The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
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Natriuretic peptides (NPs) may work as neuromodulators through their associated receptors [NP receptors (NPRs)]. By immunocytochemistry, we showed that NPR-A and NPR-B were expressed abundantly on both ON-type and OFF-type bipolar cells (BCs) in rat retina, including the dendrites, somata, and axon terminals. Whole-cell recordings made from isolated ON-type BCs further showed that brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) suppressed GABAA receptor-, but not GABAC receptor-, mediated currents of the BCs, which was blocked by the NPR-A antagonist anantin. ⋯ The BNP effect was blocked by the ryanodine receptor modulators caffeine, ryanodine, and ruthenium red but not by the IP3 receptor antagonists heparin and xestospongin-C. Furthermore, the BNP effect was abolished after application of the blocker of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase thapsigargin and greatly reduced by the calmodulin inhibitors W-7 and calmidazolium. We therefore conclude that the increased calcium release from ryanodine-sensitive calcium stores by BNP may be responsible for the BNP-caused GABAA response suppression in ON-type BCs through stimulating calmodulin.
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Comparative Study
Identification of wake-active dopaminergic neurons in the ventral periaqueductal gray matter.
Recent evidence suggests that dopamine plays an important role in arousal, but the location of the dopaminergic neurons that may regulate arousal remains unclear. It is sometimes assumed that the dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area that project to the prefrontal cortex and striatum may regulate the state of arousal; however, the firing of these dopaminergic neurons does not correlate with overall levels of behavioral wakefulness. We identified wake-active dopaminergic neurons by combining immunohistochemical staining for Fos and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in awake and sleeping rats. ⋯ By combining retrograde and anterograde tracing, we showed that these wake-active dopaminergic cells have extensive reciprocal connections with the sleep-wake regulatory system. The vPAG dopaminergic cells may provide the long-sought ascending dopaminergic waking influence. In addition, their close relationship with the dorsal raphe nucleus will require reassessment of previous studies of the role of the dorsal raphe nucleus in sleep, because many of those experiments may have been confounded by the then-unrecognized presence of intermingled wake-active dopaminergic neurons.
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Comparative Study
Myelin impairs CNS remyelination by inhibiting oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation.
Demyelination in the adult CNS can be followed by extensive repair. However, in multiple sclerosis, the differentiation of oligodendrocyte lineage cells present in demyelinated lesions is often inhibited by unknown factors. ⋯ After quantification of myelin basic protein mRNA expression from lesion material obtained by laser capture microdissection and supported by histological data, we found a significant impairment of remyelination, attributable to an arrest of the differentiation and not the recruitment of oligodendrocyte precursor cells. These data identify myelin as an inhibitor of remyelination as well as its well documented inhibition of axon regeneration.
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Comparative Study
Acute p38-mediated modulation of tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channels in mouse sensory neurons by tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) is a proinflammatory cytokine involved in the development and maintenance of inflammatory and neuropathic pain conditions. TNFalpha can have long-lasting effects by regulating the expression of a variety of inflammatory mediators, including other cytokines and TNFalpha itself. However, the speed with which TNFalpha induces tactile and thermal hypersensitivity suggests that transcriptional regulation cannot fully account for its sensitizing effects, and some recent findings suggest that TNFalpha may act directly on primary afferent neurons to induce pain hypersensitivity. ⋯ This potentiation of TTX-resistant currents by TNFalpha is dramatically reduced in DRG neurons from TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) knock-out mice and is blocked by the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor SB202190 [4-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-5-(4-pyridyl)1H-imidazole]. Mechanical hypersensitivity induced by peripherally applied TNFalpha is also significantly reduced by SB202190. These results suggest that TNFalpha may induce acute peripheral mechanical sensitization by acting directly on TNFR1 in primary afferent neurons, resulting in p38-dependent modulation of TTX-resistant Na+ channels.