Activation of a Calcium-Activated Cation Current During Epileptiform Discharges and Its Possible Role in Sustaining Seizure-Like Events in Neocortical Slices

2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 862-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yitzhak Schiller
Keyword(s):  
Brain Slices ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Flufenamic Acid ◽  
Calcium Stores ◽  
Epileptiform Discharges ◽  
Cation Current ◽  
Paroxysmal Depolarization Shift ◽  
Internal Calcium

Epileptic seizures are composed of recurrent bursts of intense firing separated by periods of electrical quiescence. The mechanisms responsible for sustaining seizures and generating recurrent bursts are yet unclear. Using whole cell voltage recordings combined with intracellular calcium fluorescence imaging from bicuculline (BCC)-treated neocortical brain slices, I showed isolated paroxysmal depolarization shift (PDS) discharges were followed by a sustained afterdepolarization waveform (SADW) with an average peak amplitude of 3.3 ± 0.9 mV and average half-width of 6.2 ± 0.6 s. The SADW was mediated by the calcium-activated nonspecific cation current ( Ican) as it had a reversal potential of –33.1 ± 6.8 mV, was unaffected by changing the intracellular chloride concentrations, was markedly diminished by buffering [Ca2+]i with intracellular bis-( o-aminophenoxy)- N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), and was reversibly abolished by the Ican blocker flufenamic acid (FFA). The Ca2+ influx responsible for activation of Ican was mediated by both N-methyl-d-aspartate-receptor channels, voltage-gated calcium channels and, to a lesser extent, internal calcium stores. In addition to isolated PDS discharges, BCC-treated brain slices also produced seizure-like events, which were accompanied by a prolonged depolarizing waveform underlying individual ictal bursts. The similarities between the initial part of this waveform and the SADW and the fact it was markedly reduced by buffering [Ca2+]i with BAPTA strongly suggested it was mediated, at least in part, by Ican. Addition of FFA reversibly eliminated recurrent bursting, and transformed seizure-like events into isolated PDS responses. These results indicated Ican was activated during epileptiform discharges and probably participated in sustaining seizure-like events.

scholarly journals Spontaneous Synaptic Activity Is Primarily GABAergic in Vestibular Nucleus Neurons of the Chick Embryo

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 1182-1192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Shao ◽  
June C. Hirsch ◽  
Christian Giaume ◽  
Kenna D. Peusner
Keyword(s):  
Glutamate Receptor ◽  
Vestibular Nucleus ◽  
Glycine Receptor ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Pipette Solution ◽  
Principal Cells ◽  
Postsynaptic Currents

The principal cells of the chick tangential nucleus are vestibular nucleus neurons participating in the vestibular reflexes. In 16-day embryos, the application of glutamate receptor antagonists abolished the postsynaptic responses generated on vestibular-nerve stimulation, but spontaneous synaptic activity was largely unaffected. Here, spontaneous synaptic activity was characterized in principal cells from brain slices at E16 using whole cell voltage-clamp recordings. With KCl electrodes, the frequency of spontaneous inward currents was 3.1 Hz at –60 mV, and the reversal potential was +4 mV. Cs-gluconate pipette solution allowed the discrimination of glycine/GABAA versus glutamate receptor-mediated events according to their different reversal potentials. The ratio for spontaneous excitatory to inhibitory events was about 1:4. Seventy-four percent of the outward events were GABAA, whereas 26% were glycine receptor-mediated events. Both pre- and postsynaptic GABAB receptor effects were shown, with presynaptic GABAB receptors inhibiting 40% of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) and 53% of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs). With TTX, the frequency decreased ∼50% for EPSCs and 23% for IPSCs. These data indicate that the spontaneous synaptic activity recorded in the principal cells at E16 is primarily inhibitory, action potential-independent, and based on the activation of GABAA receptors that can be modulated by presynaptic GABAB receptors.

Role of nonselective cation current in muscarinic responses of canine colonic muscle

1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (6) ◽  
pp. C1463-C1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Lee ◽  
O. Bayguinov ◽  
K. M. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Outward Current ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Isolated Cells ◽  
Cation Current ◽  
Cation Conductance ◽  
Voltage Dependent ◽  
Patch Technique

The mechanism of muscarinic excitation was studied in colonic muscle strips and isolated cells. In whole cell voltage-clamp studies performed at 33 degrees C utilizing the permeabilized patch technique, acetylcholine (ACh) reduced an L-type Ca2+ current. With K+ currents blocked, depolarization to positive potentials in the presence of ACh elicited outward current. Difference currents showed that ACh activated a voltage-dependent current that reversed at about -8 mV; this current (IACh) had properties similar to the nonselective cation conductance found in other smooth muscle cells. The reversal potential of IACh shifted toward negative potentials when external Na+ was reduced, and the inward current elicited at -70 mV decreased when external Na+ was reduced. IACh was facilitated by internal Ca2+. After the current was activated at a holding potential of -70 mV, depolarizations to -30 to 0 mV elicited influx of Ca2+ via voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. After repolarization to the holding potential, a large inward tail current was observed. IACh was blocked by Ni2+ and Cd2+ at concentrations of 100 microM or less. Quinine (0.5 mM) also blocked IACh. With the use of the sensitivity of IACh to reduced external Na+ and divalent cations, the role of IACh in responses of intact muscles to ACh was examined. When external Na+ was reduced, ACh failed to increase slow-wave duration, and Ni2+ (50 microM) reversed the depolarization caused by ACh. These data suggest an important role for IACh in the electrical responses of colonic muscles. The contribution of IACh appears to prolong slow waves, which would allow greater entry of Ca2+ and increased force development.

scholarly journals Lipopolysaccharides directly decrease Ca2+ oscillations and the hyperpolarization-activated nonselective cation current If in immortalized HL-1 cardiomyocytes

2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (3) ◽  
pp. C665-C671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wondergem ◽  
Bridget M. Graves ◽  
Tammy R. Ozment-Skelton ◽  
Chuanfu Li ◽  
David L. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Calcium Metabolism ◽  
Salmonella Enteritidis ◽  
Cardiac Myocyte ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Pacemaker Current ◽  
Cation Current ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Myocyte Function

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been implicated in sepsis-mediated heart failure and chronic cardiac myopathies. We determined that LPS directly and reversibly affects cardiac myocyte function by altering regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in immortalized cardiomyocytes, HL-1 cells. [Ca2+]i oscillated (<0.4 Hz), displaying slow and transient components. LPS (1 μg/ml), derived either from Escherichia coli or from Salmonella enteritidis , reversibly abolished Ca2+ oscillations and decreased basal [Ca2+]i by 30–40 nM. HL-1 cells expressed Toll-like receptors, i.e., TLR-2 and TLR-4. Thus, we differentiated effects of LPS on [Ca2+]i and Ca2+ oscillations by addition of utlrapure LPS, a TLR-4 ligand. Ultrapure LPS had no effect on basal [Ca2+]i, but it reduced the rate of Ca2+ oscillations. Interestingly, Pam3CSK4, a TLR-2 ligand, affected neither Ca2+ parameter, and the effect of ultrapure LPS and Pam3CSK4 combined was similar to that of utlrapure LPS alone. Thus, unpurified LPS directly inhibits HL-1 calcium metabolism via TLR-4 and non-TLR-4-dependent mechanisms. Since others have shown that endotoxin impairs the hyperpolarization-activated, nonselective cationic pacemaker current ( If), which is expressed in HL-1 cells, we utilized whole cell voltage-clamp techniques to demonstrate that LPS (1 μg/ml) reduced If in HL-1 cells. This inhibition was marginal at physiologic membrane potentials and significant at very negative potentials ( P < 0.05 at −140, −150, and −160 mV). So, we also evaluated effects of LPS on tail currents of fully activated If. LPS reduced the slope conductance of the tail currents from 498 ± 140 pS/pF to 223 ± 65 pS/pF ( P < 0.05) without affecting reversal potential of −11 mV. Ultrapure LPS had similar effect on If, whereas Pam3CSK4 had no effect on If. We conclude that LPS inhibits activation of If, enhances its deactivation, and impairs regulation of [Ca2+]i in HL-1 cardiomyocytes via TLR-4 and other mechanisms.

Alterations in NMDA Receptors in a Rat Model of Cortical Dysplasia

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 315-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Anthony DeFazio ◽  
John J. Hablitz
Keyword(s):  
Voltage Dependence ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Cortical Dysplasia ◽  
Receptor Subunit ◽  
Nmda Receptor Subunit ◽  
Human Epilepsy ◽  
Epileptiform Discharges ◽  
Aspartate Receptor

Recent studies have demonstrated an important role for the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) in epilepsy. NMDARs have also been shown to play a critical role in hyperexcitability associated with several animal models of human epilepsy. Using whole-cell voltage clamp recordings in brain slices, we studied evoked paroxysmal discharges in the freeze-lesion model of neocortical microgyria. The voltage dependence of epileptiform discharges indicated that these paroxysmal events were produced by a complex pattern of excitatory and inhibitory inputs. We examined the effect of the NMDAR antagonist d-2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid (APV) and the NMDA receptor subunit type 2B (NR2B)-selective antagonist ifenprodil on the threshold, peak amplitude, and area of evoked epileptiform discharges in brain slices from lesioned animals. Both compounds consistently raised the threshold for evoking the discharge but had modest effects on the discharge peak and amplitude. For comparison with nonlesioned cortex, we examined the effects of ifenprodil on the epileptiform discharge evoked in the presence of 2 μM bicuculline (partial disinhibition). In slices from nonlesioned cortex, 10 μM ifenprodil had little effect on the threshold whereas 71% of the recordings in bicuculline-treated lesioned cortex showed a >25% increase in threshold. These results suggest that NR2B-containing receptors are functionally enhanced in freeze-lesioned cortex and may contribute to the abnormal hyperexcitability observed in this model of neocortical microgyria.

Flufenamic Acid Affects Multiple Currents and Causes Intracellular Ca2+ Release in Aplysia Bag Cell Neurons

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate E. Gardam ◽  
Julia E. Geiger ◽  
Charlene M. Hickey ◽  
Anne Y. Hung ◽  
Neil S. Magoski
Keyword(s):  
Channel Blocker ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Membrane Conductance ◽  
Cell Voltage ◽  
Cation Channel ◽  
Flufenamic Acid ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Positive Shift ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Bag Cell Neurons

Flufenamic acid (FFA) is a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent, commonly used to block nonselective cation channels. We previously reported that FFA potentiated, rather than inhibited, a cation current in Aplysia bag cell neurons. Prompted by this paradoxical result, the present study examined the effects of FFA on membrane currents and intracellular Ca2+ in cultured bag cell neurons. Under whole cell voltage clamp, FFA evoked either outward ( Iout) or inward ( Iin) currents. Iout had a rapid onset, was inhibited by the K+ channel blocker, tetraethylammonium, and was associated with both an increase in membrane conductance and a negative shift in the whole cell current reversal potential. Iin developed more slowly, was inhibited by the cation channel blocker, Gd3+, and was concomitant with both an increased conductance and positive shift in reversal potential. FFA also enhanced the use-dependent inactivation and caused a positive-shift in the activation curve of the voltage-dependent Ca2+ current. Furthermore, as measured by ratiometric imaging, FFA produced a rise in intracellular Ca2+ that persisted in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ and was reduced by depleting either the endoplasmic reticulum and/or mitochondrial stores. Ca2+ appeared to be involved in the activation of Iin, as strong intracellular Ca2+ buffering effectively eliminated Iin but did not alter Iout. Finally, the effects of FFA were likely not due to block of cyclooxygenase given that the general cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin, failed to evoke either current. That FFA influences a number of neuronal properties needs to be taken into consideration when employing it as a cation channel antagonist.

Epileptiform activity in the hippocampus produced by tetraethylammonium

1990 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 1077-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Rutecki ◽  
F. J. Lebeda ◽  
D. Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Potassium Channel ◽  
Voltage Clamp ◽  
Channel Blocker ◽  
Mossy Fiber ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Evoked Response ◽  
Epileptiform Discharge ◽  
Extracellular Potassium ◽  
Potassium Channel Blocker ◽  
Epileptiform Discharges

1. The epileptiform discharges in the CA3 region of the rat hippocampal slice produced by bath application of the potassium channel blocker tetraethylammonium (TEA) were investigated. The effects of a convulsant (5 mM) and subconvulsant (0.5 mM) concentration of TEA on the mossy fiber-evoked synaptic currents were studied by the use of voltage-clamp techniques to determine whether TEA, like 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), another potassium channel blocker and convulsant, increased both inhibitory and excitatory components of the synaptic response. 2. At extracellular potassium concentrations of 2.5 mM, TEA (5 mM) was found to produce spontaneously occurring epileptiform discharges that could be recorded extracellularly. The intracellular correlate of the epileptiform discharge, the paroxysmal depolarizing shift (PDS), could be reversed in polarity by depolarizing the membrane and was associated with a large increase in membrane conductance. These results suggest that a synaptically mediated potential underlies the generation of the epileptiform discharge. 3. The reversal potential for the PDS was dependent on the time, relative to the extracellularly recorded field discharge, at which the measurement was made. In current clamp the mean reversal potential of the PDS measured at the midpoint of the extracellular discharge was -3.3 +/- 2.9 (SE) mV (n = 9). The reversal potential of the PDS was considerably more negative when measured either before or after the midpoint of the extracellular discharge, suggesting the presence of an inhibitory synaptic component. In voltage clamp similar results were obtained and a large conductance change was found to be associated with the PDS. These results suggest that the synaptic conductance associated with the PDS has both inhibitory and excitatory components. 4. TEA increased significantly the mossy fiber-evoked, early-inhibitory conductance. A convulsant concentration (5 mM) increased the conductance measured 15 ms after the stimulus from 39.7 +/- 8.7 to 87.2 +/- 8.0 nS (n = 6). The reversal potential associated with the conductance depolarized from -68.3 +/- 3.4 to -58.3 +/- 4.0 mV after 5 mM TEA. A subconvulsant concentration of TEA (0.5 mM) also increased the conductance of the mossy fiber-evoked response at 15 ms after the stimulus from 49.5 +/- 3.1 to 63.1 +/- 6.1 nS (n = 4) without an associated shift in reversal potential. 5. The late-inhibitory component of the mossy fiber-evoked response, when present, was increased by 5 mM TEA and unchanged by 0.5 mM TEA. 6. The excitatory mossy fiber-evoked synaptic current was studied in the presence of picrotoxin and was found to be increased and prolonged by 5 mM TEA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Activation of Slo2.1 channels by niflumic acid

2010 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Dai ◽  
Vivek Garg ◽  
Michael C. Sanguinetti
Keyword(s):  
Voltage Dependence ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Niflumic Acid ◽  
Flufenamic Acid ◽  
Channel Activation ◽  
Outward Currents ◽  
Transmembrane Voltage ◽  
High K ◽  
Charged Residues ◽  
K Current

Slo2.1 channels conduct an outwardly rectifying K+ current when activated by high [Na+]i. Here, we show that gating of these channels can also be activated by fenamates such as niflumic acid (NFA), even in the absence of intracellular Na+. In Xenopus oocytes injected with &lt;10 ng cRNA, heterologously expressed human Slo2.1 current was negligible, but rapidly activated by extracellular application of NFA (EC50 = 2.1 mM) or flufenamic acid (EC50 = 1.4 mM). Slo2.1 channels activated by 1 mM NFA exhibited weak voltage dependence. In high [K+]e, the conductance–voltage (G-V) relationship had a V1/2 of +95 mV and an effective valence, z, of 0.48 e. Higher concentrations of NFA shifted V1/2 to more negative potentials (EC50 = 2.1 mM) and increased the minimum value of G/Gmax (EC50 = 2.4 mM); at 6 mM NFA, Slo2.1 channel activation was voltage independent. In contrast, V1/2 of the G-V relationship was shifted to more positive potentials when [K+]e was elevated from 1 to 300 mM (EC50 = 21.2 mM). The slope conductance measured at the reversal potential exhibited the same [K+]e dependency (EC50 = 23.5 mM). Conductance was also [Na+]e dependent. Outward currents were reduced when Na+ was replaced with choline or mannitol, but unaffected by substitution with Rb+ or Li+. Neutralization of charged residues in the S1–S4 domains did not appreciably alter the voltage dependence of Slo2.1 activation. Thus, the weak voltage dependence of Slo2.1 channel activation is independent of charged residues in the S1–S4 segments. In contrast, mutation of R190 located in the adjacent S4–S5 linker to a neutral (Ala or Gln) or acidic (Glu) residue induced constitutive channel activity that was reduced by high [K+]e. Collectively, these findings indicate that Slo2.1 channel gating is modulated by [K+]e and [Na+]e, and that NFA uncouples channel activation from its modulation by transmembrane voltage and intracellular Na+.

Lysophosphatidic acid, serum, and hyposmolarity activate Cl- currents in corneal keratocytes

1995 ◽  
Vol 269 (6) ◽  
pp. C1385-C1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Watsky
Keyword(s):  
Lysophosphatidic Acid ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Flufenamic Acid ◽  
Disulfonic Acid ◽  
Hypotonic Stress ◽  
Outward Currents ◽  
Fetal Bovine ◽  
Patch Technique ◽  
Corneal Keratocytes ◽  
In Cells

The influence of serum, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), and hyposmotic stress on the ion channel activity of normal and cryo-injured rabbit corneal keratocytes was investigated. Whole cell currents were examined using the amphotericin perforated-patch technique. In cells from wounded corneas, fetal bovine serum activated large, holding voltage-insensitive, fast-activating, 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS)-, flufenamic acid-, and 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (NPPB)-blockable outward currents showing inactivation at depolarized voltages. LPA activated identical currents, also only in cells from wounded corneas. Blocker and reversal potential experiments characterized the current as a Cl- currents (Icl). Lysophosphatidylcholine (10 microM) failed to activate the current. An identical current was activated by hyposmotic stimulation in cells from control and wounded corneas. Hyposmotic stimulation also activated Icl in cells from wounded corneas that were unresponsive to LPA. We conclude that serum, LPA, and hypotonic stress activate Icl in keratocytes from wounded corneas. We also conclude that LPA is a serum factor that can activate Icl and that hyposmotic activation may work through a signaling pathway separate from that of LPA.

scholarly journals Epileptiform Discharges With In-Vivo-Like Features in Slices of Rat Piriform Cortex With Longitudinal Association Fibers

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 2445-2460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rezan Demir ◽  
Lewis B. Haberly ◽  
Meyer B. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Seizure Activity ◽  
Epileptiform Activity ◽  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Epileptiform Discharges ◽  
Local Circuitry ◽  
Association Fibers ◽  
Discharge Propagation

Brain slices serve as useful models for the investigation of epilepsy. However, the preparation of brain slices disrupts circuitry and severs axons, thus complicating efforts to relate epileptiform activity in vitro to seizure activity in vivo. This issue is relevant to studies in transverse slices of the piriform cortex (PC), the preparation of which disrupts extensive rostrocaudal fiber systems. In these slices, epileptiform discharges propagate slowly and in a wavelike manner, whereas such discharges in vivo propagate more rapidly and jump abruptly between layers. The objective of the present study was to identify fiber systems responsible for these differences. PC slices were prepared by cutting along three different nearly orthogonal planes (transverse, parasagittal, and longitudinal), and epileptiform discharges were imaged with a voltage-sensitive fluorescent dye. Interictal-like epileptiform activity was enabled by either a kindling-like induction process or disinhibition with bicuculline. The pattern of discharge onset was very similar in slices cut in different planes. As described previously in transverse PC slices, discharges were initiated in the endopiriform nucleus (En) and adjoining regions in a two-stage process, starting with low-amplitude “plateau activity” at one site and leading to an accelerating depolarization and discharge onset at another nearby site. The similar pattern of onset in slices of various orientations indicates that the local circuitry and neuronal properties in and around the En, rather than long-range fibers, assume dominant roles in the initiation of epileptiform activity. Subtle variations in the onset site indicate that interneurons can fine tune the site of discharge onset. In contrast to the mode of onset, discharge propagation showed striking variations. In longitudinal slices, where rostrocaudal association fibers are best preserved, discharge propagation resembled in vivo seizure activity in the following respects: propagation was as rapid as in vivo and about two to three times faster than in other slices; discharges jumped abruptly between the En and PC; and discharges had large amplitudes in superficial layers of the PC. Cuts in longitudinal slices that partially separated the PC from the En eliminated these unique features. These results help clarify why epileptiform activity differs between in vitro and in vivo experiments and suggest that rostrocaudal pyramidal cell association fibers play a major role in the propagation of discharges in the intact brain. The longitudinal PC slice, which best preserves these fibers, is ideally suited for the study their role.

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