Two populations of sympathetic neurons project selectively to mesenteric artery or vein

1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (4) ◽  
pp. H1263-H1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsteen N. Browning ◽  
Zhongling Zheng ◽  
David L. Kreulen ◽  
R. Alberto Travagli

The objective of this study was to determine whether sympathetic neurons of the inferior mesenteric ganglion (IMG) projecting to mesenteric arteries could be distinguished by their localization, neurochemical phenotype, and electrophysiological properties from neurons projecting to mesenteric veins. In an in vitro intact vasculature-IMG preparation, neurons were labeled following intraluminal injection of Fluoro-Gold or rhodamine beads into the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) or vein (IMV). The somata of neurons projecting to IMA were localized in the central part of the IMG, whereas those projecting to IMV were localized more peripherally. None of the labeled neurons was doubly labeled. Neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity was found in 18.9% of neurons innervating the IMA, but not in neurons innervating the IMV. Identified neurons were dissociated and characterized using whole cell patch-clamp recording. After direct soma depolarization, all of the labeled arterial and venous neurons were classified as tonic firing, compared with only 40% of unlabeled neurons; the remaining 60% of unlabeled neurons were phasic firing. The results indicate that IMG neurons projecting to mesenteric arteries are distinct from neurons projecting to mesenteric veins.

2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (1) ◽  
pp. H137-H145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Berra-Romani ◽  
Mordecai P. Blaustein ◽  
Donald R. Matteson

The presence and properties of voltage-gated Na+ channels in mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were studied using whole cell patch-clamp recording. SMCs from mouse and rat mesenteric arteries were enzymatically dissociated using two dissociation protocols with different enzyme combinations. Na+ and Ca2+ channel currents were present in myocytes isolated with collagenase and elastase. In contrast, Na+ currents were not detected, but Ca2+ currents were present in cells isolated with papain and collagenase. Ca2+ currents were blocked by nifedipine. The Na+ current was insensitive to nifedipine, sensitive to changes in the extracellular Na+ concentration, and blocked by tetrodotoxin with an IC50 at 4.3 nM. The Na+ conductance was half maximally activated at −16 mV, and steady-state inactivation was half-maximal at −53 mV. These values are similar to those reported in various SMC types. In the presence of 1 μM batrachotoxin, the Na+ conductance-voltage relationship was shifted by 27 mV in the hyperpolarizing direction, inactivation was almost completely eliminated, and the deactivation rate was decreased. The present study indicates that TTX-sensitive, voltage-gated Na+ channels are present in SMCs from the rat and mouse mesenteric artery. The presence of these channels in freshly isolated SMC depends critically on the enzymatic dissociation conditions. This could resolve controversy about the presence of Na+ channels in arterial smooth muscle.


2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 2672-2680 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Tadros ◽  
A. J. Fuglevand ◽  
A. M. Brichta ◽  
R. J. Callister

Motoneurons differ in the behaviors they control and their vulnerability to disease and aging. For example, brain stem motoneurons such as hypoglossal motoneurons (HMs) are involved in licking, suckling, swallowing, respiration, and vocalization. In contrast, spinal motoneurons (SMs) innervating the limbs are involved in postural and locomotor tasks requiring higher loads and lower movement velocities. Surprisingly, the properties of these two motoneuron pools have not been directly compared, even though studies on HMs predominate in the literature compared with SMs, especially for adult animals. Here we used whole cell patch-clamp recording to compare the electrophysiological properties of HMs and SMs in age-matched neonatal mice (P7–P10). Passive membrane properties were remarkably similar in HMs and SMs, and afterhyperpolarization properties did not differ markedly between the two populations. HMs had narrower action potentials (APs) and a faster upstroke on their APs compared with SMs. Furthermore, HMs discharged APs at higher frequencies in response to both step and ramp current injection than SMs. Therefore, while HMs and SMs have similar passive properties, they differ in their response to similar levels of depolarizing current. This suggests that each population possesses differing suites of ion channels that allow them to discharge at rates matched to the different mechanical properties of the muscle fibers that drive their distinct motor functions.


2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 2622-2632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ming Chang ◽  
Jennifer I. Luebke

Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were employed to characterize the electrophysiological properties of layer 5 pyramidal cells in slices of the prefrontal cortex (Area 46) of the rhesus monkey. Four electrophysiologically distinct cell types were discriminated based on distinctive repetitive action potential (AP) firing patterns and single AP characteristics: regular-spiking slowly adapting type-1 cells (RS1; 62%), regular-spiking slowly adapting type-2 cells (RS2; 18%), regular-spiking fast-adapting cells (FA; 15%), and intrinsically bursting cells (IB; 5%). These cells did not differ with regard to their location in layer 5 nor in their dendritic morphology. In RS1 cells, AP threshold and amplitude did not change significantly during a 2-s spike train, whereas in RS2 and FA cells, AP threshold increased significantly and AP amplitude decreased significantly during the train. In FA cells, complete adaptation of AP firing was observed within 600 ms. IB cells displayed an all-or-none burst of three to six APs, followed by RS1-type firing behavior. RS1 cells could be further subdivided into three subtypes. Low-threshold spiking (LTS) RS1 cells exhibited an initial doublet riding on a depolarizing potential at the onset of a spike train and a prominent depolarizing afterpotential (DAP); intermediate RS1 cells (IM) exhibited a DAP, but no initial doublet, and non-LTS RS1 cells exhibited neither a DAP nor an initial doublet. RS2 and FA cells did not exhibit a DAP or initial doublets. The distinctive firing patterns of these diverse layer 5 pyramidal cells may reflect different roles played by these cells in the mediation of subcortical neuronal activity by the dorsolateral PFC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 1093-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Authement ◽  
Ludovic D. Langlois ◽  
Haifa Kassis ◽  
Shawn Gouty ◽  
Matthieu Dacher ◽  
...  

Dopamine (DA) dysfunction originating from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) occurs as a result of synaptic abnormalities following consumption of drugs of abuse and underlies behavioral plasticity associated with drug abuse. Drugs of abuse can cause changes in gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms in the brain that underlie some of the lasting neuroplasticity and behavior associated with addiction. Here we investigated the function of histone acetylation and histone deacetylase (HDAC)2 in the VTA in recovery of morphine-induced synaptic modifications following a single in vivo exposure to morphine. Using a combination of immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and whole cell patch-clamp recording in rat midbrain slices, we show that morphine increased HDAC2 activity in VTA DA neurons and reduced histone H3 acetylation at lysine 9 (Ac-H3K9) in the VTA 24 h after the injection. Morphine-induced synaptic changes at glutamatergic synapses involved endocannabinoid signaling to reduce GABAergic synaptic strength onto VTA DA neurons. Both plasticities were recovered by in vitro incubation of midbrain slices with a class I-specific HDAC inhibitor (HDACi), CI-994, through an increase in acetylation of histone H3K9. Interestingly, HDACi incubation also increased levels of Ac-H3K9 and triggered GABAergic and glutamatergic plasticities in DA neurons of saline-treated rats. Our results suggest that acute morphine-induced changes in VTA DA activity and synaptic transmission engage HDAC2 activity locally in the VTA to maintain synaptic modifications through histone hypoacetylation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott K. Adney ◽  
John J. Millichap ◽  
Jean-Marc DeKeyser ◽  
Tatiana Abramova ◽  
Christopher H. Thompson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTObjectiveWe identified a novel de novo SCN2A variant (M1879T) associated with infantile-onset epilepsy that responded dramatically to sodium channel blocker antiepileptic drugs. We analyzed the functional and pharmacological consequences of this variant to establish pathogenicity, and to correlate genotype with phenotype and clinical drug response.MethodsThe clinical and genetic features of an infant boy with epilepsy are presented. We investigated the effect of the variant using heterologously expressed recombinant human NaV1.2 channels. We performed whole-cell patch clamp recording to determine the functional consequences and response to carbamazepine.ResultsThe M1879T variant caused disturbances in channel inactivation including substantially depolarized voltage-dependence of inactivation, slower time course of inactivation, and enhanced resurgent current that collectively represent a gain-of-function. Carbamazepine partially normalized the voltage-dependence of inactivation and produced use-dependent block of the variant channel at high pulsing frequencies. Carbamazepine also suppresses resurgent current conducted by M1879T channels, but this effect was explained primarily by reducing the peak transient current. Molecular modeling suggests that the M1879T variant disrupts contacts with nearby residues in the C-terminal domain of the channel.InterpretationOur study demonstrates the value of conducting functional analyses of SCN2A variants of unknown significance to establish pathogenicity and genotype-phenotype correlations. We also show concordance of in vitro pharmacology using heterologous cells with the drug response observed clinically in a case of SCN2A-associated epilepsy.


2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 3574-3584 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Prochnow ◽  
P. Lee ◽  
W. C. Hall ◽  
M. Schmidt

The nucleus of the optic tract (NOT) has been implicated in the initiation of the optokinetic reflex (OKR) and in the modulation of visual activity during saccades. The present experiments demonstrate that these two functions are served by separate cell populations that can be distinguished by differences in both their cellular physiology and their efferent projections. We compared the response properties of NOT cells in rats using target-directed whole cell patch-clamp recording in vitro. To identify the cells at the time of the recording experiments, they were prelabeled by retrograde axonal transport of WGA-apo-HRP-gold (15 nm), which was injected into their primary projection targets, either the ipsilateral superior colliculus (iSC), or the contralateral NOT (cNOT), or the ipsilateral inferior olive (iIO). Retrograde labeling after injections in single animals of either WGA-apo-HRP-gold with different particle sizes (10 and 20 nm) or two different fluorescent dyes distinguished two NOT cell populations. One projects to both the iSC and cNOT. These cells are spontaneously active in vitro and respond to intracellular depolarizations with temporally regular tonic firing. The other population projects to the iIO and consists of cells that show no spontaneous activity, respond phasically to intracellular depolarization, and show irregular firing patterns. We propose that the spontaneously active pathway to iSC and cNOT is involved in modulating the level of visual activity during saccades and that the phasically active pathway to iIO provides a short-latency relay from the retina to premotor mechanisms involved in reducing retinal slip.


1995 ◽  
Vol 198 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
A R Mercer ◽  
J H Hayashi ◽  
J G Hildebrand

The modulatory effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT or serotonin) on voltage-gated currents in central olfactory neurones of the moth Manduca sexta have been examined in vitro using whole-cell patch-clamp recording techniques. Central olfactory neurones were dissociated from the antennal lobes of animals at stage 5 of the 18 stages of metamorphic adult development. The modulatory actions of 5-HT on voltage-activated ionic currents were examined in a subset of morphologically identifiable antennal lobe neurones maintained for 2 weeks in primary cell culture. 5-HT caused reversible reduction of both a rapidly activating A-type K+ current and a relatively slowly activating K+ current resembling a delayed rectifier-type conductance. 5-HT also reduced the magnitude of voltage-activated Ca2+ influx in these cells. The functional significance of 5-HT-modulation of central neurones is discussed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 293 (1) ◽  
pp. H160-H168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Xu ◽  
Gregory D. Fink ◽  
James J. Galligan

Increased sympathetic nervous activity (SNA) elevates venomotor tone in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension. We studied the mechanisms by which the SNA increases venomotor tone in DOCA-salt hypertension by making in situ intracellular recordings of venous smooth muscle cell (VSMC) membrane potential ( Em) and measurement of outside diameter (OD) in mesenteric veins (MV) and mesenteric arteries (MA) of anesthetized rats. We also studied norepinephrine (NE)- and endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced increases in MA or MV perfusion pressure (PP) in vitro. Em in DOCA-salt MV was depolarized compared with sham MV. Prazosin hyperpolarized VSMC Em in DOCA-salt but not in sham MV. NE concentration-response curves (CRCs) for OD decreases in MV from DOCA-salt rats were left-shifted with an increased maximum response ( Emax) compared with sham MV. NE CRCs for OD decreases in MA were right-shifted with reduced Emax in DOCA-salt compared with sham rats. ET-1 CRCs were similar in DOCA-salt and sham MV but were right-shifted with reduced Emax in DOCA-salt MA. NE CRCs for MAPP increases were left-shifted without a change in Emax in DOCA-salt rats. NE did not change MVPP. MAPP and MVPP for ET-1 CRCs were similar in sham and DOCA-salt rats, but Emax for MAPP was reduced in DOCA-salt rats. Hematoxylin staining revealed hypertrophy in DOCA-salt MA but not in MV. We conclude that there is increased reactivity to NE released from the sympathetic nervous system in DOCA-salt MV that causes VSMC depolarization and increased venomotor tone. In DOCA-salt rats, in vivo ET-1 reactivity is maintained in MV, but reduced in MA.


2006 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 1076-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Vincent S. Faustino ◽  
David F. Donnelly

Systemic hypoxia in mammals is sensed and transduced by the carotid body into increased action potential (AP) frequency on the sinus nerve, resulting in increased ventilation. The mechanism of hypoxia transduction is not resolved, but previous work suggested that fast Na+ channels play an important role in determining the rate and timing of APs (Donnelly, DF, Panisello JM, and Boggs D. J Physiol. 511: 301–311, 1998). We speculated that Na+ channel activity between APs, termed persistent Na+ current ( INaP), is responsible for AP generation that and riluzole and phenytoin, which inhibit this current, would impair organ function. Using whole cell patch clamp recording of intact petrosal neurons with projections to the carotid body, we demonstrated that INaP is present in chemoreceptor afferent neurons and is inhibited by riluzole. Furthermore, discharge frequencies of single-unit, chemoreceptor activity, in vitro, during normoxia (Po2 150 Torr) and during acute hypoxia (Po2 90 Torr) were significantly reduced by riluzole concentrations at or above 5 μM, and by phenytoin at 100 μM, without significant affect on nerve conduction time, AP magnitude (inferred from extracellular field), and AP duration. The effect of both drugs appeared solely postsynaptic because hypoxia-induced catecholamine release in the carotid body was not altered by either drug. The respiratory response of unanesthetized, unrestrained 2-wk-old rats to acute hypoxia (12% inspired O2 fraction), which was measured with whole body plethysmography, was significantly reduced after treatment with riluzole (2 mg/kg ip) and phenytoin (20 mg/kg ip). We conclude that INaP is present in chemoreceptor afferent neurons and serves an important role in peripheral chemoreceptor function and, hence, in the ventilatory response to hypoxia.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (4) ◽  
pp. H1791-H1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Piedras-Renteria ◽  
O. D. Sherwood ◽  
P. M. Best

The peptide hormone relaxin has direct, positive inotropic and chronotropic effects on rat hearts in vivo and in vitro. Relaxin's effects on the electrophysiological properties of single quiescent atrial cells from normal rats were investigated with a whole cell patch clamp. Relaxin had a significant inhibitory effect on outward potassium currents. The outward potassium current consisted of a transient component (I(to)) and a sustained component (I(S)). The addition of 100 ng/ml of relaxin inhibited the peak I(to) in a voltage-dependent manner (74% inhibition at a membrane potential of -10 mV to 30% inhibition at +70 mV). The time to reach peak I(to) and the apparent time constant of inactivation of I(to) were increased by relaxin. Dialysis with the protein kinase A inhibitor 5-24 amide (2 microM) prevented relaxin's effects, suggesting an obligatory role for this kinase in the relaxin-dependent regulation of the potassium current.


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