Okadaic acid-induced Tau phosphorylation in rat brain: Role of NMDA receptor

Administration of pediatric anesthetics with N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor antagonist and/or γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist activities may result in neuronal degeneration and/or neuronal cell death in neonatal rats. Evaluating pediatric drug candidates for this potential neurotoxicity is often part of overall preclinical new drug development strategy. This specialized assessment may require dosing neonatal rats at postnatal day 7 at the peak of the brain growth spurt and evaluating brain tissue 24 to 48 hours following dosing. The need to identify methods to aid in the accurate and reproducible detection of lesions associated with this type of neurotoxic profile is paramount for meeting the changing needs of neuropathology assessment and addressing emerging challenges in the neuroscience field. We document the use of Fluoro-Jade B (FJB) staining, to be used in conjunction with standard hematoxylin and eosin staining, to detect acute neurodegeneration and neuronal cell death that can be caused by some NMDA-receptor antagonists and/or GABA agonists in the neonatal rat brain. The FJB staining is simple, specific, and sensitive and can be performed on brain specimens from the same cohort of animals utilized for standard neurotoxicity assessment, thus satisfying animal welfare recommendations with no effect on achievement of scientific and regulatory goals.

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Metabotropic glutamate receptor dependent EPSP and EPSP-spike potentiation in area CA1 of the submerged rat hippocampal slice

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1996.76.5.3126 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 76 (5) ◽

pp. 3126-3135 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

N. A. Breakwell ◽

M. J. Rowan ◽

R. Anwyl

Keyword(s):

Nmda Receptor ◽

Receptor Antagonist ◽

Cell Body ◽

Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor ◽

Long Term Potentiation ◽

High Frequency Stimulation ◽

Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential ◽

Area Ca1 ◽

Gabaa Receptor Antagonist

1. We reexamined the important areas of conflict in (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid [(1S,3R)-ACPD]-induced potentiation of the field excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and, for the first time, investigated the role of mGluRs in EPSP-spike (E-S) coupling. 2. (1S,3R)-ACPD (10 microM) bath applied for 20 min consistently induced a long-lasting potentiation of the dendritic EPSP in area CA1 of submerged rat hippocampal slices, which was considerably faster in onset than described previously. 3. This effect was not associated with any change in presynaptic fiber volley but was dependent on both an intact CA3 connection, because removal of area CA3 blocked (1S,3R)-ACPD-induced potentiation, and also on functional N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, because (1S,3R)-ACPD-induced potentiation was blocked by inclusion of the NMDA receptor antagonist D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5; 50 microM). 4. (1S,3R)-ACPD induced a long-lasting potentiation of the population spike (PS) amplitude that was consistently larger than that of the EPSP measured in the cell body area. This EPSP-PS (E-S) potentiation was blocked by inclusion of the gamma-aminobuturic acid-A (GABAA) receptor antagonist, picrotoxin (50 microM). 5. E-S potentiation induced by high-frequency stimulation (HFS), which was of the same magnitude as that induced by (1S,3R)-ACPD, was blocked by the mGluR-selective antagonist (+)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (+MCPG; 250 microM). +MCPG also blocked HFS-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) of the EPSP measured in the cell body. 6. These results suggest that (1S,3R)-ACPD-induced potentiation is NMDA receptor dependent, contrary to some previous findings, and provide further evidence that both synaptic and E-S potentiation induced by (1S,3R)-ACPD share common mechanisms of expression with HFS-induced LTP. The data emphasize the important role of mGluRs in induction of EPSP LTP and E-S potentiation.

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Protein phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and calyculin A alter cell shape and F-actin distribution and inhibit stimulus-dependent increases in cytoskeletal actin of human neutrophils

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v80.11.2911.2911 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 80 (11) ◽

pp. 2911-2919 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

P Kreienbuhl ◽

H Keller ◽

V Niggli

Keyword(s):

Okadaic Acid ◽

Human Neutrophils ◽

Resting Cells ◽

Calyculin A ◽

Chemotactic Peptide ◽

Phosphatase Inhibitors ◽

Protein Phosphatase Inhibitors ◽

Actin Localization ◽

Shape Changes

Abstract The phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and calyculin A were found to elicit or to modify several neutrophil responses, suggesting that dephosphorylation plays a regulatory role. The concentrations of okadaic acid (> or = 1 mumol/L) that were effective on neutrophil functions (shape changes and marginal stimulation of pinocytosis) were shown to stimulate the incorporation of 32PO4 into many neutrophil proteins several-fold. Calyculin A was effective at 50-fold lower concentrations. In the presence of the inhibitors, the cells exhibited a nonpolar shape and the polarization response induced by chemotactic peptide was inhibited. Both phosphatase inhibitors also induced the association of F-actin with the cell membrane. A steady-state phosphatase activity is thus involved in maintaining shape and F-actin localization of resting cells. Inhibitors alone had no significant effect on the amount of cytoskeleton-associated actin. The increase in cytoskeletal actin observed at 30 minutes of stimulation with phorbol ester or 5 to 30 minutes of stimulation with chemotactic peptide, however, was abolished by okadaic acid or calyculin A, suggesting an important role of a phosphatase. In contrast, the early increase in cytoskeleton-associated actin observed at 1 minute of stimulation with peptide was not affected. This finding indicates that the increased association of actin with the cytoskeleton in the early and the later stages of neutrophil activation may be mediated by different signalling pathways.

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