Cellular mechanisms in experimental epilepsy - I The effect of methionine sulfoximine on structure and function of cortical neurons

1966 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Schadé ◽  
F.G. Pascoe
2010 ◽  
Vol 189 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyothi Arikkath

Spines are sites of excitatory synapse formation in central neurons. Alterations in spine structure and function are widely believed to actively contribute to the cellular mechanisms of learning and memory. In this issue, Mendez et al. (2010. J. Cell Biol. doi:10.1083/jcb.201003007) demonstrate a pivotal role for the cell adhesion molecule N-cadherin in activity-mediated spine stabilization, offering a new mechanism for how spine dynamics and stability are regulated by activity in central neurons.


2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 1545-1555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Li ◽  
Shirley Guo-Ross ◽  
Darrell V. Lewis ◽  
Dennis Turner ◽  
Aaron M. White ◽  
...  

Choline, a compound present in many foods, has recently been classified as an essential nutrient for humans. Studies with animal models indicate that the availability of choline during the prenatal period influences neural and cognitive development. Specifically, prenatal choline supplementation has been shown to enhance working memory and hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) in adult offspring. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Here we report that choline supplementation, during a 6-day gestational period, results in greater excitatory responsiveness, reduced slow afterhyperpolarizations (sAHPs), enhanced afterdepolarizing potentials (ADPs), larger somata, and greater basal dendritic arborization among hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells studied postnatally in juvenile rats (20–25 days of age). These data indicate that dietary supplementation with a single nutrient, choline, during a brief, critical period of prenatal development, alters the structure and function of hippocampal pyramidal cells.


Author(s):  
Christine D. Hardy ◽  
Nancy J. Crisona ◽  
Michael D. Stone ◽  
Nicholas R. Cozzarelli

The seminal papers by Watson and Crick in 1953 on the structure and function of DNA clearly enunciated the challenge their model presented of how the intertwined strands of DNA are unwound and separated for replication to occur. We first give a historical overview of the major discoveries in the past 50 years that address this challenge. We then describe in more detail the cellular mechanisms responsible for the unlinking of DNA. No single strategy on its own accounts for the complete unlinking of chromosomes required for DNA segregation to proceed. Rather, it is the combined effects of topoisomerase action, chromosome organization and DNA–condensing proteins that allow the successful partitioning of chromosomes into dividing cells. Finally, we propose a model of chromosome structure, consistent with recent findings, that explains how the problem of unlinking is alleviated by the division of chromosomal DNA into manageably sized domains.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Hofmann ◽  
Lucas Biller ◽  
Uwe Michel ◽  
Mathias Bähr ◽  
Jan Christoph Koch

The axonal cytoskeleton is organized in a highly periodic structure, the membrane-associated periodic skeleton (MPS), which is essential to maintain the structure and function of the axon. Here, we use stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) of primary rat cortical neurons in microfluidic chambers to analyze the temporal and spatial sequence of MPS formation at the distal end of growing axons and during regeneration after axotomy. We demonstrate that the MPS does not extend continuously into the growing axon but develops from patches of periodic β-spectrin II arrangements that grow and coalesce into a continuous scaffold. We estimate that the underlying sequence of nucleation, elongation, and subsequent coalescence of periodic β-spectrin II patches takes around 15 hours. Strikingly, we find that development of the MPS occurs faster in regenerating axons after axotomy and note marked differences in the morphology of the growth cone and adjacent axonal regions between regenerating and unlesioned axons. Moreover, we find that inhibition of the spectrin-cleaving enzyme calpain accelerates MPS formation in regenerating axons and increases the number of regenerating axons after axotomy. Taken together, we provide here a detailed nanoscale analysis of MPS development in growing axons.


Author(s):  
Peter Sterling

The synaptic connections in cat retina that link photoreceptors to ganglion cells have been analyzed quantitatively. Our approach has been to prepare serial, ultrathin sections and photograph en montage at low magnification (˜2000X) in the electron microscope. Six series, 100-300 sections long, have been prepared over the last decade. They derive from different cats but always from the same region of retina, about one degree from the center of the visual axis. The material has been analyzed by reconstructing adjacent neurons in each array and then identifying systematically the synaptic connections between arrays. Most reconstructions were done manually by tracing the outlines of processes in successive sections onto acetate sheets aligned on a cartoonist's jig. The tracings were then digitized, stacked by computer, and printed with the hidden lines removed. The results have provided rather than the usual one-dimensional account of pathways, a three-dimensional account of circuits. From this has emerged insight into the functional architecture.


Author(s):  
K.E. Krizan ◽  
J.E. Laffoon ◽  
M.J. Buckley

With increase use of tissue-integrated prostheses in recent years it is a goal to understand what is happening at the interface between haversion bone and bulk metal. This study uses electron microscopy (EM) techniques to establish parameters for osseointegration (structure and function between bone and nonload-carrying implants) in an animal model. In the past the interface has been evaluated extensively with light microscopy methods. Today researchers are using the EM for ultrastructural studies of the bone tissue and implant responses to an in vivo environment. Under general anesthesia nine adult mongrel dogs received three Brånemark (Nobelpharma) 3.75 × 7 mm titanium implants surgical placed in their left zygomatic arch. After a one year healing period the animals were injected with a routine bone marker (oxytetracycline), euthanized and perfused via aortic cannulation with 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer pH 7.2. Implants were retrieved en bloc, harvest radiographs made (Fig. 1), and routinely embedded in plastic. Tissue and implants were cut into 300 micron thick wafers, longitudinally to the implant with an Isomet saw and diamond wafering blade [Beuhler] until the center of the implant was reached.


Author(s):  
Robert L. Ochs

By conventional electron microscopy, the formed elements of the nuclear interior include the nucleolus, chromatin, interchromatin granules, perichromatin granules, perichromatin fibrils, and various types of nuclear bodies (Figs. 1a-c). Of these structures, all have been reasonably well characterized structurally and functionally except for nuclear bodies. The most common types of nuclear bodies are simple nuclear bodies and coiled bodies (Figs. 1a,c). Since nuclear bodies are small in size (0.2-1.0 μm in diameter) and infrequent in number, they are often overlooked or simply not observed in any random thin section. The rat liver hepatocyte in Fig. 1b is a case in point. Historically, nuclear bodies are more prominent in hyperactive cells, they often occur in proximity to nucleoli (Fig. 1c), and sometimes they are observed to “bud off” from the nucleolar surface.


Author(s):  
M. Boublik ◽  
W. Hellmann ◽  
F. Jenkins

Correlations between structure and function of biological macromolecules have been studied intensively for many years, mostly by indirect methods. High resolution electron microscopy is a unique tool which can provide such information directly by comparing the conformation of biopolymers in their biologically active and inactive state. We have correlated the structure and function of ribosomes, ribonucleoprotein particles which are the site of protein biosynthesis. 70S E. coli ribosomes, used in this experiment, are composed of two subunits - large (50S) and small (30S). The large subunit consists of 34 proteins and two different ribonucleic acid molecules. The small subunit contains 21 proteins and one RNA molecule. All proteins (with the exception of L7 and L12) are present in one copy per ribosome.This study deals with the changes in the fine structure of E. coli ribosomes depleted of proteins L7 and L12. These proteins are unique in many aspects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.


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