Electrophysiology of oocytes during meiotic maturation and after ovulation in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1904-1908 ◽  
Author(s):  
William S. Marshall ◽  
Hamid R. Habibi ◽  
Charles A. Lessman

Brook trout oocytes were stripped of their follicular layers and were impaled with both voltage-measuring and current-passing microelectrodes. The membrane resting potential (Vm) was −46 ± 1.2 mV (mean ± SE, n = 50, bath grounded) in control denuded oocytes with an intact germinal vesicle. Vm was reduced to −38 ± 1.8 mV (n = 16) in eggs that had ovulated in vivo. Accompanying the potential drop was a marked increase in membrane resistance (Rm) from 26 ± 1.7 in denuded oocytes to 1640 ± 150 kΩ∙cm2 in ovulated eggs and a reduction in membrane current (Im) from 2380 ± 260 to 25 ± 2.6 nA∙cm2. The increased resistance in ovulated eggs was in part the result of reduced Na+ and K+ membrane conductances; there was no significant change in Cl− conductance. Treatment of denuded oocytes with 17α-20β-dihydroxyprogesterone produced germinal vesicle dissolution; in denuded oocytes that had undergone germinal vesicle dissolution in vitro, Rm increased and Im decreased, comparable at least qualitatively to the changes seen after ovulation in vivo. The results indicate that major electrophysiological changes accompany germinal vesicle dissolution and ovulation in brook trout oocytes.

1982 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1321-1335 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Gutnick ◽  
B. W. Connors ◽  
D. A. Prince

1. The cellular mechanisms underlying interictal epileptogenesis have been examined in an in vitro slice preparation of guinea pig neocortex. Penicillin or bicuculline was applied to the tissue, and intracellular recordings were obtained from neurons and glia. 2. Following convulsant application, stimulation could elicit a short-latency excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and a large, longer latency depolarization shift (DS) in single neurons. DSs in neurons of the slice were very similar to those evoked in neurons of neocortex in vivo in that they displayed an all-or-none character, large shifts in latency during repetitive stimuli, long afterpotentials, and a prolonged refractory period. In contrast to epileptogenesis produced by penicillin in intact cortex, neither spontaneous DSs nor ictal episodes were observed in neocortical slices. 3. In simultaneous recordings from pairs of neurons within the same cortical column, DS generation and latency shifts were invariably synchronous. DS generation in neurons was also coincident with large, paroxysmal increases of extracellular [K+], as indicated by simultaneous recordings from glia. 4. When polarizing currents were applied to neurons injected with the local anesthetic QX-314, the DS amplitude varied monotonically and had an extrapolated reversal potential near 0 mV. In neurons injected with the K+-current blocker Cs+, large displacements of membrane potential were possible, and both the short-latency EPSP and the peak of the DS diminished completely at about 0 mV. At potentials positive to this, the short-latency EPSP was reversed, and the DS was replaced by a paroxysmal hyperpolarization whose rise time and peak latency were prolonged compared to the DS evoked at resting potential. The paroxysmal hyperpolarization probably represents the prolonged activation of the impaled neuron by EPSPs. 5. Voltage-dependent components, including slow spikes, appeared to contribute to generation of the DS at resting potential in Cs+-filled cells, and these components were blocked during large depolarizations. 6. The results suggest that DS generation in single neocortical neurons occurs during synchronous synaptic activation of a large group of cells. DS onset in a given neuron is determined by the timing of a variable-latency excitatory input that differs from the short-latency EPSP. The DS slow envelope appears to be generated by long-duration excitatory synaptic currents and may be modulated by intrinsic voltage-dependent membrane conductances. 7. We present a hypothesis for the initiation of the DS, based on the anatomical and physiological organization of the intrinsic neocortical circuits.


1978 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-263
Author(s):  
J. E. TREHERNE ◽  
Y. PICHON

Reprint requests should be addressed to Dr Treherne. Sabella is a euryhaline osmoconformer which is killed by direct transfer to 50% sea water, but can adapt to this salinity with progressive dilution of the sea water. The giant axons were adapted to progressive dilution of the bathing medium (both in vivo and in vitro) and were able to function at hyposmotic dilutions (down to 50%) sufficient to induce conduction block in unadapted axons. Hyposmotic adaptation of the giant axon involves a decrease in intracellular potassium concentration which tends to maintain a relatively constant resting potential during adaptation despite the reduction in external potassium concentration. There is no appreciable change in the intracellular sodium concentration, but the relative sodium permeability of the active membrane increases during hyposmotic adaptation. This increase partially compensates for the reduction in sodium gradient across the axon membrane, during dilution of the bathing media, by increasing the overshoot of the action potentials recorded in hyposmotically adapted axons.


2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 3504-3523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Morita ◽  
Kunichika Tsumoto ◽  
Kazuyuki Aihara

Recent in vitro experiments revealed that the GABAA reversal potential is about 10 mV higher than the resting potential in mature mammalian neocortical pyramidal cells; thus GABAergic inputs could have facilitatory, rather than inhibitory, effects on action potential generation under certain conditions. However, how the relationship between excitatory input conductances and the output firing rate is modulated by such depolarizing GABAergic inputs under in vivo circumstances has not yet been understood. We examine herewith the input–output relationship in a simple conductance-based model of cortical neurons with the depolarized GABAA reversal potential, and show that a tonic depolarizing GABAergic conductance up to a certain amount does not change the relationship between a tonic glutamatergic driving conductance and the output firing rate, whereas a higher GABAergic conductance prevents spike generation. When the tonic glutamatergic and GABAergic conductances are replaced by in vivo–like highly fluctuating inputs, on the other hand, the effect of depolarizing GABAergic inputs on the input–output relationship critically depends on the degree of coincidence between glutamatergic input events and GABAergic ones. Although a wide range of depolarizing GABAergic inputs hardly changes the firing rate of a neuron driven by noncoincident glutamatergic inputs, a certain range of these inputs considerably decreases the firing rate if a large number of driving glutamatergic inputs are coincident with them. These results raise the possibility that the depolarized GABAA reversal potential is not a paradoxical mystery, but is instead a sophisticated device for discriminative firing rate modulation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Mishra ◽  
K P Joy

An HPLC method was used to tentatively identify progesterone (P4) and its metabolites (17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-P4) and 17,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β-P)), corticosteroids (cortisol and corticosterone) and testosterone in ovary/follicular preparations of the catfish Heteropneustes fossilis associated with in vivo or in vitro oocyte maturation/ovulation. A single i.p. injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin (100 IU/fish, sampled at 0, 8 and 16 h) induced oocyte maturation and ovulation, which coincided with significant and progressive increases in 17,20β-P, and P4 and 17-P4, the precursors of the former. Both cortisol and corticosterone also increased significantly. Conversely, testosterone decreased significantly and progressively over time. Under in vitro conditions, incubation of post-vitellogenic (intact) follicles or follicular envelope (layer) with 2-hydroxyoestradiol (2-OHE2, 5 μM for 0, 6 and 24 h) elicited a sharp significant increase in 17,20β-P, the increase being higher in the follicular envelope incubate. P4 and 17-P4 also registered significant increases over the time with the peak values at 24 h. Cortisol and corticosterone increased significantly in the intact follicle, but not in the follicular envelope incubate. Testosterone decreased significantly in the intact follicle, but increased significantly (24 h) in the follicular envelope incubate. Coincident with these changes, the percentage of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) increased over the time in the intact follicle incubate (48.9% at 6 h and 79.8% at 24 h). Denuded oocytes on incubation with 2-OHE2 (5 μM) did not produce any significant change in the percentage of GVBD or in the steroid profile. While corticosterone and 17,20β-P were undetected, P4, 17-P4, cortisol and testosterone were detected in low amounts. The results show that the 2-OHE2-induced GVBD response seems to be mediated through the production of 17,20β-P and corticosteroids. It is suggested that hydroxyoestrogens seem to be a component in the gonadotrophin cascade of regulation of oocyte maturation/ovulation in the catfish.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
R. Appeltant ◽  
J. Beek ◽  
D. Maes ◽  
A. Van Soom

When using modern maturation conditions for in vitro maturation, pig oocytes yield ~20% blastocysts only. One problem is that cumulus cells, which are normally connected with the immature oocyte by cellular projections penetrating through the zona pellucida and with the oolemma via gap junctions, are prematurely losing these connections after the cumulus–oocyte complex is removed from the follicle. The oocyte possesses a type 3 phosphodiesterase, which degrades 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and this activity is inhibited by supply of 3′,5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) to the oocyte via the cumulus cells. Consequently, cAMP levels, which are typically high during early stages of oocyte maturation in vivo, decrease, leading to spontaneous nuclear maturation and oocytes of low developmental competence. Therefore, the maintenance of these cumulus-oocyte connections is important to keep cAMP high and the oocyte under meiotic arrest. One way to prevent this drop in cAMP is using N6, 2′-o-dibutyryladenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate sodium (dbcAMP) that causes an arrest at germinal vesicle (GV) stage II (Funahashi et al. 1997 Biol. Reprod. 57, 49–53). Another option is collecting the oocytes in a medium containing the phoshodiesterase inhibitor, IBMX. The present study investigated the influence of IBMX on the progression of the GV of the oocyte after collection, just before the start of the maturation procedure. The GV stage was defined according to Sun et al. (2004 Mol. Reprod. Dev. 69, 228–234). In parallel with the findings on dbcAMP, we hypothesised an arrest at GV II by the presence of IBMX during collection. One group of oocytes were collected in HEPES-buffered TALP without IBMX (n = 375) and another group in the same medium containing 0.5 mM IBMX (n = 586). An average incubation time of 140 min was applied in both groups, and 3 replicates were performed. The proportions of oocytes before or at GV II and beyond GV II were compared in both groups using logistic regression analysis. The proportion of oocytes was included as dependent variable and group (IBMX addition or not) as independent variable. Replicate was also included in the model. The proportion of oocytes before or at GV II was not statistically significant between the group without and the group with IBMX (59.2 v. 58.7% respectively; P > 0.05). In conclusion, the use of IBMX during oocyte collection did not influence the state of the germinal vesicle of the oocyte during collection, indicating that IBMX did not cause a meiotic arrest in the oocytes during collecting in vitro.


1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 1603-1609 ◽  
Author(s):  
William S. Marshall ◽  
Sharon E. Bryson

The transepithelial transport of 86Rb+, a tracer for K+, was examined in the isolated sperm duct of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Fluxes of 86Rb+ at 1.0 mM Rb+ in voltage-clamped ducts bathed with Ringer's solution on both sides revealed net secretion of Rb+ averaging 31–58 nequiv.∙cm−2∙h−1 after stimulation by 1.0 mM dibutyryl-cAMP. Unstimulated tissues had no net Rb+ transport. The stimulated Rb+ transport was reduced 70% by bilateral replacement of Cl− with gluconate, indicating that Rb+ secretion is dependent on Cl−. Ba2+ (2.0 mM) added to the luminal (mucosal) side had no effect on Rb+ secretion rate, suggesting that apical Ba2+-sensitive K+ channels are not involved. When added on the blood side (serosal), Ba2+ stimulated Rb+ net flux by 68%, possibly as a result of blockade of basal K+ channels and increased intracellular [K+]. Injection of the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate (3 × 0.4 mg∙kg−1 over 7 days in vivo) significantly reduced stimulated Rb+ secretion (in vitro), suggesting that androgens may maintain the active transport characteristics of the blood – testis barrier. The active K+ secretion by the sperm duct accounts for the high concentration of K+ in seminal plasma which in turn is important in maintaining quiescence of developing spermatozoa.


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