Journal of neurophysiology
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Comparative Study
Activity- and BDNF-induced plasticity of miniature synaptic currents in ES cell-derived neurons integrated in a neocortical network.
In vitro differentiated embryonic stem (ES) cells have been proposed as potential donor cells for cell replacement therapies of neurodegenerative diseases. The functional synaptic integration of such cells appears conceivable because ES cell-derived neurons are well known to establish excitatory and inhibitory synapses. However, long-term synaptic plasticity, a prerequisite of memory formation, has not yet been demonstrated at these synapses. ⋯ Chronic addition of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF; 100 ng/ml) to the culture medium resulted in an increase in both the frequency and the amplitudes of AMPA mEPSCs. These results suggest that BDNF induces the formation and/or the functional maturation of presynaptic release sites in parallel with an upregulation of postsynaptic AMPA receptors. Thus BDNF represents a potential co-factor that could improve functional synaptic integration of ES cell-derived neurons into neocortical networks.
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Comparative Study
Endotoxin-induced uveitis causes long-term changes in trigeminal subnucleus caudalis neurons.
Endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) is commonly used in animals to mimic ocular inflammation in humans. Although the peripheral aspects of EIU have been well studied, little is known of the central neural effects of anterior eye inflammation. EIU was induced in male rats by endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 mg/kg ip) given 2 or 7 days earlier. ⋯ Tear volume evoked by CO(2) was reduced 2 days after LPS and returned toward control values by 7 days, whereas CO(2)-evoked eye blinks were normal at 2 days and increased 7 days after LPS. These results indicate that a single exposure to endotoxin causes long-term changes in the excitability of second-order neurons responsive to noxious ocular stimulation. The differential effects of EIU on tear volume and eye blink lend further support for the hypothesis that ocular-sensitive neurons at the Vi/Vc transition and Vc/C1 junction regions mediate different aspects of pain during intraocular inflammation.
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Comparative Study
Differential processing of noxious colonic input by thoracolumbar and lumbosacral dorsal horn neurons in the rat.
Previous studies suggest the lumbosacral (LS) spinal cord processes acute colorectal stimuli whereas the thoracolumbar (TL) and LS spinal segments process inflammatory stimuli. In this study, the effects of colorectal distention (CRD) on TL and LS dorsal horn neuronal activity were recorded in Nembutal-anesthetized male rats both with and without colonic inflammation. Both single cells (before and after inflammation) and populations (multiple cells from noninflamed or inflamed rats) were studied. ⋯ These data suggest that in noninflamed rats, the net response to CRD of TL visceroceptive spinal sensory neurons is less than that of LS neurons. Colonic inflammation increases the net response of TL neurons and differentially modulates the response of LS neurons. These differences may contribute to the functional dichotomy between the TL and LS spinal segments in processing acute and inflammatory colorectal pain.
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Comparative Study
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes involved in facilitation of GABAergic inhibition in mouse superficial superior colliculus.
The superficial superior colliculus (sSC) is a key station in the sensory processing related to visual salience. The sSC receives cholinergic projections from the parabigeminal nucleus, and previous studies have revealed the presence of several different nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits in the sSC. In this study, to clarify the role of the cholinergic inputs to the sSC, we examined current responses induced by ACh in GABAergic and non-GABAergic sSC neurons using in vitro slice preparations obtained from glutamate decarboxylase 67-green fluorescent protein (GFP) knock-in mice in which GFP is specifically expressed in GABAergic neurons. ⋯ This ACh-induced GABA release was mediated mainly by alphaCtxMII-sensitive nAChRs and resulted from the activation of voltage-dependent calcium channels. Morphological analysis revealed that recorded GFP-positive neurons are interneurons and GFP-negative neurons include projection neurons. These findings suggest that nAChRs are involved in the regulation of GABAergic inhibition and modulate visual processing in the sSC.
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Comparative Study
Suppression of ih contributes to propofol-induced inhibition of mouse cortical pyramidal neurons.
The contributions of the hyperpolarization-activated current, I(h), to generation of rhythmic activities are well described for various central neurons, particularly in thalamocortical circuits. In the present study, we investigated effects of a general anesthetic, propofol, on native I(h) in neurons of thalamus and cortex and on the corresponding cloned HCN channel subunits. Whole cell voltage-clamp recordings from mouse brain slices identified neuronal I(h) currents with fast activation kinetics in neocortical pyramidal neurons and with slower kinetics in thalamocortical relay cells. ⋯ In heterologous expression systems, 5 muM propofol caused a large shift in V1/2 and decrease in current amplitude in homomeric HCN1 and linked heteromeric HCN1-HCN2 channels, both of which activate with fast kinetics but did not affect V1/2 or current amplitude of slowly activating homomeric HCN2 channels. With GABA(A) and glycine receptor channels blocked, propofol caused membrane hyperpolarization and suppressed action potential discharge in cortical neurons; these effects were occluded by the I(h) blocker, ZD-7288. In summary, these data indicate that propofol selectively inhibits HCN channels containing HCN1 subunits, such as those that mediate I(h) in cortical pyramidal neurons-and they suggest that anesthetic actions of propofol may involve inhibition of cortical neurons and perhaps other HCN1-expressing cells.