (Gdf9), whereas there were decreases in mRNA encoding bone morphogenic protein receptor 1a (Bmpr1a) and Kit. To confirm findings from microarray, the genes Gdf9, Bmpr1a, and Kit were further examined. When growth factors associated with these pathways were added to ovarian cultures during VCD exposure, GDF9 and BMP4 had no effect on VCD-induced ovotoxicity; however, KITL attenuated this follicle loss. Additionally, there was a decrease in Kit and an increase in Kitl expression (mRNA and protein) following VCD exposure, relative to control. These results support that VCD compromises KIT/KITL signaling, which is critical for follicular survival in primordial and primary follicles.
• Brooks, H., Cai, Q., McReynolds, M. R., Keck, M., Greer, K. A., Hoying, J. B., & Brooks, H. L. (2007). Vasopressin receptor subtype 2 activation increases cell proliferation in the renal medulla of AQP1 null mice. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 293(6).
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  Aquaporin (AQP) 1 null mice have a defect in the renal concentrating gradient because of their inability to generate a hyperosmotic medullary interstitium. To determine the effect of vasopressin on renal medullary gene expression, in the absence of high local osmolarity, we infused 1-deamino-8-d-arginine vasopressin (dDAVP), a V(2) receptor (V(2)R)-specific agonist, in AQP1 null mice for 7 days. cDNA microarray analysis was performed on the renal medullary tissue, and 5,140 genes of the possible 12,000 genes on the array were included in the analysis. In the renal medulla of AQP1 null mice, 245 transcripts were identified as increased by dDAVP infusion and 200 transcripts as decreased (1.5-fold or more). Quantitative real-time PCR measurements confirmed the increases seen for cyclin D1, early growth response gene 1, and activating transcription factor 3, genes associated with changes in cell cycle/growth. Changes in mRNA expression were correlated with changes in protein expression by semiquantitative immunoblotting; cyclin D1 and ATF3 were increased significantly in abundance following dDAVP infusion in the renal medulla of AQP1 null mice (161 and 461%, respectively). A significant increase in proliferation of medullary collecting ducts cells, following V(2)R activation, was identified by proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunohistochemistry; colocalization studies with AQP2 indicated that the increase in proliferation was primarily observed in principal cells of the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD). V(2)R activation, via dDAVP, increased AQP2 and AQP3 protein abundance in the cortical collecting ducts of AQP1 null mice. However, V(2)R activation did not increase AQP2 protein abundance in the IMCD of AQP1 null mice.
• Brooks, H., Keck, M., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Cai, Q., Hoyer, P. B., & Brooks, H. L. (2007). Hormonal status affects the progression of STZ-induced diabetes and diabetic renal damage in the VCD mouse model of menopause. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 293(1).
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  Changes in the estrogen/testosterone balance at menopause may negatively influence the development of diabetic kidney disease. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that changes in hormone levels during perimenopause may influence disease development. Injection of 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) in B(6)C(3)F(1) mice induces gradual ovarian failure, preserving both the perimenopausal (peri-ovarian failure) and menopausal (post-ovarian failure) periods. To address the impact of the transition into menopause on the development of diabetes and diabetic kidney damage, we used streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in the VCD model of menopause. After 6 wk of STZ-induced diabetes, blood glucose was significantly increased in post-ovarian failure (post-OF) diabetic mice compared with cycling diabetic mice. In peri-ovarian failure (peri-OF) diabetic mice, blood glucose levels trended higher but were not significantly different from cycling diabetic mice, suggesting a continuum of worsening blood glucose across the menopausal transition. Cell proliferation, an early marker of damage in the kidney, was increased in post-OF diabetic mice compared with cycling diabetic mice, as measured by PCNA immunohistochemistry. In post-OF diabetic mice, mRNA abundance of early growth response-1 (Egr-1), collagen-4alpha1, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 were increased and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 4 (3beta-HSD4) and transforming growth factor-beta(2) (TGF-beta(2)) were decreased compared with cycling diabetic mice. In peri-OF diabetic mice, mRNA abundance of Egr-1 and 3beta-HSD4 were increased, and TGF-beta(2) was decreased compared with cycling diabetic mice. This study highlights the importance and utility of the VCD model of menopause, as it provides a physiologically relevant system for determining the impact of the menopausal transition on diabetes and diabetic kidney damage.
• Carmosino, M., Brooks, H. L., Cai, Q., Davis, L. S., Opalenik, S., Hao, C., & Breyer, M. D. (2007). Axial heterogeneity of vasopressin-receptor subtypes along the human and mouse collecting duct. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 292(1), F351-60.
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  Vasopressin and vasopressin antagonists are finding expanded use in mouse models of disease and in clinical medicine. To provide further insight into the physiological role of V1a and V2 vasopressin receptors in the human and mouse kidney, intrarenal localization of the receptors mRNA was determined by in situ hybridization. V2-receptor mRNA was predominantly expressed in the medulla, whereas mRNA for V1a receptors predominated in the cortex. The segmental localization of vasopressin-receptor mRNAs was determined using simultaneous in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry for segment-specific markers, including aquaporin-2, Dolichos biflorus agglutinin, epithelial Na channels, Tamm Horsfall glycoprotein, and thiazide-sensitive Na(+)-Cl(-) cotransporter. Notably, V1a receptor expression was exclusively expressed in V-ATPase/anion exchanger-1-labeled alpha-intercalated cells of the medullary collecting duct in both mouse and human kidney. In cortical collecting ducts, V1a mRNA was more widespread and detected in both principal and intercalated cells. V2-receptor mRNA is diffusely expressed along the collecting ducts in both mouse and human kidney, with higher expression levels in the medulla. These results demonstrate heterogenous axial expression of both V1a and V2 vasopressin receptors along the human and mouse collecting duct. The restricted expression of V1a-receptor mRNA in intercalated cells suggests a role for this receptor in acid-base balance. These findings further suggest distinct regulation of renal transport function by AVP through V1a and V2 receptors in the cortex vs. the medulla.
• Chakraborty, A., Brooks, H., Zhang, P., Smith, W., McReynolds, M. R., Hoying, J. B., Bick, R., Truong, L., Poindexter, B., Lan, H., Elbjeirami, W., & Sheikh-Hamad, D. (2007). Stanniocalcin-1 regulates endothelial gene expression and modulates transendothelial migration of leukocytes. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 292(2), F895-904.
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  The mammalian counterpart of the fish calcium-regulating hormone stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) inhibits monocyte chemotactic protein-1- and stromal-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha)-mediated chemotaxis and diminishes chemokinesis in macrophage-like RAW264.7 and U937 cells in a manner that may involve attenuation of the intracellular calcium signal. STC1 is strongly induced in the kidney following obstructive injury. We hypothesized that STC1 may serve to attenuate the influx of inflammatory cells to the site of tissue injury. In this study, we examined the effect of STC1 on the migration of freshly isolated human macrophages, neutrophils, and T and B lymphocytes through quiescent or IL-1beta-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayers. STC1 inhibited transmigration of macrophages and T lymphocytes through quiescent or IL-1beta-activated HUVECs but did not attenuate the transmigration of neutrophils and B lymphocytes. STC1 regulates gene expression in cultured endothelial cells and is detected on the apical surface of endothelial cells in vivo. The data suggest that STC1 plays a critical role in transendothelial migration of inflammatory cells and is involved in the regulation of numerous aspects of endothelial function.
• Hawkins, B. T., Lundeen, T. F., Norwood, K. M., Brooks, H. L., & Egleton, R. D. (2007). Increased blood-brain barrier permeability and altered tight junctions in experimental diabetes in the rat: contribution of hyperglycaemia and matrix metalloproteinases. Diabetologia, 50(1), 202-11.
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  Although diabetes mellitus is associated with peripheral microvascular complications and increased risk of neurological events, the mechanisms by which diabetes disrupts the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are not known. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity is increased in diabetic patients, is associated with degradation of tight junction proteins, and is a known mediator of BBB compromise. We hypothesise that diabetes leads to compromise of BBB tight junctions via stimulation of MMP activity.
• Kim, D., Wang, M., Cai, Q., Brooks, H., & Dressler, G. R. (2007). Pax transactivation-domain interacting protein is required for urine concentration and osmotolerance in collecting duct epithelia. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN, 18(5), 1458-65.
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  Pax transactivation-domain interacting protein (PTIP) is a widely expressed nuclear protein that is essential for early embryonic development. PTIP was first identified on the basis of its interactions with the developmental regulator Pax2 but can also bind to other nuclear transcription factors. The Pax2 protein is essential for development of the renal epithelia and for regulating the response of mature collecting ducts to hyperosmotic stress. For determination of whether PTIP also functions in more differentiated cell types, the Cre-LoxP system was used to delete the ptip gene in the renal collecting ducts using Ksp-Cre driver mice. Collecting duct-specific ptip knockout mice were viable with little discernible phenotype under normal physiologic conditions. However, collecting duct-specific ptip mutants were unable to concentrate urine after the treatment of desamino-cis, D-arginine vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone. Furthermore, aquaporin-2 (AQP2) expression in the inner medulla of the ptip knockout mice was decreased approximately 10-fold compared with that of wild-type littermates. Expression level of tonicity responsive enhancer binding protein, a transcription factor of AQP2, is not altered in the mutant mice, but its nuclear localization in the inner medulla is unresponsive after treatment with vasopressin agonists. This was due, at least in part, to decreased expression of the arginine vasopressin receptor 2 in ptip mutants. Furthermore, ptip null inner medullary collecting duct cells were sensitive to hyperosmolality in vitro. Thus, ptip is required for the urine concentration mechanism by modulating arginine vasopressin receptor 2 and AQP2 expression in the inner medulla. The data suggest an essential role for ptip in regulating urine concentration and in controlling survival of collecting duct epithelial cells in high osmolality.
• Pysher, M. D., Sollome, J. J., Regan, S., Cardinal, T. R., Hoying, J. B., Brooks, H. L., & Vaillancourt, R. R. (2007). Increased hexokinase II expression in the renal glomerulus of mice in response to arsenic. Toxicology and applied pharmacology, 224(1), 39-48.
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  Epidemiological studies link arsenic exposure to increased risks of cancers of the skin, kidney, lung, bladder and liver. Additionally, a variety of non-cancerous conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease have been associated with chronic ingestion of low levels of arsenic. However, the biological and molecular mechanisms by which arsenic exerts its effects remain elusive. Here we report increased renal hexokinase II (HKII) expression in response to arsenic exposure both in vivo and in vitro. In our model, HKII was up-regulated in the renal glomeruli of mice exposed to low levels of arsenic (10 ppb or 50 ppb) via their drinking water for up to 21 days. Additionally, a similar effect was observed in cultured renal mesangial cells exposed to arsenic. This correlation between our in vivo and in vitro data provides further evidence for a direct link between altered renal HKII expression and arsenic exposure. Thus, our data suggest that alterations in renal HKII expression may be involved in arsenic-induced pathological conditions involving the kidney. More importantly, these results were obtained using environmentally relevant arsenic concentrations.
• Alwardt, C. M., Yu, Q., Brooks, H. L., McReynolds, M. R., Vazquez, R., Watson, R. R., & Larson, D. F. (2006). Comparative effects of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate on ventricular diastolic function with young and aged female mice. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 290(1), R251-6.
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  The adrenal steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated derivative [DHEA(S)] have been extensively studied for their potential anti-aging effects. Associated with aging, DHEA levels decline in humans, whereas other adrenal hormones remain unchanged, suggesting that DHEA may be important in the aging process. However, the effect of DHEA(S) supplementation on cardiac function in the aged has not been investigated. Therefore, we administered to young and old female mice a 60-day treatment with exogenous DHEA(S) at a dose of 0.1 mg/ml in the drinking water and compared the effects on left ventricular diastolic function and the myocardial extracellular matrix composition. The left ventricular stiffness (beta) was 0.30 +/- 0.06 mmHg/mul in the older control mice compared with 0.17 +/- 0.02 mmHg/mul in young control mice. Treatment with DHEA(S) decreased left ventricular stiffness to 0.12 +/- 0.03 mmHg/mul in the older mice and increased left ventricular stiffness to 0.27 +/- 0.04 mmHg/mul in young mice. The mechanism for the DHEA(S)-induced changes in diastolic function appeared to be associated with altered matrix metalloproteinase activity and the percentage of collagen cross-linking. We conclude that exogenous DHEA(S) supplementation is capable of reversing the left ventricular stiffness and fibrosis that accompanies aging, with a paradoxical increased ventricular stiffness in young mice.
• Brooks, H., Cai, Q., Keck, M., McReynolds, M. R., Klein, J. D., Greer, K., Sharma, K., Hoying, J. B., Sands, J. M., & Brooks, H. L. (2006). Effects of water restriction on gene expression in mouse renal medulla: identification of 3betaHSD4 as a collecting duct protein. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 291(1).
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  To identify novel gene targets of vasopressin regulation in the renal medulla, we performed a cDNA microarray study on the inner medullary tissue of mice following a 48-h water restriction protocol. In this study, 4,625 genes of the possible approximately 12,000 genes on the array were included in the analysis, and of these 157 transcripts were increased and 63 transcripts were decreased by 1.5-fold or more. Quantitative, real-time PCR measurements confirmed the increases seen for 12 selected transcripts, and the decreases were confirmed for 7 transcripts. In addition, we measured transcript abundance for many renal collecting duct proteins that were not represented on the array; aquaporin-2 (AQP2), AQP3, Pax-8, and alpha- and beta-Na-K-ATPase subunits were all significantly increased in abundance; the beta- and gamma-subunits of ENaC and the vasopressin type 1A receptor were significantly decreased. To correlate changes in mRNA expression with changes in protein expression, we carried out quantitative immunoblotting. For most of the genes examined, changes in mRNA abundances were not associated with concomitant protein abundance changes; however, AQP2 transcript abundance and protein abundance did correlate. Surprisingly, aldolase B transcript abundance was increased but protein abundance was decreased following 48 h of water restriction. Several transcripts identified by microarray were novel with respect to their expression in mouse renal medullary tissues. The steroid hormone enzyme 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 4 (3betaHSD4) was identified as a novel target of vasopressin regulation, and via dual labeling immunofluorescence we colocalized the expression of this protein to AQP2-expressing collecting ducts of the kidney. These studies have identified several transcripts whose abundances are regulated in mouse inner medulla in response to an increase in endogenous vasopressin levels and could play roles in the regulation of salt and water excretion.
• Greer, K. A., McReynolds, M. R., Brooks, H. L., & Hoying, J. B. (2006). CARMA: A platform for analyzing microarray datasets that incorporate replicate measures. BMC bioinformatics, 7, 149.
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  The incorporation of statistical models that account for experimental variability provides a necessary framework for the interpretation of microarray data. A robust experimental design coupled with an analysis of variance (ANOVA) incorporating a model that accounts for known sources of experimental variability can significantly improve the determination of differences in gene expression and estimations of their significance.
• Brooks, H., McReynolds, M. R., Taylor-Garcia, K. M., Greer, K. A., Hoying, J. B., & Brooks, H. L. (2005). Renal medullary gene expression in aquaporin-1 null mice. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 288(2).
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  Mice that lack the aquaporin-1 gene (AQP1) lack a functional countercurrent multiplier mechanism, fail to concentrate the inner medullary (IM) interstitium, and present with a urinary concentrating defect. In this study, we use DNA microarrays to identify the gene expression profile of the IM of AQP1 null mice and corresponding changes in gene expression resulting from a loss of a hypertonic medullary interstitium. An ANOVA analysis model, CARMA, was used to isolate the knockout effect while taking into account experimental variability associated with microarray studies. In this study 5,701 genes of the possible approximately 12,000 genes on the array were included in the ANOVA; 531 genes were identified as demonstrating a >1.5-fold up- or downregulation between the wild-type and knockout groups. We randomly selected 35 genes for confirmation by real-time PCR, and 29 of the 35 genes were confirmed using this method. The overall pattern of gene expression in the AQP1 null mice was one of downregulation compared with gene expression in the renal medullas of the wild-type mice. Heat shock proteins 105 and 94, aldose reductase, adenylate kinase 2, aldolase B, aldehyde reductase 6, and p8 were decreased in the AQP1 null mice. Carboxylesterase 3, matrilin 2, lipocalin 2, and transforming growth factor-alpha were increased in IM of AQP1 null mice. In addition, we observed a loss of vasopressin type 2 receptor mRNA expression in renal medullas of the AQP1 null mice. Thus the loss of the hyperosmotic renal interstitium, due to a loss of the concentrating mechanism, drastically altered not only the phenotype of these animals but also their renal medullary gene expression profile.
• Cai, Q., Dmitrieva, N. I., Ferraris, J. D., Brooks, H. L., van Balkom, B. W., & Burg, M. (2005). Pax2 expression occurs in renal medullary epithelial cells in vivo and in cell culture, is osmoregulated, and promotes osmotic tolerance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(2), 503-8.
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  Pax2 is a transcription factor that is crucial for kidney development, and it is also expressed in the normal adult kidney, where its physiological function is unknown. In the present study, we find by cDNA microarray analysis that Pax2 expression in second-passage mouse inner-medullary epithelial cells is increased by a high NaCl concentration, which is significant because NaCl levels are normally high in the inner medulla in vivo, and varies with urinary concentration. Furthermore, a high NaCl concentration increases Pax2 mRNA and protein expression in mouse inner medullary collecting duct (mIMCD3) cells, and its transcriptional activity. Pax2 mRNA and protein expression is high in normal adult mouse renal inner medulla but much lower in renal cortex. Pax2 protein is present in collecting duct cells in both renal medulla and cortex and in thin descending limbs of Henle's loop in inner medulla. Treating Brattleboro rats with desamino-Cys-1,d-Arg-8 vasopressin, which increases inner-medullary NaCl concentration, causes a 4-fold increase in inner-medullary Pax2 protein. Treatment with furosemide, which decreases inner-medullary NaCl, reduces inner-medullary Pax2 mRNA and protein. Pax2-specific short interfering RNA increases high NaCl concentration-induced activation of caspase-3 and apoptotic bodies in mIMCD3 cells. We thus conclude that (i) Pax2 is expressed in normal renal medulla, (ii) its expression is regulated there by the normally high and variable NaCl concentration, and (iii) it protects renal medullary cells from high NaCl concentration-induced apoptosis.
• Morris, R. G., Uchida, S., Brooks, H., Knepper, M. A., & Chou, C. (2005). Altered expression profile of transporters in the inner medullary collecting duct of aquaporin-1 knockout mice. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 289(1), F194-9.
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  Aquaporin-1 is the major protein responsible for transport of water across the epithelia of the proximal tubule and thin descending limbs. Rapid water efflux across the thin descending limb is required for the normal function of the countercurrent multiplier mechanism. Therefore, urinary concentrating capacity is severely impaired in aquaporin-1 knockout (AQP1 -/-) mice. Here, we have investigated the long-term consequences of deletion of the AQP1 gene product by profiling abundance changes in transporters expressed in the inner medullas of AQP1 (-/-) mice vs. heterozygotes [AQP1 (+/-)], which have a normal concentrating capacity. Semiquantitative immunoblotting demonstrated marked suppression of two proteins strongly expressed in the inner medullary collecting duct (IMCD): UT-A1 (a urea transporter) and AQP4 (a basolateral water channel). Furthermore, the urea permeability of the IMCD was significantly reduced in AQP1 (-/-) mice. In contrast, there was increased expression of three proteins normally expressed at higher levels in the cortical collecting duct (CCD) than in IMCD: AQP3 (another basolateral water channel) and the epithelial sodium channel subunits beta-ENaC and gamma-ENaC. Changes in expression of these proteins were confirmed by immunocytochemistry. Messenger RNA profiling (real-time RT-PCR) revealed changes in UT-A1, beta-ENaC, gamma-ENaC, and AQP3 transcript abundance that paralleled the changes in protein abundance. Thus, from the perspective of transport proteins, the IMCDs of AQP1 (-/-) mice have a significantly altered phenotype. To address whether these changes are specific to AQP1 (-/-) mice, we profiled IMCD transporter expression in a second knockout model manifesting a concentrating defect, that of ClC-nK1, a chloride channel in the ascending thin limb important for urinary concentration. As in the AQP1 knockout mice, ClC-nK1 (-/-) mice showed decreased expression of UT-A1 and increased expression of beta-ENaC and gamma-ENaC vs. WT controls. In conclusion, the expression profile of IMCD transporters is markedly altered in AQP1 -/- mice and this manifestation is related to the associated concentrating defect.
• Rojek, A., Nielsen, J., Brooks, H. L., Gong, H., Kim, Y., Kwon, T., Frøkiaer, J., & Nielsen, S. (2005). Altered expression of selected genes in kidney of rats with lithium-induced NDI. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 288(6), F1276-89.
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  Lithium treatment is associated with development of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, caused in part by downregulation of collecting duct aquaporin-2 (AQP2) and AQP3 expression. In the present study, we carried out cDNA microarray screening of gene expression in the inner medulla (IM) of lithium-treated and control rats, and selected genes were then investigated at the protein level by immunoblotting and/or immunohistochemistry. The following genes exhibited significantly altered transcription and mRNA expression levels, and these were compatible with the changes in protein expression. 11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 protein expression in the IM was markedly increased (198 +/- 25% of controls, n = 6), and immunocytochemistry demonstrated an increased labeling of IM collecting duct (IMCD) principal cells. This indicated altered renal mineralocorticoid/glucocorticoid responses in lithium-treated rats. The inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases p27 (KIP) protein expression was significantly decreased or undetectable in the IMCD cells, pointing to increased cellular proliferation and remodeling. Heat shock protein 27 protein expression was decreased in the IM (64 +/- 6% of controls, n = 6), likely to be associated with the decreased medullary osmolality in lithium-treated rats. Consistent with this, lens aldose reductase protein expression was markedly decreased in the IM (16 +/- 2% of controls, n = 6), and immunocytochemistry revealed decreased expression in the thin limb cells in the middle and terminal parts of the IM. Ezrin protein expression was upregulated in the IM (158 +/- 16% of controls, n = 6), where it was predominantly expressed in the apical and cytoplasmic domain of the IMCD cells. Increased ezrin expression indicated remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton and/or altered regulation of IMCD transporters. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates changes in gene expression not only in the collecting duct but also in the thin limb of the loop of Henle in the IM, and several of these genes are linked to altered sodium and water reabsorption, cell cycling, and changes in interstitial osmolality.
• Sutherland, V. L., McReynolds, M., Tompkins, L. S., Brooks, H. L., & Lynch, R. M. (2005). Developmental expression of glucokinase in rat hypothalamus. Brain research. Developmental brain research, 154(2), 255-8.
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  Neurons in the hypothalamus sense changes in glucose concentration. Glucokinase (GK), a key enzyme for pancreatic (beta)-cell glucose sensing, was found in both the embryonic and adult hypothalamus. GK activity accounted for approximately 20% of total hexokinase (HK) activity in both embryonic and adult hypothalamus with no activity measured in cortical samples, indicating that glucose sensing in the hypothalamus initiates early in development and precedes the maturation of glucose signaling in liver.
• Beutler, K. T., Masilamani, S., Turban, S., Nielsen, J., Brooks, H. L., Ageloff, S., Fenton, R. A., Packer, R. K., & Knepper, M. A. (2003). Long-term regulation of ENaC expression in kidney by angiotensin II. Hypertension, 41(5), 1143-50.
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  We carried out semiquantitative immunoblotting of kidney to identify apical sodium transporter proteins whose abundances are regulated by angiotensin II. In NaCl-restricted rats (0.5 mEq Na/200 g BW/d), the type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1 receptor) antagonist, candesartan, (1 mg/kg of body weight per day SC for 2 days) markedly decreased the abundance of the alpha subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). This subunit has been shown to be rate-limiting for assembly of mature ENaC complexes. In addition, systemic infusion of angiotensin II increased alphaENaC protein abundance in rat kidney cortex. The decrease in alphaENaC protein abundance in response to AT1 receptor blockade was associated with a fall in alphaENaC mRNA abundance (real-time RT-PCR), consistent with transcriptionally mediated regulation. The effect of AT1 receptor blockade on alphaENaC expression was not blocked by spironolactone, suggesting a direct role of the AT1 receptor in regulation of alphaENaC gene expression. Candesartan administration was also found to increase the abundances of the beta and gamma subunits. The increase in beta and gammaENaC protein abundance was not associated with a significant increase in the renal abundances of the corresponding mRNAs, suggesting a posttranscriptional mechanism. Immunocytochemistry confirmed the increase in beta and gammaENaC protein abundance and demonstrated candesartan-induced ENaC internalization in collecting duct cells. The results support the view that the angiotensin II receptor regulates ENaC abundance, consistent with a role for angiotensin II in regulation of collecting duct function.
• Brooks, H. L., Ageloff, S., Kwon, T., Brandt, W., Terris, J. M., Seth, A., Michea, L., Nielsen, S., Fenton, R., & Knepper, M. A. (2003). cDNA array identification of genes regulated in rat renal medulla in response to vasopressin infusion. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 284(1), F218-28.
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  With the aim of identifying possible gene targets for direct or indirect regulation by vasopressin in the renal medulla, we have carried out cDNA array experiments in inner medullas of Brattleboro rats infused with the V(2) receptor-selective vasopressin analog desamino-Cys1,d-Arg8 vasopressin (dDAVP) for 72 h. Of the 1,176 genes on the array, 137 transcripts were increased by 2-fold or more, and 10 transcripts were decreased to 0.5-fold or less. Quantitative, real-time RT-PCR measurements confirmed increases seen for six selected transcripts (Wilms' tumor protein, beta-arrestin 2, neurofibromin, casein kinase IIbeta, aquaporin-3, and aquaporin-4). To correlate changes in mRNA expression with changes in protein expression, we carried out quantitative immunoblotting for 28 of the proteins whose cDNAs were on the array. For several targets including aquaporin-2, transcript abundance and protein abundance changes did not correlate. However, for most genes examined, changes in mRNA abundances were associated with concomitant protein abundance changes. Targets with demonstrated increases in both protein and mRNA abundances included neurofibromin, casein kinase IIbeta, the beta-subunit of the epithelial Na channel (beta-ENaC), 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, and c-Fos. Additional cDNA arrays revealed that several transcripts that were increased in abundance after 72 h of dDAVP were also increased after 4 h, including casein kinase IIbeta, beta-ENaC, aquaporin-3, UT-A, and syntaxin 2. These studies have identified several transcripts whose abundances are regulated in the inner medulla in response to infusion of dDAVP and that could play roles in the regulation of salt and water excretion.
• Zhang, Z., Ferraris, J. D., Brooks, H. L., Brisc, I., & Burg, M. B. (2003). Expression of osmotic stress-related genes in tissues of normal and hyposmotic rats. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 285(4), F688-93.
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  TonEBP is a transcription factor that, when activated by hypertonicity, increases transcription of genes, including those involved in organic osmolyte accumulation. Surprisingly, it is expressed in virtually all tissues, including many never normally exposed to hypertonicity. We measured TonEBP mRNA (real-time PCR) and protein (Western blot analysis) in tissues of control (plasma osmolality 294 +/- 1 mosmol/kgH2O) and hyposmotic (dDAVP infusion plus water loading for 3 days, 241 +/- 2 mosmol/kgH2O) rats to test whether the ubiquitous expression of TonEBP mRNA is osmotically regulated around the normal plasma osmolality. TonEBP protein is reduced by hyposmolality in thymus and liver, but not in brain, and is not detected in heart and skeletal muscle. TonEBP mRNA decreases in brain and liver but is unchanged in other tissues. There are no general changes in mRNA of TonEBP-mediated genes: aldose reductase (AR) does not change in any tissue, betaine transporter (BGT1) decreases only in liver, taurine transporter (TauT) only in brain and thymus, and inositol transporter (SMIT) only in skeletal muscle and liver. Heat shock protein (Hsp)70-1 and Hsp70-2 mRNA increase greatly in most tissues, which cannot be attributed to decreased TonEBP activity. The conclusions are as follows: 1) TonEBP protein or mRNA expression is reduced by hyposmolality in thymus, liver, and brain. 2) TonEBP protein and mRNA expression are differentially regulated in some tissues. 3) Although AR, SMIT, BGT1, and TauT are regulated by TonEBP in renal medullary cells, other sources of regulation may predominate in other tissues. 4) TonEBP abundance and activity are regulated by factors other than tonicity in some tissues.
• Brooks, H. L., Allred, A. J., Beutler, K. T., Coffman, T. M., & Knepper, M. A. (2002). Targeted proteomic profiling of renal Na(+) transporter and channel abundances in angiotensin II type 1a receptor knockout mice. Hypertension, 39(2 Pt 2), 470-3.
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  The renal tubule transporters responsible for Na(+) and water transport along the nephron have been identified and cloned, permitting comprehensive analysis of transporter protein abundance changes in complex physiological models by using a "targeted proteomics" approach. Here, we apply this approach to screen renal homogenates from mice in which the gene for the angiotensin II type 1a (AT(1a)) receptor has been deleted (versus wild-type mice) to determine which sodium transporters and channels are regulated by the AT(1a) receptor at the protein abundance level. In mice maintained on a low NaCl diet (
• Masilamani, S., Wang, X., Kim, G., Brooks, H., Nielsen, J., Nielsen, S., Nakamura, K., Stokes, J. B., & Knepper, M. A. (2002). Time course of renal Na-K-ATPase, NHE3, NKCC2, NCC, and ENaC abundance changes with dietary NaCl restriction. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 283(4), F648-57.
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  We have used peptide-directed antibodies to each major renal Na transporter and channel proteins to screen renal homogenates for changes in Na transporter protein expression after initiation of dietary NaCl restriction. After equilibration on a NaCl-replete diet (2.0 meq. 200 g body wt(-1). day(-1)), rats were switched to a NaCl-deficient diet (0.02 meq. 200 g body wt(-1). day(-1)). Na excretion fell to 25% of baseline levels on day 1, followed by a further decrease
• Takahashi, N., Brooks, H. L., Wade, J. B., Liu, W., Kondo, Y., Ito, S., Knepper, M. A., & Smithies, O. (2002). Posttranscriptional compensation for heterozygous disruption of the kidney-specific NaK2Cl cotransporter gene. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN, 13(3), 604-10.
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  Mice homozygous for a loss of function mutation of the kidney-specific NaK2Cl cotransporter, BSC1/NKCC2, do not survive. Here the effects of loss of one copy of the gene are studied. NKCC2 mRNA of NKCC2 +/- kidney was 55 +/- 6% of +/+, yet no differences were found between NKCC2 +/+ and +/- mice in BP, blood gas, electrolytes, creatinine, plasma renin concentration, urine volume and osmolality, ability to concentrate and dilute urine, and response to furosemide. When mice were challenged with 180 mM NH(4)Cl, plasma ammonia and urinary ammonia excretion were increased twofold and fivefold, respectively, but there was still no difference between the two genotypes. NKCC2 +/- mice had a near-normal level of NKCC2 protein and no clear change in the distribution of NKCC2 in the thick ascending limb (TAL) cells. In vitro microperfusion of isolated TAL showed no significant difference between the two genotypes in the basal and vasopressin-stimulated capacity to reabsorb NaCl. There was no difference in the mRNA expressions of thiazide-sensitive NaCl cotransporter, epithelial Na channel (ENaC), aquaporin-2, ROMK, and NaKATPase. Halving the mRNA expression of NKCC2 does not affect BP or fluid balance because of compensatory factors that restore the protein level to near normal. One possible factor is a regulated increase in the movement of cytoplasmic protein to the luminal membrane leading to a restoration of functional transporter to an essentially wild type level.
• Brooks, H. L., Sorensen, A. M., Terris, J., Schultheis, P. J., Lorenz, J. N., Shull, G. E., & Knepper, M. A. (2001). Profiling of renal tubule Na+ transporter abundances in NHE3 and NCC null mice using targeted proteomics. The Journal of physiology, 530(Pt 3), 359-66.
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  The Na+-H+ exchanger NHE3 and the thiazide-sensitive Na+-Cl- cotransporter NCC are the major apical sodium transporters in the proximal convoluted tubule and the distal convoluted tubule of the kidney, respectively. We investigated the mechanism of compensation that allows maintenance of sodium balance in NHE3 knockout mice and in NCC knockout mice. We used a so-called 'targeted proteomics' approach, which profiles the entire renal tubule with regard to changes in Na+ transporter and aquaporin abundance in response to the gene deletions. Specific antibodies to the Na+ transporters and aquaporins expressed along the nephron were utilized to determine the relative abundance of each transporter. Semiquantitative immunoblotting was used which gives an estimate of the percentage change in abundance of each transporter in knockout compared with wild-type mice. In NHE3 knockout mice three changes were identified which could compensate for the loss of NHE3-mediated sodium absorption. (a) The proximal sodium-phosphate cotransporter NaPi-2 was markedly upregulated. (b) In the collecting duct, the 70 kDa form of the y-subunit of the epithelial sodium channel, ENaC, exhibited an increase in abundance. This is thought to be an aldosterone-stimulated form of y-ENaC. (c) Glomerular filtration was significantly reduced. In the NCC knockout mice, amongst all the sodium transporters expressed along the renal tubule, only the 70 kDa form of the y-subunit of the epithelial sodium channel, ENaC, exhibited an increase in abundance. In conclusion, both mouse knockout models demonstrated successful compensation for loss of the deleted transporter. More extensive adaptation occurred in the case of the NHE3 knockout, presumably because NHE3 is responsible for much more sodium absorption in normal mice than in NCC knockout mice.
• Hager, H., Kwon, T. H., Vinnikova, A. K., Masilamani, S., Brooks, H. L., Frøkiaer, J., Knepper, M. A., & Nielsen, S. (2001). Immunocytochemical and immunoelectron microscopic localization of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-ENaC in rat kidney. American journal of physiology. Renal physiology, 280(6), F1093-106.
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  Epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) subunit (alpha, beta, and gamma) mRNA and protein have been localized to the principal cells of the connecting tubule (CNT), cortical collecting duct (CCD), and outer medullary collecting duct (OMCD) in rat kidney. However, the subcellular localization of ENaC subunits in the principal cells of these cells is undefined. The cellular and subcellular localization of ENaC subunits in rat kidney was therefore examined. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated the presence of all three subunits in principal cells of the CNT, CCD, OMCD, and IMCD. In cortex and outer medulla, confocal microscopy demonstrated a difference in the subcellular localization of subunits. alpha-ENaC was localized mainly in a zone in the apical domains, whereas beta- and gamma-ENaC were found throughout the cytoplasm. Immunoelectron microscopy confirmed the presence of ENaC subunits in both the apical plasma membrane and intracellular vesicles. In contrast to the labeling pattern seen in cortex, alpha-ENaC labeling in IMCD cells was distributed throughout the cytoplasm. In the urothelium covering pelvis, ureters, and bladder, immunoperoxidase and confocal microscopy revealed differences the presence of all ENaC subunits. As seen in CCD, alpha-ENaC was present in a narrow zone near the apical plasma membrane, whereas beta- and gamma-ENaC were dispersed throughout the cytoplasm. In conclusion, all three subunits of ENaC are expressed throughout the collecting duct (CD), including the IMCD as well as in the urothelium. The intracellular vesicular pool in CD principal cells suggests ENaC trafficking as a potential mechanism for the regulation of Na(+) reabsorption.
• Knepper, M. A., & Brooks, H. L. (2001). Regulation of the sodium transporters NHE3, NKCC2 and NCC in the kidney. Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension, 10(5), 655-9.
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  The regulation of sodium transport in the kidney is important for maintenance of extracellular fluid volume and arterial blood-pressure regulation. The major sodium transporters and channels in individual renal tubule segments have been identified via physiological techniques, and complementary DNAs for all of the key sodium transporters and channels expressed along the renal tubule have been cloned. Complementary DNA probes and antibodies are now being used to investigate the molecular basis of renal tubule sodium-transport regulation. This review summarizes some of the major observations made in the past year that are relevant to the regulation of the major sodium transporters in the proximal tubule (the type 3 sodium-hydrogen exchanger, NHE3), the thick ascending limb of Henle (the bumetanide-sensitive sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporter, NKCC2), and the distal convoluted tubule (the thiazide-sensitive sodium-chloride cotransporter, NCC).
• Wang, X. Y., Masilamani, S., Nielsen, J., Kwon, T. H., Brooks, H. L., Nielsen, S., & Knepper, M. A. (2001). The renal thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl cotransporter as mediator of the aldosterone-escape phenomenon. The Journal of clinical investigation, 108(2), 215-22.
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  The kidneys "escape" from the Na-retaining effects of aldosterone when circulating levels of aldosterone are inappropriately elevated in the setting of normal or expanded extracellular fluid volume, e.g., in primary aldosteronism. Using a targeted proteomics approach, we screened renal protein extracts with rabbit polyclonal antibodies directed to each of the major Na transporters expressed along the nephron to determine whether escape from aldosterone-mediated Na retention is associated with decreased abundance of one or more of renal Na transporters. The analysis revealed that the renal abundance of the thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl cotransporter (NCC) was profoundly and selectively decreased. None of the other apical solute-coupled Na transporters displayed decreases in abundance, nor were the total abundances of the three ENaC subunits significantly altered. Immunocytochemistry showed a strong decrease in NCC labeling in distal convoluted tubules of aldosterone-escape rats with no change in the cellular distribution of NCC. Ribonuclease protection assays (RPAs) revealed that the decrease in NCC protein abundance was not associated with altered NCC mRNA abundance. Thus, the thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl cotransporter of the distal convoluted tubule appears to be the chief molecular target for regulatory processes responsible for mineralocorticoid escape, decreasing in abundance via a posttranscriptional mechanism.
• Anthony, T. L., Brooks, H. L., Boassa, D., Leonov, S., Yanochko, G. M., Regan, J. W., & Yool, A. J. (2000). Cloned human aquaporin-1 is a cyclic GMP-gated ion channel. Molecular pharmacology, 57(3), 576-88.
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  Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) is a member of the membrane intrinsic protein (MIP) gene family and is known to provide pathways for water flux across cell membranes. We show here that cloned human AQP1 not only mediates water flux but also serves as a cGMP-gated ion channel. Two-electrode voltage-clamp analyses showed consistent activation of an ionic conductance in wild-type AQP1-expressing oocytes after the direct injection of cGMP (50 nl of 100 mM). Current activation was not observed in control (water-injected) oocytes or in AQP5-expressing oocytes with osmotic water permeabilities equivalent to those seen with AQP1. Patch-clamp recordings revealed large conductance channels (150 pS in K(+) saline) in excised patches from AQP1-expressing oocytes after the application of cGMP to the internal side. Amino acid sequence alignments between AQP1 and sensory cyclic-nucleotide-gated channels showed similarities between the cyclic-nucleotide-gated binding domain and the AQP1 carboxyl terminus that were not present in AQP5. Competitive radioligand-binding assays with [(3)H]cGMP demonstrated specific binding (K(D) = 0.2 microM) in AQP1-expressing Sf9 cells but not in controls. These results indicate that AQP1 channels have the capacity to participate in ionic signaling after the activation of cGMP second-messenger pathways.
• Brooks, H. L., Regan, J. W., & Yool, A. J. (2000). Inhibition of aquaporin-1 water permeability by tetraethylammonium: involvement of the loop E pore region. Molecular pharmacology, 57(5), 1021-6.
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  Previously, the only known blockers of water permeability through aquaporin-1 (AQP1) water channels were mercurial reagents such as HgCl(2). For AQP1, inhibition by mercury has been attributed to the formation of a mercaptide bond with cysteine residue 189 found in the putative pore-forming region loop E. Here we show that the nonmercurial compound, tetraethylammonium (TEA) chloride, reduces the water permeability of human AQP1 channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes. After preincubation of the oocytes for 15 min with 100 microM TEA, AQP1 water permeability was reduced by 20 to 40%, a degree of partial block similar to that obtained with 15 min of incubation in 100 microM HgCl(2). The reduction of water permeability was dose-dependent for tested concentrations up to 10 mM TEA. TEA blocks the Shaker potassium channel by interacting with a tyrosine residue in the outer pore region. We tested whether an analogous tyrosine residue in loop E of AQP1 could be involved in the binding of TEA. Using polymerase chain reaction, tyrosine 186 in AQP1, selected for its proximity to the mercury-binding site, was mutated to phenylalanine (Y186F), alanine (Y186A), or asparagine (Y186N). Oocyte expression of the mutant AQP1 channels showed that the water permeability of Y186F was equivalent to that of wild-type AQP1; the other mutant channels did not conduct water. However, in contrast to wild-type AQP1, the water permeability of Y186F was not reduced with 100 microM TEA. These results suggest that TEA reduces AQP1 water permeability by interacting with loop E.
• Ho, H. T., Chung, S. K., Law, J. W., Ko, B. C., Tam, S. C., Brooks, H. L., Knepper, M. A., & Chung, S. S. (2000). Aldose reductase-deficient mice develop nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Molecular and cellular biology, 20(16), 5840-6.
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  Aldose reductase (ALR2) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases associated with diabetes mellitus, such as cataract, retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy. However, its physiological functions are not well understood. We developed mice deficient in this enzyme and found that they had no apparent developmental or reproductive abnormality except that they drank and urinated significantly more than their wild-type littermates. These ALR2-deficient mice exhibited a partially defective urine-concentrating ability, having a phenotype resembling that of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.
• Lynch, R. M., Tompkins, L. S., Brooks, H. L., Dunn-Meynell, A. A., & Levin, B. E. (2000). Localization of glucokinase gene expression in the rat brain. Diabetes, 49(5), 693-700.
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  The brain contains a subpopulation of glucosensing neurons that alter their firing rate in response to elevated glucose concentrations. In pancreatic beta-cells, glucokinase (GK), the rate-limiting enzyme in glycolysis, mediates glucose-induced insulin release by regulating intracellular ATP production. A similar role for GK is proposed to underlie neuronal glucosensing. Via in situ hybridization, GK mRNA was localized to hypothalamic areas that are thought to contain relatively large populations of glucosensing neurons (the arcuate, ventromedial, dorsomedial, and paraventricular nuclei and the lateral area). GK also was found in brain areas without known glucosensing neurons (the lateral habenula, the bed nucleus stria terminalis, the inferior olive, the retrochiasmatic and medial preoptic areas, and the thalamic posterior paraventricular, interpeduncular, oculomotor, and anterior olfactory nuclei). Conversely, GK message was not found in the nucleus tractus solitarius, which contains glucosensing neurons, or in ependymal cells lining the third ventricle, where others have described its presence. In the arcuate nucleus, >75% of neuropeptide Y-positive neurons also expressed GK, and most GK+ neurons also expressed KIR6.2 (the pore-forming subunit of the ATP-sensitive K+ channel). The anatomic distribution of GK mRNA was confirmed in micropunch samples of hypothalamus via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Nucleotide sequencing of the recovered PCR product indicated identity with nucleotides 1092-1411 (within exon 9 and 10) of hepatic and beta-cell GK. The specific anatomic localization of GK mRNA in hypothalamic areas known to contain glucosensing neurons and the coexpression of KIR6.2 and NPY in GK+ neurons support a role for GK as a primary determinant of glucosensing in neuropeptide neurons that integrate multiple signals relating to peripheral energy metabolism.
• Drake, L. J., Barker, G. C., Korchev, Y., Lab, M., Brooks, H., & Bundy, D. A. (1998). Molecular and functional characterization of a recombinant protein of Trichuris trichiura. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 265(1405), 1559-65.
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  The pore-forming protein of the human whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, has been postulated to facilitate invasion of the host gut and enable the parasite to maintain its syncytial environment. The data presented here describe the first, to our knowledge, molecular characterization of a pore-forming protein in any helminth and provide a unique demonstration of the functional interaction between a parasite antigen and host molecules. Immunological screening of a T. trichiura cDNA library with T. trichiura infection sera identified a clone of 1.4 kB, the cDNA consisting of 1495 base pairs encoding a protein of 50 kDa. The sequence has a highly repetitive nature containing nine four-disulphide-bonded core domains. Structural prediction analyses reveals an amphipathic nature. TT50 induced pore formation in bilayers in a manner identical to that of the native protein. IgG antibody isolated from T. trichiura infection serum was observed to abolish channel activity.
• Walker, R. J., Brooks, H. L., & Holden-Dye, L. (1996). Evolution and overview of classical transmitter molecules and their receptors. Parasitology, 113 Suppl, S3-33.
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  All the classical transmitter ligand molecules evolved at least 1000 million years ago. With the possible exception of the Porifera and coelenterates (Cnidaria), they occur in all the remaining phyla. All transmitters have evolved the ability to activate a range of ion channels, resulting in excitation, inhibition and biphasic or multiphasic responses. All transmitters can be synthesised in all three basic types of neurones, i.e. sensory, interneurone and motoneurone. However their relative importance as sensory, interneurone or motor transmitters varies widely between the phyla. It is likely that all neurones contain more than one type of releasable molecule, often a combination of a classical transmitter and a neuroactive peptide. Second messengers, i.e. G proteins and phospholipase C systems, appeared early in evolution and occur in all phyla that have been investigated. Although the evidence is incomplete, it is likely that all the classical transmitter receptor subtypes identified in mammals, also occur throughout the phyla. The invertebrate receptors so far cloned show some interesting homologies both between those from different invertebrate phyla and with mammalian receptors. This indicates that many of the basic receptor subtypes, including benzodiazepine subunits, evolved at an early period, probably at least 800 million years ago. Overall, the evidence stresses the similarity between the major phyla rather than their differences, supporting a common origin from primitive helminth stock.

Presentations

• Brooks, H. L., Brooks, H. L., Carnie, A. H., Carnie, A. H., Ohala, D. K., Ohala, D. K., Anderson, S., Anderson, S., Bell, E., Bell, E., Hammond, M., Hammond, M., Webb-davies, P., & Webb-davies, P. (2019, summer). Testing the effects of lexical frequency and category on soft mutation. Welsh Linguistics Seminar. Gregynog, Wales.
• Brooks, H. L., Carnie, A. H., Ohala, D. K., Anderson, S., Bell, E., Hammond, M., & Webb-davies, P. (2019, summer). Testing the effects of lexical frequency and category on soft mutation. Welsh Linguistics Seminar. Gregynog, Wales.
• Wedel, A. B., Webb-Davies, P., Ussishkin, A. P., Ohala, D. K., Carnie, A. H., Brooks, H. L., Bell, E., Archangeli, D. B., Anderson, S., & Hammond, M. (2017, july). Grant ar dreigladau’r Gymraeg: adroddiad interim (Interim report on the grant on the mutations of Welsh). Seminar Ieithyddiaeth y Gymraeg Gregynog. Newtown, Wales.
• Wedel, A. B., Wedel, A. B., Webb-Davies, P., Webb-Davies, P., Ussishkin, A. P., Ussishkin, A. P., Ohala, D. K., Ohala, D. K., Carnie, A. H., Carnie, A. H., Brooks, H. L., Brooks, H. L., Bell, E., Bell, E., Archangeli, D. B., Archangeli, D. B., Anderson, S., Anderson, S., Hammond, M., & Hammond, M. (2017, july). Grant ar dreigladau’r Gymraeg: adroddiad interim (Interim report on the grant on the mutations of Welsh). Seminar Ieithyddiaeth y Gymraeg Gregynog. Newtown, Wales.
• Webb-Davies, P., Hammond, M., Bell, E., Anderson, S., Archangeli, D. B., Brooks, H. L., Carnie, A. H., Ohala, D. K., Ussishkin, A. P., & Wedel, A. B. (2016, Summer). The Arizona-Wales mutation grant: introducing the project. 23ain Seminar Ieithyddiaeth y Gymraeg, Gregynog.
• Webb-Davies, P., Wedel, A. B., Hammond, M., Ussishkin, A. P., Bell, E., Ohala, D. K., Anderson, S., Carnie, A. H., Archangeli, D. B., Brooks, H. L., Brooks, H. L., Archangeli, D. B., Anderson, S., Carnie, A. H., Bell, E., Ohala, D. K., Ussishkin, A. P., Hammond, M., Webb-Davies, P., & Wedel, A. B. (2016, ?). The Arizona-Wales mutation grant: introducing the project. 23ain Seminar Ieithyddiaeth y Gymraeg, Gregynog.
• Brooks, H. L. (2014, April). Progression of hypertension and diabetes across the perimenopause to menopause transition. Experimental Biology Symposium Speaker: Sex Differences in Physiology and Pathophysiology. San Diego, California.
• Brooks, H. L. (2014, July 2014). Role of Menopause in Diabetes Hypertension and Metabolic Syndrome. Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia, July 2014.
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  Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia, July 2014
• Brooks, H. L. (2014, July). Lithium Induced Nephrogenic Diabetes: Role of mTOR and primary cilia. Centre for Kidney Disease Research, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, July 2014. Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.

Poster Presentations

• Brooks, H. L., Nikolich-Zugich, J., Langlais, P. R., Kelly, A. C., Moffett, C. K., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Husband, N. A., & Uhlorn, J. A. (2019, September/Fall). Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analysis of CD4+ T Cells to Identify Sex Differences in Angiotensin II Signaling Pathways.. American Heart Association – Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
• Brooks, H. L., Langlais, P. R., Nikolich-Zugich, J., Nunez, F., Uhrlaub, J., Uhlorn, J. A., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Moffett, C., & Husband, N. A. (2018, April). Angiotensin II-Induced Hypertension in VCD-Treated Menopausal Female Mice Elicits Significant Changes to the Splenic CD4+ Cell Proteome. Experimental Biology.
• Pollow, D., Romero-Aleshire, M. J., Uhrlaub, J., Nikolich-Zugich, J., Hay, M., & Brooks, H. L. (2014, April). Tcell-dependent hypertension is attenuated in female mice during angiotensin II infusion. FASEB 2014.
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  25. Pollow D.P., Romero-Aleshire, M.J., Uhrlaub J., Nikolich-Zugich J., Hay M., Brooks H.L. FASEB 2014, A751. 26. Beckman J., Moore-Dotson J.M., Romero-Aleshire M.J., Brooks H.L., and Eggers E.D. Morphology of the Retina in Early Diabetes. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), May 2014.27. Moore-Dotson JM, Mazade R.E., Bernstein, A.S., Romero-Aleshire, M.J., Brooks, H.L., and Eggers ED. Light-evoked rod bipolar cell inhibition is decreased in diabetes. FASEB Summer Research Conference, Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing, June 2014.28. Pollow DP, Perez JN, Constantopoulos E, Konhilas JP, Brooks HL. Menopause impairs cardiovascular resilience and blood pressure regulation. American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting 2014. Abstract #3087.29. Pollow DP, Romero-Aleshire MJ, Goldberg E, Nikolich-Zugich J, Brooks H.L. 17-β estradiol treatment prevents angiotensin II-induced hypertension in VCD-treated menopausal female mice, independent of renal T lymphocyte infiltration. American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research, San Francisco, Sept 2014. 30. Moore-Dotson, J.M., Beckman, J., Mazade, R.E., Bernstein, A.S., Romero-Aleshire, M.J., Brooks, H.L. and Eggers, E.D. Spontaneous GABAergic signaling in the retinal OFF pathway is reduced in diabetes. Society for Neuroscience, November 2014.