Regulation of the segmental swim-generating system by a pair of identified interneurons in the leech head ganglion

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 983-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Brodfuehrer ◽  
H. J. Parker ◽  
A. Burns ◽  
M. Berg

1. The aim of this study was to identify neurons that modulate activity of segmental swim gating interneurons. We found a pair of bilaterally symmetrical interneurons, cells SE1, whose activity level directly influences three groups of segmental neurons associated with generating swimming in the medicinal leech. 2. The somata of cells SE1 are located on the dorsal surface of the subesophageal ganglion. Their axons extend most, if not the entire, length of the ventral nerve cord and appear to make identical connections with the same group of swim-generating neurons in all segmental ganglia. 3. Cells SE1 excite monosynaptically all segmental swim gating interneurons, cells 204, examined. The level of excitation in cell 204 is directly correlated with the firing frequency of cell SE1. In most quiescent preparations (when the preparation is not swimming) hyperpolarization of a single cell SE1 eliminates all excitatory synaptic input to cells 204. 4. Cells SE1 excite monosynaptically three swim oscillatory interneurons, cells 115, 28, and 208. The strength of the connection from cell SE1 to cell 115 is stronger than the connection from cell SE1 to either cells 28 or 208. The level of excitation in cell 115 is directly correlated with the firing frequency of cell SE1. In most quiescent preparations, hyperpolarization of a single cell SE1 eliminates all excitatory synaptic input to cell 115 but has only a minor effect on the level of activity in cells 208 and 28. 5. Due most likely to the strong and direct connections cells SE1 have with swim gating and oscillatory interneurons, brief stimulation of cell SE1 can elicit swimming. Swimming generally occurs within 1 s after stimulation of cell SE1. During swimming, the membrane potential of cell SE1 depolarizes by 2-5 mV, and its firing frequency increases. Brief depolarization of cell SE1 during swimming reliably shifts the phase of the swimming rhythm, whereas longer periods of depolarization increase both swim period and burst duration. 6. Excitatory motor neurons to the dorsal longitudinal muscles, cells 3, 5, and 7, are strongly excited by stimulation of cell SE1. The firing frequency of cell 3 is positively correlated with the firing frequency of cell SE1. 7. The results of this study indicate that cells SE1 can modulate the level of excitation in three groups of neurons associated with generating leech swimming.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1597-1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Tamarkin ◽  
R. B. Levine

1. Synaptic remodeling of a proprioceptive circuit during metamorphosis of the insect, Manduca sexta, is described. The stretch receptor organ is a muscle-associated proprioceptor that is innervated by a single sensory neuron. It inserts dorsolaterally in the abdomen in parallel with the intersegmental muscles of each abdominal segment. The synaptic input from the stretch receptor sensory neuron to select abdominal internal (intersegmental) and external muscle motor neurons was characterized in both the larva and adult. 2. In the larva, the sensory neuron provides excitatory synaptic input to motor neurons that innervate muscles ipsilateral to the stretch receptor organ in the body wall; the strongest excitatory synaptic input is to motor neurons that innervate targets in close proximity to the stretch receptor organ. The sensory neuron also provides excitatory synaptic input to motor neurons that innervate contralateral, dorsal targets. However, it inhibits, apparently through a polysynaptic pathway, motor neurons innervating contralateral, lateral, and ventral targets. 3. The synaptic input to intersegmental muscle motor neurons from the stretch receptor sensory neuron changes during metamorphosis. In contrast to the larva, all motor neurons recorded in the adult (both ipsilateral and contralateral) were excited by the sensory neuron. As in the larva, the adult sensory neuron provides the strongest excitatory synaptic input to motor neurons innervating targets in close proximity to the stretch receptor organ. 4. The proprioceptive input to the body wall muscle motor neurons was evaluated to determine whether the pathway is monosynaptic, as has been described in other systems. Spike-triggered signal averaging and synaptic latency measurements suggested that the strongest excitatory synaptic input to motor neurons involves a monosynaptic pathway.


1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (3) ◽  
pp. L269-L275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Wang ◽  
N. E. Robinson ◽  
M. Yu

This study was conducted to determine the effects of stimulation parameters and muscle preload on acetylcholine (ACh) release induced by electrical field stimulation (EFS) of horse airway cholinergic nerves. Trachealis strip bundles were prepared and suspended in 2-ml tissue baths. The tissues were stimulated three to five times for 30 min each. Increasing frequency (0.5-16 Hz) and voltage (5-20 V) increased ACh release; increasing pulse duration (0.5-3 ms) had only a minor effect. Alterations in muscle preload (2-20 g) had no effect on ACh release. ACh release was fairly constant for up to five repeated stimulation periods with the same EFS parameters. Stimulation of the tissues for 15 min released the same amount of ACh as 30 min if the amount was expressed as picomoles per gram per minute, suggesting that ACh release rate was constant during the 30-min period of stimulation. Atropine (10(-6) M) potentiated the release of ACh four- to fivefold, presumably by removing the autoinhibitory effect of ACh on the cholinergic nerves. Tetrodotoxin (10(-6) M) abolished the EFS-induced ACh release.


2001 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Button ◽  
Luis Reuss ◽  
Guillermo A. Altenberg

Mutations of the CFTR, a phosphorylation-regulated Cl− channel, cause cystic fibrosis. Activation of CFTR by PKA stimulation appears to be mediated by a complex interaction between several consensus phosphorylation sites in the regulatory domain (R domain). None of these sites has a critical role in this process. Here, we show that although endogenous phosphorylation by PKC is required for the effect of PKA on CFTR, stimulation of PKC by itself has only a minor effect on human CFTR. In contrast, CFTR from the amphibians Necturus maculosus and Xenopus laevis (XCFTR) can be activated to similar degrees by stimulation of either PKA or PKC. Furthermore, the activation of XCFTR by PKC is independent of the net charge of the R domain, and mutagenesis experiments indicate that a single site (Thr665) is required for the activation of XCFTR. Human CFTR lacks the PKC phosphorylation consensus site that includes Thr665, but insertion of an equivalent site results in a large activation upon PKC stimulation. These observations establish the presence of a novel mechanism of activation of CFTR by phosphorylation of the R domain, i.e., activation by PKC requires a single consensus phosphorylation site and is unrelated to the net charge of the R domain.


1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 510-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Perlman

1. The defensive withdrawal reflex of the siphon of Aplysia is a local response (exhibited by the organ that is stimulated) mediated by the conjoint action of both the central and peripheral nervous systems. 2. Three independent methods were used to determine the contribution of the central and peripheral nervous systems to the siphon-withdrawal reflex: 1) acute reversible deganglionation, 2) chronic deganglionation, and 3) a selective reversible hyperpolarization. With each of these techniques, the central nervous system was found to contribute about 55% of the total reflex. 3. Seven motor neurons were identified and characterized with respect to their electrophysiological properties and the motor actions. Three of the central motor cells belong to the LD clusters of cells (LDS1, LDS2, LDS3) and one is an RD cell (RDS). These four cells all receive excitatory synaptic input from siphon stimulation, excitatory synaptic input from the activity of the respiratory command cells network (interneuron II). large spontaneous IPSPs, and exhibit hyperpolarizing responses (H response) to iontophoretically applied acetylcholine (ACh). These cells all participate in the siphon-withdrawal component of a centrally commanded fixed-action pattern: spontaneous pumping movements of the mantle organs driven by the respiratory command cells. They receive an EPSP burst during the activity of the respiratory command cells and are competent to mediate the siphon motion. Three central siphon motor cells belong to the LB cluster (LBS1, LBS2, LBS3). These cells also receive excitatory input following stimulation of the siphon, a spontaneously occurring IPSP, and have H response to iontophoretically applied ACh. These cells, however, receive an IPSP burst during spontaneous pumping movement and thus do not participate in the active contraction phase of this behavior. LBS1 and LDS1 were examined with respect to their transmitter biochemistry and were found to be noncholinergic. 4. The siphon-withdrawal reflex habituates with comparable kinetics to repeated tactile stimulation when it is under central and peripheral control and when it is under peripheral control only. Thus, not only do both systems act conjointly to produce the defensive withdrawal reflex, but also they have similar response properties and are well matched to mediate the two parts of this siphon behavior.


1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 1759-1767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Keating ◽  
Philip E. Lloyd

The medial portion of intrinsic buccal muscle 3 (I3m) is innervated by two excitatory motor neurons, B3 and B9. B3 uses glutamate as its fast transmitter and expresses the neuropeptide FMRFamide, whereas B9 uses acetylcholine as its fast transmitter and expresses the neuropeptide SCP. This preparation was used to study peptidergic modulation of muscles innervated by neurons that use different fast excitatory transmitters. First, we determined the effects of the application of the neuropeptides expressed in these neurons on excitatory junction potentials (EJPs) and contractions. FMRFamide increased the amplitude of EJPs and contractions evoked by B3 while decreasing those evoked by B9. This is the first observation in buccal muscle of a substance that modulates two excitatory neurons innervating the same muscle in opposite directions. SCP increased EJPs contraction amplitude, and the rate of muscle relaxation for both motor neurons. We determined that SCP potently increased cAMP levels in I3m as it does in other buccal muscles. Stimulation of B9 also caused increased cAMP levels in I3m providing independent evidence for SCP release. Finally, stimulation of B9 increased both the contraction amplitude and relaxation rate of B3-evoked I3m contractions in a manner similar to that observed using exogenous SCP. By inhibiting B9’s cholinergic transmission with an antagonist, we were able to observe modulatory effects of B9 in the absence of fast excitatory effects. We found that the magnitude of the modulation was dependent on the firing frequency and did occur at frequencies and patterns of firing recorded previously for B9 during ingestive-like motor programs.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
V. Miska ◽  
J.H.J.M. van der Graaf ◽  
J. de Koning

Nowadays filtration processes are still monitored with conventional analyses like turbidity measurements and, in case of flocculation–filtration, with phosphorus analyses. Turbidity measurements have the disadvantage that breakthrough of small flocs cannot be displayed, because of the blindness regarding changes in the mass distributions. Additional particle volume distributions calculated from particle size distributions (PSDs) would provide a better assessment of filtration performance. Lab-scale experiments have been executed on a flocculation–filtration column fed with effluent from WWTP Beverwijk in The Netherlands. Besides particle counting at various sampling points, the effect of sample dilution on the accuracy of PSD measurements has been reflected. It was found that the dilution has a minor effect on PSD of low turbidity samples such as process filtrate. The correlation between total particle counts, total particle volume (TPV) and total particle surface is not high but is at least better for diluted measurements of particles in the range 2–10 μm. Furthermore, possible relations between floc-bound phosphorus and TPV removal had been investigated. A good correlation coefficient is found for TPV removal versus floc-bound phosphorus removal for the experiments with polyaluminiumchloride and the experiments with single denitrifying and blank filtration.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob A. Blum ◽  
Sandy Klemm ◽  
Jennifer L. Shadrach ◽  
Kevin A. Guttenplan ◽  
Lisa Nakayama ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Brassac ◽  
Quddoos H. Muqaddasi ◽  
Jörg Plieske ◽  
Martin W. Ganal ◽  
Marion S. Röder

AbstractTotal spikelet number per spike (TSN) is a major component of spike architecture in wheat (Triticumaestivum L.). A major and consistent quantitative trait locus (QTL) was discovered for TSN in a doubled haploid spring wheat population grown in the field over 4 years. The QTL on chromosome 7B explained up to 20.5% of phenotypic variance. In its physical interval (7B: 6.37–21.67 Mb), the gene FLOWERINGLOCUST (FT-B1) emerged as candidate for the observed effect. In one of the parental lines, FT-B1 carried a non-synonymous substitution on position 19 of the coding sequence. This mutation modifying an aspartic acid (D) into a histidine (H) occurred in a highly conserved position. The mutation was observed with a frequency of ca. 68% in a set of 135 hexaploid wheat varieties and landraces, while it was not found in other plant species. FT-B1 only showed a minor effect on heading and flowering time (FT) which were dominated by a major QTL on chromosome 5A caused by segregation of the vernalization gene VRN-A1. Individuals carrying the FT-B1 allele with amino acid histidine had, on average, a higher number of spikelets (15.1) than individuals with the aspartic acid allele (14.3) independent of their VRN-A1 allele. We show that the effect of TSN is not mainly related to flowering time; however, the duration of pre-anthesis phases may play a major role.


2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 1938-1947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Zhen Pan ◽  
De-Pei Li ◽  
Hui-Lin Pan

Activation of spinal α2-adrenergic receptors by the descending noradrenergic system and α2-adrenergic agonists produces analgesia. However, the sites and mechanisms of the analgesic action of spinally administered α2-adrenergic receptor agonists such as clonidine are not fully known. The dorsal horn neurons in the outer zone of lamina II (lamina IIo) are important for processing nociceptive information from C-fiber primary afferents. In the present study, we tested a hypothesis that activation of presynaptic α2-adrenergic receptors by clonidine inhibits the excitatory synaptic input to lamina IIo neurons. Whole cell voltage-clamp recordings were performed on visualized lamina IIo neurons in the spinal cord slice of rats. The miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) were recorded in the presence of tetrodotoxin, bicuculline, and strychnine. The evoked EPSCs were obtained by electrical stimulation of the dorsal root entry zone or the attached dorsal root. Both mEPSCs and evoked EPSCs were abolished by application of 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione. Clonidine (10 μM) significantly decreased the frequency of mEPSCs from 5.8 ± 0.9 to 2.7 ± 0.6 Hz (means ± SE) without altering the amplitude and the decay time constant of mEPSCs in 25 of 27 lamina IIo neurons. Yohimbine (2 μM, an α2-adrenergic receptor antagonist), but not prazosin (2 μM, an α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist), blocked the inhibitory effect of clonidine on the mEPSCs. Clonidine (1–20 μM, n = 8) also significantly attenuated the peak amplitude of evoked EPSCs in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect of clonidine on evoked EPSCs was abolished in the presence of yohimbine ( n = 5). These data suggest that clonidine inhibits the excitatory synaptic input to lamina IIo neurons through activation of α2-adrenergic receptors located on the glutamatergic afferent terminals. Presynaptic inhibition of glutamate release from primary afferents onto lamina IIoneurons likely plays an important role in the analgesic action produced by activation of the descending noradrenergic system and α2-adrenergic agonists.


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Kristina Ritter ◽  
Jan Christian Sodenkamp ◽  
Alexandra Hölscher ◽  
Jochen Behrends ◽  
Christoph Hölscher

Anti-inflammatory treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases often increases susceptibility to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). Since numerous chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases are mediated by interleukin (IL)-6-induced T helper (TH) 17 cells, a TH17-directed anti-inflammatory therapy may be preferable to an IL-12-dependent TH1 inhibition in order to avoid reactivation of latent infections. To assess, however, the risk of inhibition of IL-6-dependent TH17-mediated inflammation, we examined the TH17 immune response and the course of experimental TB in IL-6- and T-cell-specific gp130-deficient mice. Our study revealed that the absence of IL-6 or gp130 on T cells has only a minor effect on the development of antigen-specific TH1 and TH17 cells. Importantly, these gene-deficient mice were as capable as wild type mice to control mycobacterial infection. Together, in contrast to its key function for TH17 development in other inflammatory diseases, IL-6 plays an inferior role for the generation of TH17 immune responses during experimental TB.


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