scholarly journals Glycine-specific synapses in rat spinal cord. Identification by electron microscope autoradiography.

1976 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
D L Price ◽  
A Stocks ◽  
J W Griffin ◽  
A Young ◽  
K Peck

Glycine, an inhibitory transmitter in spinal cord, is taken up into specific nerve terminals by means of a unique high-affinity uptake system. In this study, [3H]glycine was directly microinjected into rat ventral horn in vivo and electron microscope autoradiography used to localize the label in various anatomic compartments. Quantiative analysis showed that [3H]glycine labeled a high proportion of axosomatic and axodendritic synapses which presumably act to inhibit spinal motor neurons.

1993 ◽  
Vol 264 (1) ◽  
pp. E45-E53
Author(s):  
T. Bjerke ◽  
S. Nielsen ◽  
M. I. Sheikh ◽  
E. I. Christensen

Reabsorption and degradation of the neuropeptide neurotensin (NT) in rabbit proximal pars convoluta (PC) and pars recta (PR) nephron segments were characterized. Brush-border membrane vesicle fractions (PC or PR) were incubated with [3H]NT, and the extent and pattern of peptide hydrolysis were determined by reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (rHPLC). Furthermore, isolated rabbit PC and PR segments were perfused with [3H]NT, reabsorption of [3H]NT was quantified, and the collected perfusate was analyzed by HPLC. Metabolites were characterized. Finally, rabbit proximal tubules were microinfused in vivo with [3H]NT to follow the tubular uptake by electron microscope autoradiography. Degradation increased with time in both vesicle fractions. The main difference was an extensive cleavage of NT in PR, as revealed by a higher proportion of end metabolites. This was also visualized as a higher proportion of the large degradation product in rHPLC fraction 39 [NT-(1–11)] in PC as compared with PR after 30 min of incubation. The isolated perfused proximal tubular segments processed NT with large efficiency. PC segments processed 90% of the perfused amount, and PR processed 88%. Only 13% in PC and 10% in PR of the processed NT were found in the bath and the tubule. The main part of processed NT was in the collected perfusate, and rHLPC profiles revealed that NT-(1–11) was the only metabolite in both PC and PR. Electron microscope autoradiography demonstrated autoradiographic grains over invaginations and over the apical part of the proximal tubule cell in endocytic vesicles and vacuoles 10 min after microinfusion of [3H]NT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Wang ◽  
Xinya Fu ◽  
Meiemei Li ◽  
Xingran Wang ◽  
Jile Xie ◽  
...  

The loss of motor function in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is primarily due to the severing of the corticospinal tract (CST). Spinal motor neurons are located in the anterior horn of the spinal cord, and as the lower neurons of the CST, they control voluntary movement. Furthermore, its intrinsic axonal growth ability is significantly stronger than that of cerebral cortex pyramid neurons, which are the upper CST neurons. Therefore, we established an axonal regeneration model of spinal motor neurons to investigate the feasibility of repairing SCI by promoting axonal regeneration of spinal motor neurons. We demonstrated that conditionally knocking out pten in mature spinal motor neurons drastically enhanced axonal regeneration in vivo, and the regenerating axons of the spinal motor neurons re-established synapses with other cells in the damaged spinal cord. Thus, this strategy may serve as a novel and effective treatment method for SCI.


Author(s):  
Kazuhide Asakawa ◽  
Hiroshi Handa ◽  
Koichi Kawakami

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurological disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Spinal motor neurons align along the spinal cord length within the vertebral column, and extend long axons to connect with skeletal muscles covering the body surface. Due to this anatomy, spinal motor neurons are among the most difficult cells to observe in vivo. Larval zebrafish have transparent bodies that allow non-invasive visualization of whole cells of single spinal motor neurons, from somas to the neuromuscular synapses. This unique feature, combined with its amenability to genome editing, pharmacology, and optogenetics, enables functional analyses of ALS-associated proteins in the spinal motor neurons in vivo with subcellular resolution. Here, we review the zebrafish skeletal neuromuscular system and the optical methods used to study it. We then introduce a recently developed optogenetic zebrafish ALS model that uses light illumination to control oligomerization, phase transition and aggregation of the ALS-associated DNA/RNA-binding protein called TDP-43. Finally, we will discuss how this disease-in-a-fish ALS model can help solve key questions about ALS pathogenesis and lead to new ALS therapeutics.


2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 957-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiping Liu ◽  
Lee J. Martin

We developed an isolation technique for motor neurons from adult rat spinal cord. Spinal cord enlargements were discretely microdissected into ventral horn tissue columns that were trypsin-digested and subjected to differential low-speed centrifugation to fractionate ventral horn cell types. A fraction enriched in α-motor neurons was isolated. Motor neuron enrichment was verified by immunofluorescence for choline acetyltransferase and prelabeling axon projections to skeletal muscle. Adult motor neurons were isolated from naïve rats and were exposed to oxidative agents or were isolated from rats with sciatic nerve lesions (avulsions). We tested the hypothesis, using single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay), that hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, and peroxynitrite exposure in vitro and axotomy in vivo induce DNA damage in adult motor neurons early during their degeneration. This study contributes three important developments in the study of motor neurons. It demonstrates that mature spinal motor neurons can be isolated and used for in vitro models of motor neuron degeneration. It shows that adult motor neurons can be isolated from in vivo models of motor neuron degeneration and evaluated on a single-cell basis. This study also demonstrates that the comet assay is a feasible method for measuring DNA damage in individual motor neurons. Using these methods, we conclude that motor neurons undergoing oxidative stress from reactive oxygen species and axotomy accumulate DNA damage early in their degeneration. (J Histochem Cytochem 49:957–972, 2001)


Author(s):  
Frank A. Rawlins

Several speculations exist as to the site of incorporation of preformed molecules into myelin. The possibility that an autoradiographic analysis of cholesterol-1,2-H3 incorporation at very short times after injection might shed some light in the solution of that problem led to the present experiment.Cholesterol-1,2-H3 was injected intraperitoneally into 24 tenday old mice. The animals were then sacrificed at 10,20,30,40,60,90,120 and 180 min after the injection and the sciatic nerves were processed for electron microscope autoradiography. To analyze the grain distribution in the autoradiograms of cross and longitudinal sections from each sciatic nerve myelin sheaths were subdivided into three compartments named: outer 1/3, middle 1/3 and inner 1/3 compartments.It was found that twenty min. after the injection of cholesterol -1.2-H3 (Figs. 1 and 2), 55% of the total number of grains (t.n.g) found in myelin were within the outer 1/3 compartment, 9% were within the middle 1/3 and 36% within the inner 1/3 compartment


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Sunshine ◽  
Antonino M. Cassarà ◽  
Esra Neufeld ◽  
Nir Grossman ◽  
Thomas H. Mareci ◽  
...  

AbstractRespiratory insufficiency is a leading cause of death due to drug overdose or neuromuscular disease. We hypothesized that a stimulation paradigm using temporal interference (TI) could restore breathing in such conditions. Following opioid overdose in rats, two high frequency (5000 Hz and 5001 Hz), low amplitude waveforms delivered via intramuscular wires in the neck immediately activated the diaphragm and restored ventilation in phase with waveform offset (1 Hz or 60 breaths/min). Following cervical spinal cord injury (SCI), TI stimulation via dorsally placed epidural electrodes uni- or bilaterally activated the diaphragm depending on current and electrode position. In silico modeling indicated that an interferential signal in the ventral spinal cord predicted the evoked response (left versus right diaphragm) and current-ratio-based steering. We conclude that TI stimulation can activate spinal motor neurons after SCI and prevent fatal apnea during drug overdose by restoring ventilation with minimally invasive electrodes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (9) ◽  
pp. 2514-2519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew L. Sellers ◽  
Jamie M. Bergen ◽  
Russell N. Johnson ◽  
Heidi Back ◽  
John M. Ravits ◽  
...  

A significant unmet need in treating neurodegenerative disease is effective methods for delivery of biologic drugs, such as peptides, proteins, or nucleic acids into the central nervous system (CNS). To date, there are no operative technologies for the delivery of macromolecular drugs to the CNS via peripheral administration routes. Using an in vivo phage-display screen, we identify a peptide, targeted axonal import (TAxI), that enriched recombinant bacteriophage accumulation and delivered protein cargo into spinal cord motor neurons after intramuscular injection. In animals with transected peripheral nerve roots, TAxI delivery into motor neurons after peripheral administration was inhibited, suggesting a retrograde axonal transport mechanism for delivery into the CNS. Notably, TAxI-Cre recombinase fusion proteins induced selective recombination and tdTomato-reporter expression in motor neurons after intramuscular injections. Furthermore, TAxI peptide was shown to label motor neurons in the human tissue. The demonstration of a nonviral-mediated delivery of functional proteins into the spinal cord establishes the clinical potential of this technology for minimally invasive administration of CNS-targeted therapeutics.


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