Jararhagin, a snake venom metalloprotease-disintegrin, activates the Rac1 GTPase and stimulates neurite outgrowth in neuroblastoma cells

Author(s)

Costa, Erica Pereira ^[1] ; Del Debbio, Carolina Beltrame ^[1] ; Cintra, Leandro Carrijo ^[2] ; Costa, Luciano da Fontoura ^[2] ; Hamassaki, Dania Emi ^[1] ; Santos, Marinilce Fagundes ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Cell & Dev Biol, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Phys, BR-13560970 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Toxicon; v. 52, n. 2, p. 380-384, AUG 1 2008.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

It has been shown previously that the snake venom metalloprotease-disintegrin jararhagin stimulates cell migration and cytoskeletal rearrangement, independently of its effects on cellular adhesion but possibly associated with the activation of small GTP-binding proteins from the Rho family {[}Costa, E.P., Santos, M.F., 2004. Toxicon 44(8), 861-870.] Here we show that jararhagin stimulates spreading, actin dynamics and neurite outgrowth in neuroblastoma cells, and that this effect is accompanied by the translocation of the Rac1 small GTPase to the membrane fraction, suggesting its activation. Stimulation of neurite outgrowth was observed within minutes and was dependent on the proteolytic activity of the toxin. These results suggest that jararhagin may stimulate neuronal differentiation, being potential tool for neuronal regeneration studies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 05/00587-5 - Mesh (graph) modeling and techniques of pattern recognition: structure, dynamics and applications
• Grantee: Roberto Marcondes Cesar Junior
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 01/09047-2 - Cellular and molecular aspects of vertebrate retina development and degeneration
• Grantee: Dania Emi Hamassaki
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants