Abstract P803: Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide via Cyclic-AMP Inhibits Nogo-A by Internalizing Its Receptor NgR1

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Introduction: After a stroke, axonal regeneration is inhibited by diverse axonal growth inhibitors, such as Nogo-A. They bind to the Nogo-A receptor 1 (NgR1) and induce the collapse of growth cones and inhibit neurite outgrowth. Since NgR1 is the receptor for a variety of axonal growth inhibitors, it is a crucial target for the prevention of axonal growth inhibition. Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) has neuroprotective and neurotrophic activities and increases neuritogenesis and synaptic plasticity. It enhances functional recovery after stroke in various animal models. Methods: Neuroscreen-1 (NS-1) cells were selected for this study as they produce rapid and robust neurite outgrowth with NGF. Cell surface NgR1 was detected using the indirect immunofluorescence method. The internalization of NgR1 was quantitated using the biotinylation method and Western immunoblotting. Results: Using the indirect immunofluorescence method, we found that PACAP (PACAP-38) induced a rapid decrease in the cell surface expression of NgR1 in NS-1 cells. The biotinylation method revealed that PACAP induced the internalization of NgR1. This internalization of NgR1 was blocked by pretreatment of NS-1 cells with SQ 22536, an inhibitor for adenylate cyclase, suggesting that cAMP plays a crucial role in the internalization of NgR1. The protein kinase A (PKA)-specific inhibitor KT5720 did not block PACAP-induced NgR1 internalization, whereas the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac)-specific inhibitor ESI-09 blocked this internalization. Collectively, this data suggests that PACAP-induced NgR1 internalization is independent of PKA but is dependent on Epac. The PACAP-induced decrease in cell surface expression of NgR1 and its internalization desensitized NS-1 cells to Nogo-66-induced growth cone collapse and enhanced neuritogenesis. Conclusion: Cyclic-AMP and Epac are involved in the PACAP-induced desensitization of neuronal cells to Nogo-A and increase in neuritogenesis. Since PACAP crosses the blood-brain barrier, it may be a useful therapeutic agent to overcome axonal growth inhibitors and enhance functional recovery after stroke.