NMDA-receptor inhibition increases spine stability of denervated mouse dentate granule cells and accelerates spine density recovery following entorhinal denervation in vitro

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 267-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Vlachos ◽  
Moritz Helias ◽  
Denise Becker ◽  
Markus Diesmann ◽  
Thomas Deller
1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 3355-3369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masako Isokawa ◽  
Michel Levesque ◽  
Itzhak Fried ◽  
Jerome Engel

Isokawa, Masako, Michel Levesque, Itzhak Fried, and Jerome Engel, Jr. Glutamate currents in morphologically identified human dentate granule cells in temporal lobe epilepsy. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 3355–3369, 1997. Glutamate-receptor-mediated synaptic transmission was studied in morphologically identified hippocampal dentate granule cells (DGCs; n = 31) with the use of whole cell patch-clamp recording and intracellular injection of biocytin or Lucifer yellow in slices prepared from surgically removed medial temporal lobe specimens of epileptic patients (14 specimens from 14 patients). In the current-clamp recording, low-frequency stimulation of the perforant path generated depolarizing postsynaptic potentials that consisted of excitatory postsynaptic potentials and phase-inverted inhibitory postsynaptic potentials mediated by the γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptor at a resting membrane potential of −62.7 ± 2.0 (SE) mV. In the voltage-clamp recording, two glutamate conductances, a fast α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA)-receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC; AMPA EPSC) and a slowly developing N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor-mediated EPSC (NMDA EPSC), were isolated in the presence of a GABAA receptor antagonist. NMDA EPSCs showed a voltage-dependent increase in conductance with depolarization by exhibiting an N-shaped current-voltage relationship. The slope conductance of the NMDA EPSC ranged from 1.1 to 9.4 nS in 31 DGCs, reaching up to twice the size of the AMPA conductance. This widely varying size of the NMDA conductance resulted in the generation of double-peaked EPSCs and a nonlinear increase of the slope conductance of up to 37.5 nS with positive membrane potentials, which resembled “paroxysmal currents,” in a subpopulation of the neurons. In contrast, AMPA EPSCs, which were isolated in the presence of an NMDA receptor antagonist (2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid), showed voltage-independent linear changes in the current-voltage relationship and were blocked by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione. The AMPA conductance showed little variance, regardless of the size of the NMDA conductance of a given neuron. The average AMPA slope conductance was 5.28 ± 0.65 (SE) nS in 31 human DGCs. This value was similar to AMPA EPSC conductances in normal rat DGCs (5.35 ± 0.52 nS, mean ± SE; n = 55). Dendritic morphology and spine density were quantified in the individual DGCs to assess epileptic pathology. Dendritic spine density showed an inverse correlation ( r 2 = 0.705) with a slower rise time and a longer half-width of the excitatory postsynaptic potentials mediated by the NMDA receptor. It is concluded that both AMPA and NMDA EPSCs contribute to human DGC synaptic transmission in epileptic hippocampus. However, a wide range of changes in the slope conductance of the NMDA EPSCs suggests that the NMDA-receptor-mediated conductance could be altered in human epileptic DGCs. These changes may influence the generation of chronic subthreshold epileptogenic synaptic activity and give rise to pathological excitation leading to epileptic seizures and dendritic pathology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingying Tang ◽  
Shuxia Chen ◽  
Hui Wu ◽  
Honghua Song ◽  
Yongjun Wang ◽  
...  

AbstractCongenital hypothyroidism (CH), a common neonatal endocrine disorder, can result in cognitive deficits if delay in diagnose and treatment. Dentate gyrus (DG) is the severely affected subregion of the hippocampus by the CH, where the dentate granule cells (DGCs) reside in. However, how CH impairs the cognitive function via affecting DGCs and the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated. In the present study, the CH model of rat pups was successfully established, and the aberrant dendrite growth of the DGCs and the impaired cognitive behaviors were observed in the offspring. Transcriptome analysis of hippocampal tissues following rat CH successfully identified that calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) was the prominent regulator involved in mediating deficient growth of DGC dendrites. CaMKIV was shown to be dynamically regulated in the DG subregion of the rats following drug-induced CH. Interference of CaMKIV expression in the primary DGCs significantly reduced the spine density of dendrites, while addition of T3 to the primary DGCs isolated from CH pups could facilitate the spine growth of dendrites. Insights into relevant mechanisms revealed that CH-mediated CaMKIV deficiency resulted in the significant decrease of phosphorylated CREB in DGCs, in association with the abnormality of dendrites. Our results have provided a distinct cell type in hippocampus that is affected by CH, which would be beneficial for the treatment of CH-induced cognitive deficiency.


1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 2221-2234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. White ◽  
Frederick S. Livingston ◽  
Richard Mooney

Androgens potently regulate the development of learned vocalizations of songbirds. We sought to determine whether one action of androgens is to functionally modulate the development of synaptic transmission in two brain nuclei, the lateral part of the magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (LMAN) and the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), that are critical for song learning and production. We focused on N-methyl-d-aspartate–excitatory postsynaptic currents (NMDA-EPSCs), because NMDA receptor activity in LMAN is crucial to song learning, and because the LMAN synapses onto RA neurons are almost entirely mediated by NMDA receptors. Whole cell recordings from in vitro brain slice preparations revealed that the time course of NMDA-EPSCs was developmentally regulated in RA, as had been shown previously for LMAN. Specifically, in both nuclei, NMDA-EPSCs become faster over development. We found that this developmental transition can be modulated by androgens, because testosterone treatment of young animals caused NMDA-EPSCs in LMAN and RA to become prematurely fast. These androgen-induced effects were limited to fledgling and juvenile periods and were spatially restricted, in that androgens did not accelerate developmental changes in NMDA-EPSCs recorded in a nonsong area, the Wulst. To determine whether androgens had additional effects on LMAN or RA neurons, we examined several other physiological and morphological parameters. In LMAN, testosterone affected α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprianate–EPSC (AMPA-EPSC) decay times and the ratio of peak synaptic glutamate to AMPA currents, as well as dendritic length and spine density but did not alter soma size or dendritic complexity. In contrast, testosterone did not affect any of these parameters in RA, which demonstrates that exogenous androgens can have selective actions on different song system neurons. These data are the first evidence for any effect of sex steroids on synaptic transmission within the song system. Our results support the idea that endogenous androgens limit sensitive periods for song learning by functionally altering synaptic transmission in song nuclei.


Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (18) ◽  
pp. 4249-4260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil Bagri ◽  
Theresa Gurney ◽  
Xiaoping He ◽  
Yong-Rui Zou ◽  
Dan R. Littman ◽  
...  

The dentate gyrus is the primary afferent pathway into the hippocampus, but there is little information concerning the molecular influences that govern its formation. In particular, the control of migration and cell positioning of dentate granule cells is not clear. We have characterized more fully the timing and route of granule cell migration during embryogenesis using in utero retroviral injections. Using this information, we developed an in vitro assay that faithfully recapitulates important events in dentate gyrus morphogenesis. In searching for candidate ligands that may regulate dentate granule cell migration, we found that SDF1, a chemokine that regulates cerebellar and leukocyte migration, and its receptor CXCR4 are expressed in patterns that suggest a role in dentate granule cell migration. Furthermore, CXCR4 mutant mice have a defect in granule cell position. Ectopic expression of SDF1 in our explant assay showed that it directly regulates dentate granule cell migration. Our study shows that a chemokine is necessary for the normal development of the dentate gyrus, a forebrain structure crucial for learning and memory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seul-Yi Lee ◽  
Tuan Anh Vuong ◽  
Xianlan Wen ◽  
Hyeon-Ju Jeong ◽  
Hyun-Kyung So ◽  
...  

Abstract The sodium leak channel NALCN is a key player in establishing the resting membrane potential (RMP) in neurons and transduces changes in extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]e) into increased neuronal excitability as the downstream effector of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR). Gain-of-function mutations in the human NALCN gene cause encephalopathy and severe intellectual disability. Thus, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of NALCN is important for both basic and translational research. This study reveals a novel mechanism for NALCN regulation by arginine methylation. Hippocampal dentate granule cells in protein arginine methyltransferase 7 (PRMT7)-deficient mice display a depolarization of the RMP, decreased threshold currents, and increased excitability compared to wild-type neurons. Electrophysiological studies combined with molecular analysis indicate that enhanced NALCN activities contribute to hyperexcitability in PRMT7−/− neurons. PRMT7 depletion in HEK293T cells increases NALCN activity by shifting the dose-response curve of NALCN inhibition by [Ca2+]e without affecting NALCN protein levels. In vitro methylation studies show that PRMT7 methylates a highly conserved Arg1653 of the NALCN gene located in the carboxy-terminal region that is implicated in CaSR-mediated regulation. A kinase-specific phosphorylation site prediction program shows that the adjacent Ser1652 is a potential phosphorylation site. Consistently, our data from site-specific mutants and PKC inhibitors suggest that Arg1653 methylation might modulate Ser1652 phosphorylation mediated by CaSR/PKC-delta, leading to [Ca2+]e-mediated NALCN suppression. Collectively, these data suggest that PRMT7 deficiency decreases NALCN methylation at Arg1653, which, in turn, decreases CaSR/PKC-mediated Ser1652 phosphorylation, lifting NALCN inhibition, thereby enhancing neuronal excitability. Thus, PRMT7-mediated NALCN inhibition provides a potential target for the development of therapeutic tools for neurological diseases.


1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1150-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Colino ◽  
R. C. Malenka

1. The mechanisms underlying the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the medial and lateral perforant paths were studied by recording excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) from rat dentate granule cells in vitro using extracellular and whole-cell recording techniques. 2. Paired stimuli (interstimulus interval, 50-1,000 ms) resulted in facilitation of the lateral and depression of the medial perforant path-evoked EPSPs, respectively. This physiological difference was used to isolate responses evoked by stimulation of a single path. 3. Tetanic stimulation induced LTP in both pathways, although the magnitude of LTP in the lateral perforant path was significantly less than that in the medial perforant path. Both forms of LTP were blocked by the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (D-APV). 4. Buffering intracellular calcium by loading granule cells with the calcium chelator bis (O-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid prevented LTP in both pathways. 5. Pairing of low-frequency (0.25 Hz) afferent stimulation with postsynaptic depolarization induced LTP in the medial but not the lateral perforant path. However, pairing of higher-frequency stimulation (1-4 Hz) with postsynaptic depolarization did potentiate the lateral perforant path-evoked EPSP in some cells. 6. Both the medial and lateral perforant path-evoked EPSPs had two components; a fast component blocked by the non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione and a slower, voltage-dependent component blocked by D-APV. 7. The results indicate that the induction of LTP in both the medial and lateral perforant paths requires activation of postsynaptic NMDA receptors and a rise in intracellular calcium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2006 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 1213-1220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annalisa Scimemi ◽  
Stephanie Schorge ◽  
Dimitri M. Kullmann ◽  
Matthew C. Walker

The perforant path provides the main excitatory input into the hippocampus and has been proposed to play a critical role in the generation of temporal lobe seizures. It has been hypothesized that changes in glutamatergic transmission in this pathway promote the epileptogenic process and seizure generation. We therefore asked whether epileptogenesis is associated with enhanced glutamatergic transmission from the perforant path to dentate granule cells. We used a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy in which spontaneous seizures occur after an episode of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were obtained from dentate granule cells in hippocampal slices from control and epileptic animals 3 wk after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. The paired pulse ratio of perforant path-evoked AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) was reduced in tissue obtained from epileptic rats. This is consistent with an increase in release probability. N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated EPSCs were also prolonged. This prolongation could not be accounted for by decreased activity of glutamate transporters or by a change in NMDA receptor subunit composition in dentate granule cells, implying a change in NMDA receptor kinetics. This change in NMDA receptor kinetics was associated with the emergence of significant synaptic cross-talk, detected as a use-dependent block of receptors activated by medial perforant path synapses after lateral perforant path stimulation in MK-801. Enhanced glutamatergic transmission and the emergence of cross-talk among perforant path-dentate granule cell synapses may contribute to lowering seizure threshold.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document