Neuroscience
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Sucrose gap recordings from the dorsal roots of isolated, hemisected frog spinal cords were used to determine the effects of metabotropic L-glutamate receptor activation on primary afferent terminals by (+/-)-1-amino-trans-1,3-cyclopentane-dicarboxylic acid (t-ACPD). Dorsal root potentials evoked by ventral root volleys were significantly reduced by t-ACPD (30 microM), as were GABA- and muscimol-induced afferent terminal depolarizations. The effects of t-ACPD on GABA-depolarizations depended upon activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors, i.e. the effects were blocked by the group I/II antagonist (RS)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine, but not by the group II antagonist alpha-methyl-(2S,3S,4S)-alpha-(carboxycyclopropyl)-glycine or the group III antagonist alpha-methyl-(S)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate and were mimicked by the group I agonist 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine but were not mimicked by the group III agonist (S)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate. ⋯ Low concentrations of N-methyl-D-aspartate (10 microM) mimicked the effect of t-ACPD on GABA responses. These results suggest that t-ACPD's depression of GABA depolarizations involves an indirect, three-stage mechanism that includes activation of Group I metabotropic glutamate receptors on interneurons and/or on afferent terminals, the release of L-glutamate from the latter structures, and the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors on primary afferent terminals. The depression of GABA depolarizations caused by the release of L-glutamate from afferent terminal and/or interneurons leads to a block of presynaptic inhibition (produced in the frog spinal cord by GABA) resulting in a positive feed-forward amplification of reflex transmission.
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Nociceptin, also referred to as orphanin FQ, is believed to be the endogenous ligand for the ORL1. Nociceptin, when injected intracerebroventricularly to mice, produced hyperalgesia in behavioral tests. Recent studies have demonstrated the presence of ORL1 transcript in the spinal cord, and ORL1-like immunoreactivity has been localized to nerve fibers and somata throughout the spinal cord. ⋯ At a concentration of 1 microM, nociceptin hyperpolarized substantia gelatinosa neurons and suppressed spike discharges. The hyperpolarizing and synaptic depressant action of nociceptin was not reversed by the known opioid receptor antagonist naloxone (1 microM). Our result provides evidence that nociceptin-like peptide is concentrated in nerve fibers of the rat dorsal horn and that it may serve as an inhibitory transmitter within the substantia gelatinosa.
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The protein Fos is a transcription factor which is quickly induced in response to a variety of extracellular signals. Since this protein is expressed in a variety of neuronal systems in response to activation of synaptic afferents, it has been suggested that it might contribute to activity-dependent plasticity in neural networks. The present study investigated the effect of cortical electrical stimulation on the expression of Fos in the basal ganglia in the rat, a group of structures that participate in sensorimotor learning. ⋯ In the subthalamic nucleus, Fos expression evoked by cortical stimulation is also confined to discrete regions of the nucleus, the localizations corresponding to the primary projection site of the stimulated cortical cells. These results indicate that in addition to its phasic synaptic influence on the basal ganglia, the cerebral cortex could exert a long-term effect on the functional state of this system via a genomic control. Since the basal ganglia are involved in sensorimotor learning and motor habit formation, it is tempting to speculate that the activity-dependent Fos induction at corticostriatal and subthalamic synapses may contribute to consolidate the functionality of the neuronal networks activated during the completion of given motor tasks.
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In order to elucidate the mechanism(s) of neuronal protection by hypothermia against ischemic damage, we examined the effect of lowering temperature on the microglial activation that is thought to cause the development of ischemia-induced neuronal damages. Cultured microglia from neonatal rats were measured for microglial activation by the following indices: production of superoxide and nitric oxide by the methods of acetyl-cytochrome c reduction and nitrite accumulation in the culture medium, respectively, and cell proliferation evaluated by [3H]thymidine uptake. At 30 degrees C, superoxide production induced by phorbol ester was approximately as low as 30% of the control at 37 degrees C, and nitric oxide production after addition of lipopolysaccharide was decreased to approximately 25% of the control. ⋯ In addition, the proliferation of microglia was remarkably inhibited at 30 degrees C. The level of proliferation in the hypothermic condition is much lower in microglia (14% of the control) than those in astrocytes cultured from brain cortices (96%) and fibroblasts cultured from brain meninges (53%), suggesting that the microglial activation is highly susceptible to lowering temperature. The present study indicates that hypothermia potently inhibits proliferation, superoxide and nitric oxide production of cultured microglia and that the hypothermic protection against postischemic neuronal damage might be, at least in part, due to the suppression of microglial activation.
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L-Glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate, DL-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) and kainate increased the release of neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity from primary cultures of rat hippocampal neurons incubated in Mg2+(1.2 mM)-containing medium. The neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity released by 100 microM glutamate was mainly accounted for by neuropeptide Y (1-36), but consisted in part (about 20%) of peptide YY. The effect of 100 microM glutamate on neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity release was largely (about 70%) prevented by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist dizocilpine maleate (10 microM), while the remainder (about 30%) was sensitive to the AMPA/ kainate receptor antagonist 6-nitro-7-sulphamoylbenzo(f)quinoxaline-2-3-dione (10 microM). ⋯ Cyclothiazide (10 microM), a drug known to prevent AMPA receptor desensitization, enhanced the neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity release elicited by 100 microM AMPA, but not that caused by 100 microM kainate. However, when used at a lower concentration (50 microM), kainate elicited a response that was potentiated significantly by cyclothiazide. It is concluded that glutamate can stimulate Ca(2+)-dependent release of neuropeptide Y from hippocampal neurons mainly through N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and, less so, by activating cyclothiazide-sensitive receptors of the AMPA-preferring type.