scholarly journals Dysfunctional epileptic neuronal circuits and dysmorphic dendritic spines are mitigated by platelet-activating factor receptor antagonism

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto E. Musto ◽  
Robert F. Rosencrans ◽  
Chelsey P. Walker ◽  
Surjyadipta Bhattacharjee ◽  
Chittalsinh M. Raulji ◽  
...  

Abstract Temporal lobe epilepsy or limbic epilepsy lacks effective therapies due to a void in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that set in motion aberrant neuronal network formations during the course of limbic epileptogenesis (LE). Here we show in in vivo rodent models of LE that the phospholipid mediator platelet-activating factor (PAF) increases in LE and that PAF receptor (PAF-r) ablation mitigates its progression. Synthetic PAF-r antagonists, when administered intraperitoneally in LE, re-establish hippocampal dendritic spine density and prevent formation of dysmorphic dendritic spines. Concomitantly, hippocampal interictal spikes, aberrant oscillations, and neuronal hyper-excitability, evaluated 15–16 weeks after LE using multi-array silicon probe electrodes implanted in the dorsal hippocampus, are reduced in PAF-r antagonist-treated mice. We suggest that over-activation of PAF-r signaling induces aberrant neuronal plasticity in LE and leads to chronic dysfunctional neuronal circuitry that mediates epilepsy.

1994 ◽  
Vol 266 (2) ◽  
pp. H637-H642 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Gaboury ◽  
D. C. Anderson ◽  
P. Kubes

Intravital microscopy was used to monitor leukocyte adherence, flux, rolling velocity, and number of rolling leukocytes (flux/velocity) in venules 25–40 microns in diameter. The superoxide-generating system, hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase (HX/XO), was infused into the mesenteric circulation in untreated animals or in animals pretreated with either catalase (a hydrogen peroxide scavenger), WEB-2086 [a platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor antagonist], or monoclonal antibodies directed against adhesion molecules CD18 (CL26) or P-selectin (PB1.3). HX/XO infusion caused a decrease in leukocyte rolling velocity and an increase in the number of rolling and adherent leukocytes. WEB-2086 prevented the increase in leukocyte adhesion and markedly increased leukocyte rolling velocity. PB1.3 abolished the HX/XO-associated rise in the flux of rolling leukocytes and proportionally decreased the number of adherent leukocytes. CL26 abolished HX/XO-induced leukocyte adhesion and also reduced the number of rolling leukocytes. In conclusion, P-selectin mediates the increased leukocyte flux induced by superoxide, whereas PAF and CD18 modulate leukocyte adhesion. PAF also reduces leukocyte rolling velocity, possibly as a result of CD18, but not P-selectin.


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (2) ◽  
pp. G275-G282
Author(s):  
J. V. Esplugues ◽  
B. J. Whittle

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) may be involved in the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal damage and motility changes. The effects of PAF in inducing gastric contractions in vivo have now been determined in pentobarbital sodium-anesthetized rats. Local intra-arterial infusion of PAF (5-50 ng.kg-1.min-1 for 10 min) induced a maintained rise in intragastric pressure followed by a further postinfusion increase. Inhibitors of eicosanoid biosynthesis had no effect on these gastric motility changes. However, pretreatment with cimetidine or methysergide decreased by 50% the initial increase in intragastric pressure, whereas mepyramine, adrenergic alpha- and beta-receptor blockade, atropine, hexamethonium, or vagotomy had no effect. During the local infusion of tetrodotoxin, the initial increase in intragastric pressure was not maintained, and the postinfusion increase was abolished. With these inhibitors and antagonists, there was no consistent correlation between the extent of PAF-induced mucosal damage and increase in intragastric pressure. Tetrodotoxin had no effect on the changes in intragastric pressure induced by the thromboxane mimetic U-46619. Administration of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhosa endotoxin (50 mg/kg iv) also increased intragastric pressure, which peaked after 10 min and slowly declined thereafter. These effects were inhibited by the specific PAF-receptor antagonist L652,731, suggesting that the endogenous release of PAF may contribute to the endotoxin-induced increases in gastric motility. The present study suggests that PAF initially acts directly on smooth muscle and through histamine and serotonin release with a secondary motility response due to activation of nonadrenergic noncholinergic, neuronal activity.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tharkika Nagendran ◽  
Rylan S. Larsen ◽  
Rebecca L. Bigler ◽  
Shawn B. Frost ◽  
Benjamin D. Philpot ◽  
...  

AbstractInjury of CNS nerve tracts remodels circuitry through dendritic spine loss and hyper-excitability, thus influencing recovery. Due to the complexity of the CNS, a mechanistic understanding of injury-induced synaptic remodeling remains unclear. Using microfluidic chambers to separate and injure distal axons, we show that axotomy causes retrograde dendritic spine loss at directly injured pyramidal neurons followed by retrograde presynaptic hyper-excitability. These remodeling events require activity at the site of injury, axon-to-soma signaling, and transcription. Similarly, directly injured corticospinal neurons in vivo also exhibit a specific increase in spiking following axon injury. Axotomy-induced hyper-excitability of cultured neurons coincides with elimination of inhibitory inputs onto injured neurons, including those formed onto dendritic spines. Netrin-1 downregulation occurs following axon injury and exogenous netrin-1 applied after injury normalizes spine density, presynaptic excitability, and inhibitory inputs at injured neurons. Our findings show that intrinsic signaling within damaged neurons regulates synaptic remodeling and involves netrin-1 signaling.


Blood ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 2553-2558 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Nourshargh ◽  
SW Larkin ◽  
A Das ◽  
TJ Williams

Although our understanding of the molecular interactions that mediate the adhesion of leukocytes to venular endothelial cells has greatly expanded, very little is known about the mechanisms that mediate the passage of leukocytes across the vessel wall in vivo. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of endogenously formed platelet-activating factor (PAF) in the process of leukocyte extravasation induced by interleukin-1 (IL-1). To determine at which stage of emigration PAF was involved, we studied the behavior of leukocytes within rat mesenteric microvessels by intravital microscopy. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with saline, recombinant rat IL-1 beta (IL-1 beta), or the peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) 4 hours before the exteriorization of the mesenteric tissue. In animals treated with IL-1 beta there was a significant increase in the number of rolling and adherent leukocytes within venules (20- to 40-micron diameter) and in the number of extravasated leukocytes in the tissue. Pretreatment of rats with the PAF receptor antagonist UK-74,505 had no effect on the leukocyte responses of rolling and adhesion, but significantly inhibited the migration of the leukocytes across the vessel wall induced by IL-1 beta (76% inhibition). A structurally unrelated PAF antagonist, WEB-2170, produced the same effect (64% inhibition). However, in contrast, UK-74,505 had no effect on the leukocyte extravasation induced by FMLP, indicating selectivity for the response elicited by certain mediators. These results provide the first line of direct evidence for the involvement of endogenously formed PAF in the process of leukocyte extravasation induced by IL-1 in vivo.


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 1921-1928 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Haynes ◽  
S. W. Chang ◽  
K. G. Morris ◽  
N. F. Voelkel

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) administered to the pulmonary circulation in low dose (nanogram) has vasodilatory properties. Therefore, we investigated whether endogenous PAF plays a role in the control of tone in the pulmonary circulation. The PAF receptor antagonists, SRI 63-441 (2.6 X 10(-4) M) and L659,989 (1 X 10(-5) M), were the major investigative tools. In isolated perfused rat lungs, both agents caused a persistent increase in base-line perfusion pressure (Ppa), potentiated angiotensin II (ANG II) vasoconstriction, and potentiated hypoxic vasoconstriction (HPV). This potentiation of ANG II and HPV was found to be independent of circulating blood elements. Vasodilation in the presence of PAF blockade was also impaired. The combination of cyclooxygenase inhibition and PAF receptor blockade had an additive effect on ANG II vasoconstriction but did not cause more potentiation of HPV than achieved with PAF antagonism alone. In vivo, SRI 63-441 (10 mg/kg) caused only a transient increase in base-line Ppa without altering ANG II and hypoxic vasoconstriction. These findings support a vasodilatory role for endogenous PAF in the pulmonary circulation.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pfeiffer ◽  
Stefanie Poll ◽  
Stephane Bancelin ◽  
Julie Angibaud ◽  
VVG Krishna Inavalli ◽  
...  

Rewiring neural circuits by the formation and elimination of synapses is thought to be a key cellular mechanism of learning and memory in the mammalian brain. Dendritic spines are the postsynaptic structural component of excitatory synapses, and their experience-dependent plasticity has been extensively studied in mouse superficial cortex using two-photon microscopy in vivo. By contrast, very little is known about spine plasticity in the hippocampus, which is the archetypical memory center of the brain, mostly because it is difficult to visualize dendritic spines in this deeply embedded structure with sufficient spatial resolution. We developed chronic 2P-STED microscopy in mouse hippocampus, using a ‘hippocampal window’ based on resection of cortical tissue and a long working distance objective for optical access. We observed a two-fold higher spine density than previous studies and measured a spine turnover of ~40% within 4 days, which depended on spine size. We thus provide direct evidence for a high level of structural rewiring of synaptic circuits and new insights into the structure-dynamics relationship of hippocampal spines. Having established chronic super-resolution microscopy in the hippocampus in vivo, our study enables longitudinal and correlative analyses of nanoscale neuroanatomical structures with genetic, molecular and behavioral experiments.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn J. Lippman Bell ◽  
Tamar Lordkipanidze ◽  
Natalie Cobb ◽  
Anna Dunaevsky

In the cerebellum, lamellar Bergmann glial (BG) appendages wrap tightly around almost every Purkinje cell dendritic spine. The function of this glial ensheathment of spines is not entirely understood. The development of ensheathment begins near the onset of synaptogenesis, when motility of both BG processes and dendritic spines are high. By the end of the synaptogenic period, ensheathment is complete and motility of the BG processes decreases, correlating with the decreased motility of dendritic spines. We therefore have hypothesized that ensheathment is intimately involved in capping synaptogenesis, possibly by stabilizing synapses. To test this hypothesis, we misexpressed GluR2 in an adenoviral vector in BG towards the end of the synaptogenic period, rendering the BG α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs) Ca2+-impermeable and causing glial sheath retraction. We then measured the resulting spine motility, spine density and synapse number. Although we found that decreasing ensheathment at this time does not alter spine motility, we did find a significant increase in both synaptic pucta and dendritic spine density. These results indicate that consistent spine coverage by BG in the cerebellum is not necessary for stabilization of spine dynamics, but is very important in the regulation of synapse number.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Chapleau ◽  
Elena Maria Boggio ◽  
Gaston Calfa ◽  
Alan K. Percy ◽  
Maurizio Giustetto ◽  
...  

Alterations in dendritic spines have been documented in numerous neurodevelopmental disorders, including Rett Syndrome (RTT). RTT, an X chromosome-linked disorder associated with mutations inMECP2, is the leading cause of intellectual disabilities in women. Neurons inMecp2-deficient mice show lower dendritic spine density in several brain regions. To better understand the role of MeCP2 on excitatory spine synapses, we analyzed dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus ofMecp2tm1.1Jaemale mutant mice by either confocal microscopy or electron microscopy (EM). At postnatal-day 7 (P7), well before the onset of RTT-like symptoms, CA1 pyramidal neurons from mutant mice showed lower dendritic spine density than those from wildtype littermates. On the other hand, at P15 or later showing characteristic RTT-like symptoms, dendritic spine density did not differ between mutant and wildtype neurons. Consistently, stereological analyses at the EM level revealed similar densities of asymmetric spine synapses in CA1stratum radiatumof symptomatic mutant and wildtype littermates. These results raise caution regarding the use of dendritic spine density in hippocampal neurons as a phenotypic endpoint for the evaluation of therapeutic interventions in symptomaticMecp2-deficient mice. However, they underscore the potential role of MeCP2 in the maintenance of excitatory spine synapses.


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