Substitution of extracellular Ca2+ by Sr2+ prolongs inspiratory burst in pre-Bötzinger complex inspiratory neurons

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 1175-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Consuelo Morgado-Valle ◽  
Juan Fernandez-Ruiz ◽  
Leonor Lopez-Meraz ◽  
Luis Beltran-Parrazal

The pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) underlies inspiratory rhythm generation. As a result of network interactions, preBötC neurons burst synchronously to produce rhythmic premotor inspiratory activity. Each inspiratory burst consists of action potentials (APs) on top of a 10- to 20-mV synchronous depolarization lasting 0.3–0.8 s known as inspiratory drive potential. The mechanisms underlying the initiation and termination of the inspiratory burst are unclear, and the role of Ca2+ is a matter of intense debate. To investigate the role of extracellular Ca2+ in inspiratory burst initiation and termination, we substituted extracellular Ca2+ with Sr2+. We found for the first time an ionic manipulation that significantly interferes with burst termination. In a rhythmically active slice, we current-clamped preBötC neurons ( Vm ≅ −60 mV) while recording integrated hypoglossal nerve (∫XIIn) activity as motor output. Substitution of extracellular Ca2+ with either 1.5 or 2.5 mM Sr2+ significantly prolonged the duration of inspiratory bursts from 653.4 ± 30.7 ms in control conditions to 981.6 ± 78.5 ms in 1.5 mM Sr2+ and 2,048.2 ± 448.5 ms in 2.5 mM Sr2+, with a concomitant increase in decay time and area. Substitution of extracellular Ca2+ by Sr2+ is a well-established method to desynchronize neurotransmitter release. Our findings suggest that the increase in inspiratory burst duration is determined by a presynaptic mechanism involving desynchronization of glutamate release within the network.

1999 ◽  
Vol 277 (5) ◽  
pp. R1331-R1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Mutolo ◽  
Fulvia Bongianni ◽  
Marco Carfì ◽  
Tito Pantaleo

We investigated the respiratory role of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) input to medullary structures involved in the control of breathing in anesthetized, vagotomized, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated rabbits. Microinjections (10–20 nl) of 1 or 10 mM TRH were performed in different regions of the ventral respiratory group (VRG), namely the rostral expiratory portion or Bötzinger complex (Böt. c.), the inspiratory portion, the transition zone between these two neuronal pools, and the caudal expiratory component. TRH microinjections were also performed in the dorsal respiratory group (DRG) and the area postrema (AP). Injection sites were localized by using stereotaxic coordinates and extracellular recordings of neuronal activity; their locations were confirmed by subsequent histological control. TRH microinjections in the Böt. c. and the directly caudally located region where a mix of inspiratory and expiratory neurons were encountered elicited depressant respiratory responses. TRH microinjections were completely ineffective at sites within the inspiratory and the caudal expiratory components of the VRG. TRH microinjections in either the DRG or the AP induced excitatory effects on inspiratory activity. The results show for the first time that TRH may exert inhibitory influences on respiration at medullary levels by acting on rostral expiratory neurons and that not only the DRG, as previously suggested, but also the AP may mediate TRH-induced excitatory effects on respiration.


1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 3233-3246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao-Ying Hua ◽  
Dorota A. Raciborska ◽  
William S. Trimble ◽  
Milton P. Charlton

Hua, Shao-Ying, Dorota A. Raciborska, William S. Trimble, and Milton P. Charlton. Different VAMP/synaptobrevin complexes for spontaneous and evoked transmitter release at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 3233–3246, 1998. Although vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP/synaptobrevin) is essential for evoked neurotransmitter release, its role in spontaneous transmitter release remains uncertain. For instance, many studies show that tetanus toxin (TeNT), which cleaves VAMP, blocks evoked transmitter release but leaves some spontaneous transmitter release. We used recombinant tetanus and botulinum neurotoxin catalytic light chains (TeNT-LC, BoNT/B-LC, and BoNT/D-LC) to examine the role of VAMP in spontaneous transmitter release at neuromuscular junctions (nmj) of crayfish. Injection of TeNT-LC into presynaptic axons removed most of the VAMP immunoreactivity and blocked evoked transmitter release without affecting nerve action potentials or Ca2+ influx. The frequency of spontaneous transmitter release was little affected by the TeNT-LC when the evoked transmitter release had been blocked by >95%. The spontaneous transmitter release left after TeNT-LC treatment was insensitive to increases in intracellular Ca2+. BoNT/B-LC, which cleaves VAMP at the same site as TeNT-LC but uses a different binding site, also blocked evoked release but had minimal effect on spontaneous release. However, BoNT/D-LC, which cleaves VAMP at a different site from the other two toxins but binds to the same position on VAMP as TeNT, blocked both evoked and spontaneous transmitter release at similar rates. The data indicate that different VAMP complexes are employed for evoked and spontaneous transmitter release; the VAMP used in spontaneous release is not readily cleaved by TeNT or BoNT/B. Because the exocytosis that occurs after the action of TeNT cannot be increased by increased intracellular Ca2+, the final steps in neurotransmitter release are Ca2+ independent.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelangelo Auteri ◽  
Francesco La Russa ◽  
Valeria Blanda ◽  
Alessandra Torina

Insecticide resistance is an increasing problem worldwide that limits the efficacy of control methods against several pests of health interest. Among them, Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are efficient vectors of relevant pathogens causing animal and human diseases worldwide, including yellow fever, chikungunya, dengue, and Zika. Different mechanisms are associated in conferring resistance to chemical insecticides. One of the most widespread and analysed mechanisms is the knockdown resistance (kdr) causing resistance to DDT and pyrethroids. The mechanism is associated with mutations in the voltage sensitive sodium channel, which is involved in beginning and propagation of action potentials in nervous cells. The mechanism was originally discovered in the housefly and then it was found in a large number of arthropods. In 2011, a kdr associated mutation was evidenced for the first time in A. albopictus and afterward several evidences were reported in the different areas of the world, including China, USA, Brazil, India, and Mediterranean Countries. This review aims to update and summarize current evidences on kdr in A. albopictus, in order to stimulate further researches to analyse in depth A. albopictus resistance status across the world, especially in countries where the presence of this vector is still an emerging issue. Such information is currently needed given the well-known vector role of A. albopictus in the transmission of severe infectious diseases. Furthermore, the widespread use of chemical insecticides for control strategies against A. albopictus progressively lead to pressure selection inducing the rise of insecticide resistance-related mutations in the species. Such event is especially evident in some countries as China, often related to a history of uncontrolled use of chemical insecticides. Thus, a careful picture on the diffusion of kdr mutations worldwide represents a milestone for the implementation of control plans and the triggering of novel research on alternative strategies for mosquito-borne infections.


2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 1053-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Parnas ◽  
G. Rashkovan ◽  
V. O'Connor ◽  
O. El-Far ◽  
H. Betz ◽  
...  

Peptides that inhibit the SNAP-stimulated ATPase activity of N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein (NSF-2, NSF-3) were injected intra-axonally to study the role of this protein in the release of glutamate at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. Macropatch recording was used to establish the quantal content and to construct synaptic delay histograms. NSF-2 or NSF-3 injection reduced the quantal content, evoked by either direct depolarization of a single release bouton or by axonal action potentials, on average by 66 ± 12% (mean ± SD; n = 32), but had no effect on the time course of release. NSF-2 had no effect on the amplitude or shape of the presynaptic action potential nor on the excitatory nerve terminal current. Neither NSF-2 nor NSF-3 affected the shape or amplitude of single quantal currents. Injection of a peptide with the same composition as NSF-2, but with a scrambled amino acid sequence, failed to alter the quantal content. We conclude that, at the crayfish neuromuscular junction, NSF-dependent reactions regulate quantal content without contributing to the presynaptic mechanisms that control the time course of release.


Author(s):  
Willy Carrasquel-Ursulaez ◽  
Yenisleidy Lorenzo ◽  
Felipe Echeverria ◽  
Ramon Latorre

The Slowpoke (Slo) family of large conductance K+ channels comprises four structurally and functionally related members (Slo1, Slo2.1, Slo2.2, and Slo3). With the exception of Slo3, all Slo channels are expressed in neurons, where their diverse functions include influencing the shape, frequency, and propagation of action potentials, as well as neurotransmitter release. The Slo1 channel (K Ca 1.1; KCNMA1, BK) is Ca2+- and voltage-activated, while the two Slo2 channels, Slo2.1 (K N a 1.2, KCNT2, Slick) and Slo2.2 (K N a 1.1, KCNT1, Slack), are activated by internal Na+. The functional diversity of the Slo family is greatly increased through alternative splicing, metabolic regulation, and the formation of heterotetramers (Slo2 channels). Co-expression of the pore-forming α subunit of Slo1 with its accessory subunits β and γ further increases channel diversity. This chapter focuses on the role of the Slo channel family in neurons under both physiological and pathological conditions.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1421-1430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miki Tanaka ◽  
Jun Miyoshi ◽  
Hiroyoshi Ishizaki ◽  
Atsushi Togawa ◽  
Katsunori Ohnishi ◽  
...  

The Rab3 small G protein family consists of four members, Rab3A, -3B, -3C, and -3D. Of these members, Rab3A regulates Ca2+-dependent neurotransmitter release. These small G proteins are activated by Rab3 GDP/GTP exchange protein (Rab3 GEP). To determine the function of Rab3 GEP during neurotransmitter release, we have knocked out Rab3 GEP in mice. Rab3 GEP−/− mice developed normally but died immediately after birth. Embryos at E18.5 showed no evoked action potentials of the diaphragm and gastrocnemius muscles in response to electrical stimulation of the phrenic and sciatic nerves, respectively. In contrast, axonal conduction of the spinal cord and the phrenic nerve was not impaired. Total numbers of synaptic vesicles, especially those docked at the presynaptic plasma membrane, were reduced at the neuromuscular junction ∼10-fold compared with controls, whereas postsynaptic structures and functions appeared normal. Thus, Rab3 GEP is essential for neurotransmitter release and probably for formation and trafficking of the synaptic vesicles.


Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danica W. Y. Liu ◽  
A. Kate Fairweather-Schmidt ◽  
Richard Burns ◽  
Rachel M. Roberts ◽  
Kaarin J. Anstey

Abstract. Background: Little is known about the role of resilience in the likelihood of suicidal ideation (SI) over time. Aims: We examined the association between resilience and SI in a young-adult cohort over 4 years. Our objectives were to determine whether resilience was associated with SI at follow-up or, conversely, whether SI was associated with lowered resilience at follow-up. Method: Participants were selected from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project from Canberra and Queanbeyan, Australia, aged 28–32 years at the first time point and 32–36 at the second. Multinomial, linear, and binary regression analyses explored the association between resilience and SI over two time points. Models were adjusted for suicidality risk factors. Results: While unadjusted analyses identified associations between resilience and SI, these effects were fully explained by the inclusion of other suicidality risk factors. Conclusion: Despite strong cross-sectional associations, resilience and SI appear to be unrelated in a longitudinal context, once risk/resilience factors are controlled for. As independent indicators of psychological well-being, suicidality and resilience are essential if current status is to be captured. However, the addition of other factors (e.g., support, mastery) makes this association tenuous. Consequently, resilience per se may not be protective of SI.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1060-1068
Author(s):  
Galina A. Dvoenosova ◽  

The article assesses synergetic theory of document as a new development in document science. In information society the social role of document grows, as information involves all members of society in the process of documentation. The transformation of document under the influence of modern information technologies increases its interest to representatives of different sciences. Interdisciplinary nature of document as an object of research leads to an ambiguous interpretation of its nature and social role. The article expresses and contends the author's views on this issue. In her opinion, social role of document is incidental to its being a main social tool regulating the life of civilized society. Thus, the study aims to create a scientific theory of document, explaining its nature and social role as a tool of social (goal-oriented) action and social self-organization. Substantiation of this idea is based on application of synergetics (i.e., universal theory of self-organization) to scientific study of document. In the synergetic paradigm, social and historical development is seen as the change of phases of chaos and order, and document is considered a main tool that regulates social relations. Unlike other theories of document, synergetic theory studies document not as a carrier and means of information transfer, but as a unique social phenomenon and universal social tool. For the first time, the study of document steps out of traditional frameworks of office, archive, and library. The document is placed on the scales with society as a global social system with its functional subsystems of politics, economy, culture, and personality. For the first time, the methods of social sciences and modern sociological theories are applied to scientific study of document. This methodology provided a basis for theoretical vindication of nature and social role of document as a tool of social (goal-oriented) action and social self-organization. The study frames a synergetic theory of document with methodological foundations and basic concepts, synergetic model of document, laws of development and effectiveness of document in the social continuum. At the present stage of development of science, it can be considered the highest form of theoretical knowledge of document and its scientific explanatory theory.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armand Chatard ◽  
Margaux Renoux ◽  
Jean Monéger ◽  
Leila Selimbegovic

Research indicates that individuals often deal with mortality salience by affirming beliefs in national or cultural superiority (worldview defense). Because worldview defense may be associated with negative consequences (discrimination), it is important to identify alternative means to deal with death-related thoughts. In line with an embodied terror management perspective, we evaluate for the first time the role of physical warmth in reducing defensive reaction to mortality salience. We predicted that, like social affiliation (social warmth), physical warmth could reduce worldview defense when mortality is salient. In this exploratory (preregistered) study, 202 French participants were primed with death-related thoughts, or an aversive control topic, in a heated room or a non-heated room. The main outcome was worldview defense (ethnocentric bias). We found no main effect of mortality salience on worldview defense. However, physical warmth reduced worldview defense when mortality was salient. Implications for an embodied terror management perspective are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
Ravi Chittoria

Pressure ulcer or pressure sore is one of the complications seen in bedridden patients. Management of these ulcers is often challenging. But there is no well-established method that accelerates the wound healing rate. Various adjunctive methods are used for wound bed preparation before definitive reconstruction plan is made. Here we describe our experience in the role of insulin therapy as an adjunct in the management of pressure sores.


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