Acetylcholine release from fetal tissue homotopically grafted to the motoneuron-depleted lumbar spinal cord. An in vivo microdialysis study in the awake rat     

Gulino R  Cataudella T  Casamenti F  Pepeu G  Stanzani S  Leanza G 《Experimental neurology》2007,204(1):326-338

Grafts of spinal cord (SC) tissue can survive and develop into the severed SC, but no conclusive data are available concerning the functional activity of transplanted neurons. In the present study, suspensions of prelabeled embryonic ventral SC tissue were grafted to the lumbar SC of rats with motoneuron loss induced by perinatal injection of volkensin. Eight to ten months post-grafting, acetylcholine (ACh) release was measured by microdialysis in awake rats, under either basal or stimulated conditions. In normal animals, baseline ACh output averaged 1.6 pmol/30 microl, it exhibited a 4-fold increase after KCl-induced depolarization or handling, and it was completely inhibited by tetrodotoxin administration. Moreover, ACh levels did not change following acute SC transection performed under anesthesia during ongoing dialysis, suggesting an intrinsic source for spinal ACh. Treatment with volkensin produced a severe (>85%) motoneuronal loss accompanied by a similar reduction in baseline ACh release and almost completely abolished effects of depolarization or handling. In transplanted animals, many motoneuron-like labeled cells were found within and just outside the graft area, but apparently in no case were they able to extend fibers towards the denervated muscle. However, the grafts restored baseline ACh output up to near-normal levels and responded with significantly increased release to depolarization, but not to handling. The present findings indicate that spinal neuroblasts can survive and develop within the motoneuron-depleted SC and release ACh in a near-normal, but apparently non-regulated, manner. This may be of importance for future studies involving intraspinal stem cell grafts.  相似文献   

Aging, plasticity and environmental enrichment: structural changes and neurotransmitter dynamics in several areas of the brain   总被引：8，自引：0，他引：8  

Mora F  Segovia G  del Arco A 《Brain Research Reviews》2007,55(1):78-88

Cajal was probably the first neurobiologist to suggest that plasticity of nerve cells almost completely disappeared during aging. However, we know today that neural plasticity is still present in the brain during aging. In this review we suggest that aging is a physiological process that occurs asynchronously in different areas of the brain and that the rate of that process is modulated by environmental factors and related to the neuronal-synaptic-molecular substrates of each area. We review here some of the most recent results on aging of the brain in relation to the plastic changes that occur in young and aged animals as a result of living in an enriched environment. We highlight the results from our own laboratory on the dynamics of neurotransmitters in different areas of the brain. Specifically we review first the effects of aging on neurons, dendrites, synapses, and also on molecular and functional plasticity. Second, the effects of environmental enrichment on the brain of young and aged animals. And third the effects of an enriched environment on the age-related changes in neurogenesis and in the extracellular concentrations of glutamate and GABA in hippocampus, and on dopamine, acetylcholine, glutamate and GABA under a situation of acute mild stress in the prefrontal cortex.  相似文献   

Neurobiology of orofacial proprioception     

Lazarov NE 《Brain Research Reviews》2007,56(2):362-383

Primary sensory fibers innervating the head region derive from neurons of both the trigeminal ganglion (TG) and mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (MTN). The trigeminal primary proprioceptors have their cell bodies in the MTN. Unlike the TG cells, MTN neuronal somata are centrally located within the brainstem and receive synaptic inputs that potentially modify their output. They are a crucial component of the neural circuitry responsible for the generation and control of oromotor activities. Gaining an insight into the chemical neuroanatomy of the MTN is, therefore, of fundamental importance for the understanding of neurobiology of the head proprioceptive system. This paper summarizes the recent advances in our knowledge of pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms related to orofacial proprioceptive signaling in mammals. It first briefly describes the neuroanatomy of the MTN, which is involved in the processing of proprioceptive information from the face and oral cavity, and then focuses on its neurochemistry. In order to solve the puzzle of the chemical coding of the mammalian MTN, we review the expression of classical neurotransmitters and their receptors in mesencephalic trigeminal neurons. Furthermore, we discuss the relationship of neuropeptides and their corresponding receptors in relaying of masticatory proprioception and also refer to the interactions with other atypical neuromessengers and neurotrophic factors. In extension of previous inferences, we provide conclusive evidence that the levels of transmitters vary according to the environmental conditions thus implying the neuroplasticity of mesencephalic trigeminal neurons. Finally, we have also tried to give an integrated functional account of the MTN neurochemical profiles.  相似文献   

Evaluation of an osmotic pump for microdialysis sampling in an awake and untethered rat     

Cooper JD  Heppert KE  Davies MI  Lunte SM 《Journal of neuroscience methods》2007,160(2):269-275

The feasibility of using an osmotic pump in place of a syringe pump for microdialysis sampling in rat brain was investigated. The use of an osmotic pump permits the rat to be free from the constraints of the standard tethered system. The in vitro flow rates of a microdialysis syringe pump (set at 10.80 μl/h) and the osmotic pump (pump specifications were 11.35 μl/h) with no probe attached were compared, yielding results of 10.87 μl/h ± 1.7% and 10.95 μl/h ± 8.0%, respectively. The average of four flow rate experiments in vivo yielded R.S.D.s less than 10% and an average flow rate of 11.1 μl/h. Following the flow rate studies, in vivo sampling of neurotransmitters was accomplished with the osmotic pump coupled to a microdialysis probe implanted in the brain. Finally, after determination of basal levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) in the rats, the rats were dosed with benserazide followed by l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA). The results from the dosing study showed at least a 10-fold increase in compounds in the l-DOPA metabolic pathway (DOPAC and HVA) and a slight or no increase in 5-HIAA (serotonin metabolic pathway.) These results indicate that the osmotic pump is a viable alternative to the syringe pump for use in microdialysis sampling.  相似文献   

The aromatic cage in the active site of monoamine oxidase B: effect on the structural and electronic properties of bound benzylamine and p-nitrobenzylamine     

Akyüz MA  Erdem SS  Edmondson DE 《Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)》2007,114(6):693-698

Summary Computational studies using the ONIOM methods have been performed to probe the catalytic roles of tyrosine residues 398 and 435 which constitute the “aromatic cage” in the active site of MAO-B. The results presented here provide additional new insights into the interactions that take place on activation of the amine substrate by the aromatic cage residues in MAO-B catalysis and have relevance to the MAO-A catalytic mechanism.  相似文献   

A neuropathological study of two autopsy cases of syndromic hemimegalencephaly   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Boer K  Troost D  Spliet WG  Redeker S  Crino PB  Aronica E 《Neuropathology and applied neurobiology》2007,33(4):455-470

Hemimegalencephaly (HMEG) is a malformation of cortical development characterized by unilateral enlargement of the cerebral hemisphere, severe architectural and cellular abnormalities and association with intractable epilepsy. HMEG may represent an isolated lesion of the central nervous system, but may also be associated with several neurocutaneous syndromes. In the present study we discuss the neuropathological findings of two autopsy cases of HMEG associated with linear naevus sebaceous syndrome. Both cases showed the presence of linear naevus sebaceous on extensive areas of the face. The neurochemical profile of the glial and neuronal components in the affected hemisphere was determined using immunocytochemical markers and was compared with the unaffected contralateral hemisphere and normal control tissue. The observed cytomegalic neurones expressed receptors for distinct neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and growth factors. Analysis of components of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway revealed expression of phospho-S6 ribosomal protein in cytomegalic neurones. Autopsy findings confirm the complexity of the histologic phenotypic manifestations in HMEG and proved useful in determining the spectrum of cytoarchitectural and neurochemical abnormalities, underlying the molecular pathogenesis and epileptogenesis of this brain malformation.  相似文献   

Dopamine release modifies intracellular calcium levels in tyrosine hydroxylase-transfected C6 cells     

Guerrero-Cázares H  Alatorre-Carranza Mdel P  Delgado-Rizo V  Duenas-Jimenez JM  Mendoza-Magana ML  Morales-Villagran A  Ramirez-Herrera MA  Guerrero-Hernández A  Segovia J  Duenas-Jimenez SH 《Brain research bulletin》2007,74(1-3):113-118

Glioma cell line C6, transfected with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) cDNA under the control of the glial fibrillary acid protein promoter (C6-THA cells), elicited a reduction in the apomorphine-induced turning behavior when they are implanted in Parkinson's disease models. Nevertheless, dopamine (Da) release has not been explicitly demonstrated nor has a possible mechanism of release been implicated. In this study, the in vitro Da release by C6 and C6-THA cells after chemical stimulation with KCl or glutamate was quantified using HPLC. Modifications in intracellular calcium levels in response to KCl stimulation and participation of Da receptor-mediated feedback in calcium regulation were also studied using FLUO 3 as a calcium concentration indicator. C6-THA cells release dopamine in basal conditions, and increase its release after KCl or glutamic acid stimulation. In a fraction of C6 and C6-THA cells, a transient intracellular calcium increase was observed after KCl stimulation, but C6-THA cells demonstrated a faster rate of calcium removal. C6 cells express mRNA from all five subtypes of Da receptors as demonstrated by real time PCR. D1 receptors were most abundant in C6 cells and its expression was further increased in C6-THA cells. Blocking D1-like receptors in C6-THA cells with the specific antagonist drug SCH-23390 induced a decrease in intracellular calcium removal rate, resembling non-manipulated C6 cells' calcium clearance. Da release by C6-THA cells could be related to calcium dependent mechanisms. Furthermore, production of Da by C6-THA cells seems to upregulate the expression of D1 receptors' mRNA.  相似文献   

Synapse-specific localization of vesicular glutamate transporters in the rat olfactory bulb     

Gabellec MM  Panzanelli P  Sassoè-Pognetto M  Lledo PM 《The European journal of neuroscience》2007,25(5):1373-1383

Vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) mediate the packaging of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate into synaptic vesicles. Three VGLUT subtypes have so far been identified, with distinct expression patterns in the adult brain. Here, we investigated the spatial distribution of the three VGLUTs in the rat olfactory bulb, a brain region containing a variety of glutamate synapses, both axodendritic and dendrodendritic. Using multilabelling confocal microscopy and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry, we showed that each VGLUT isoform has a highly selective localization in olfactory bulb synapses. VGLUT1 is present at dendrodendritic synapses established by the output neurones (mitral and tufted cells) with bulbar interneurones in the glomerular layer and external plexiform layer, as well as in axonal synapses of the granule cell layer. By contrast, VGLUT2 is strongly expressed in axon terminals of olfactory sensory neurones, which establish synapses with second-order neurones in the glomerular neuropil. VGLUT2 is also found in the outer part of the external plexiform layer and in the granule cell layer but colocalizes only partially with VGLUT1. Finally, we showed that VGLUT3 is exclusively located in the glomerular neuropil, where it colocalizes extensively with the vesicular inhibitory amino acid transporter vesicular GABA transporter, suggesting that it is associated with a subset of inhibitory synapses. Together, these observations extend previous findings on VGLUT distribution in the forebrain, and suggest that each VGLUT subtype has a specific function in the distinct features of axodendritic and dendrodendritic synapses that characterize the olfactory bulb circuit.  相似文献   

An antibody to synaptotagmin I facilitates synaptic transmission     

Hua SY  Teylan MA  Cimenser A 《The European journal of neuroscience》2007,25(11):3217-3225

Proper functioning of the nervous system requires precise control of neurotransmitter release. Synaptotagmin, a synaptic vesicle protein, is crucial for the temporal control of neurotransmitter release. The mechanism of synaptotagmin function is still under debate. To investigate the mechanism by which synaptotagmin controls neurotransmitter release, we injected an antibody of rat synaptotagmin I into a crayfish motor axon. We found that the antibody enhanced synaptic transmission at crayfish neuromuscular junctions by increasing the amplitude of the evoked synaptic response. This effect was antibody-dose dependent. The antibody also reduced the rise time of the synaptic potentials. These effects were accompanied by a reduction in the Hill coefficient for Ca(2+)-dependence of synaptic transmission. Our findings support the hypothesis that synaptotagmin inhibits neurotransmitter release in the absence of Ca(2+).  相似文献   

The chemical component of the mixed GF-TTMn synapse in Drosophila melanogaster uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter     

Allen MJ  Murphey RK 《The European journal of neuroscience》2007,26(2):439-445

The largest central synapse in adult Drosophila is a mixed electro-chemical synapse whose gap junctions require the product of the shaking-B (shak-B) gene. Shak-B(2) mutant flies lack gap junctions at this synapse, which is between the giant fibre (GF) and the tergotrochanteral motor neuron (TTMn), but it still exhibits a long latency response upon GF stimulation. We have targeted the expression of the light chain of tetanus toxin to the GF, to block chemical transmission, in shak-B(2) flies. The long latency response in the tergotrochanteral muscle (TTM) was abolished indicating that the chemical component of the synapse mediates this response. Attenuation of GAL4-mediated labelling by a cha-GAL80 transgene, reveals the GF to be cholinergic. We have used a temperature-sensitive allele of the choline acetyltransferase gene (cha(ts2)) to block cholinergic synapses in adult flies and this also abolished the long latency response in shak-B(2) flies. Taken together the data provide evidence that both components of this mixed synapse are functional and that the chemical neurotransmitter between the GF and the TTMn is acetylcholine. Our findings show that the two components of this synapse can be separated to allow further studies into the mechanisms by which mixed synapses are built and function.  相似文献