Role of cortical N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in auditory sensory memory and mismatch negativity generation: implications for schizophrenia.

Working memory refers to the ability of the brain to store and manipulate information over brief time periods, ranging from seconds to minutes. As opposed to long-term memory, which is critically dependent upon hippocampal processing, critical substrates for working memory are distributed in a modality-specific fashion throughout cortex. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play a crucial role in the initiation of long-term memory. Neurochemical mechanisms underlying the transient memory storage required for working memory, however, remain obscure. Auditory sensory memory, which refers to the ability of the brain to retain transient representations of the physical features (e.g., pitch) of simple auditory stimuli for periods of up to approximately 30 sec, represents one of the simplest components of the brain working memory system. Functioning of the auditory sensory memory system is indexed by the generation of a well-defined event-related potential, termed mismatch negativity (MMN). MMN can thus be used as an objective index of auditory sensory memory functioning and a probe for investigating underlying neurochemical mechanisms. Monkeys generate cortical activity in response to deviant stimuli that closely resembles human MMN. This study uses a combination of intracortical recording and pharmacological micromanipulations in awake monkeys to demonstrate that both competitive and noncompetitive NMDA antagonists block the generation of MMN without affecting prior obligatory activity in primary auditory cortex. These findings suggest that, on a neurophysiological level, MMN represents selective current flow through open, unblocked NMDA channels. Furthermore, they suggest a crucial role of cortical NMDA receptors in the assessment of stimulus familiarity/unfamiliarity, which is a key process underlying working memory performance.     

Modulation of early sensory processing in human auditory cortex during auditory selective attention.

Neuromagnetic fields were recorded from human subjects as they listened selectively to sequences of rapidly presented tones in one ear while ignoring tones of a different pitch in the opposite ear. Tones in the attended ear evoked larger magnetic brain responses than did unattended tones in the latency ranges 20-50 msec and 80-130 msec poststimulus. Source localization techniques in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging placed the neural generators of these early attention-sensitive brain responses in auditory cortex on the supratemporal plane. These data demonstrate that focused auditory attention in humans can selectively modulate sensory processing in auditory cortex beginning as early as 20 msec poststimulus, thereby providing strong evidence for an "early selection" mechanism of auditory attention that can regulate auditory input at or before the initial stages of cortical analysis.     

A two-step mechanism underlies the planar polarization of regenerating sensory hair cells

The restoration of planar cell polarity is an essential but poorly understood step toward physiological recovery during sensory-organ regeneration. Investigating this issue in the lateral line of the zebrafish, we found that hair cells regenerate in pairs along a single axis established by the restricted localization and oriented division of their progenitors. By analyzing mutants lacking the planar-polarity determinant Vangl2, we ascertained that the uniaxial production of hair cells and the subsequent orientation of their hair bundles are controlled by distinct pathways, whose combination underlies the establishment of hair-cell orientation during development and regeneration. This mechanism may represent a general principle governing the long-term maintenance of planar cell polarity in remodeling epithelia.     

Enhanced force generation by smooth muscle myosin in vitro.

To determine whether the apparent enhanced force-generating capabilities of smooth muscle relative to skeletal muscle are inherent to the myosin cross-bridge, the isometric steady-state force produced by myosin in the in vitro motility assay was measured. In this assay, myosin adhered to a glass surface pulls on an actin filament that is attached to an ultracompliant (50-200 nm/pN) glass microneedle. The number of myosin cross-bridge heads able to interact with a length of actin filament was estimated by measuring the density of biochemically active myosin adhered to the surface; with this estimate, the average force per cross-bridge head of smooth and skeletal muscle myosins is 0.6 pN and 0.2 pN, respectively. Surprisingly, smooth muscle myosin generates approximately three times greater average force per cross-bridge head than does skeletal muscle myosin.     

A molecular mechanism for sensory adaptation based on ligand-induced receptor modification.

Physiological responses mediated by cell-surface receptors frequently adapt or "desensitize" (i.e., terminate despite persistent occupancy of receptors by ligand). Binding of ligands to the external domains of a wide variety of surface receptors induces covalent modification of their cytoplasmic domains. A mechanism is presented in which the variety of receptor states generated by ligand binding and covalent modification act together to regulate physiological responsiveness. The development of the model is guided by observations of adaptation for chemotaxis in Escherichia coli and adenylate cyclase activation in Dictyostelium. The general features of the marked response and eventual exact adaptation predicted by the model match those observed in the experimental systems.     

Mismatch negativity and auditory sensory memory in chronic alcoholics

BACKGROUND & METHODS: Preattentive auditory processing and sensory memory were investigated by means of mismatch negativity (MMN) in a sample of 22 middle-aged abstinent chronic alcoholics and 25 age-matched healthy controls. Stimuli were presented at two inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs, 0.75 sec and 2.0 sec) in separate blocks. RESULTS: No significant differences in amplitude or latency of MMN were found between alcoholic and control subjects in either of the two ISI conditions. However, when age was included as a factor in the analysis, MMN amplitude was attenuated in chronic alcoholics who were older than 40 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the automatic stimulus-change detector mechanism associated with MMN generation is impaired in chronic alcoholics over the age of 40, suggesting that the neurotoxic effects of chronic consumption of alcohol are more prone to appear after a critical age.     

Structural changes in the actomyosin cross-bridges associated with force generation.

It is generally thought that to generate active force in muscle, myosin heads (cross-bridges) that are attached to actin undergo large-scale conformational changes. However, evidence for conformational changes of the attached cross-bridges associated with force generation has been ambiguous. In this study, we took advantage of the recent observation that cross-bridges that are weakly attached to actin in a relaxed muscle are apparently in attached preforce-generating states. The experimental conditions were chosen such that there were large fractions of cross-bridges attached under relaxing and activating conditions, and high-resolution equatorial x-ray diffraction patterns obtained under these conditions were compared. Changes brought about by activation in the two innermost intensities, I10 and I11, did not follow the familiar reciprocal changes. Instead, there was almost no change in I11, whereas I10 decreased by 34%. Together with the changes found in the higher-order reflections, the results suggest that the structure of the attached force-generating cross-bridges differs from that of the weakly bound, preforce-generating cross-bridges and possibly also differs from that of the cross-bridges in rigor. These observations support the concept that force generation involves a transition between distinct structural states of the actomyosin cross-bridges.     

The mechanism of neutrophil-induced lung injury--autoregulation of superoxide generation in cells]

Neutrophils which are isolated in the lung adhere to endothelial cells due to chemotactic factors, and release various proteases, superoxide anions and prostanoids in inflammatory processes. However, this host defense mechanism can cause tissue damage. Excessive adherent neutrophils are not always derived from lung injury. We have previously reported that an increase in cell density in human neutrophils attenuates superoxide anion generation by cell to cell communication (autoregulation). Autoregulation of the protein kinase c stimulator, phorbol myristate acetate, and also of the cell membrane receptor stimulator, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenyl-alanine was observed. The autoregulation was not related to the presence of extracellular Ca2+ not to a change of [Ca2+]i induced by stimulants. These results suggest that neutrophils accumulated in the lung tissue have a built-in defense mechanism induced by membrane to membrane contact of neutrophils, which protects tissues from an excessive inflammatory response.     

Some rat sensory neurons in culture express characteristics of differentiated pain sensory cells.

Sensory neurons were dissociated from trigeminal ganglia or from dorsal root ganglia of rats, grown in culture, and examined for expression of properties of pain sensory cells. Many sensory neurons in culture are excited by low concentrations of capsaicin, reportedly a selective stimulus for pain sensory neurons. Many are excited by bradykinin, sensitized by prostaglandin E2, or specifically stained by an antiserum against substance P. These experiments provide a basis for the study of pain mechanisms in cell culture.     

Effects of protein kinase A inhibition on rat diaphragm force generation

Although protein kinases are known to play a role in modulating a variety of intracellular functions, the direct effect of inhibition of these enzymes on skeletal muscle force production has not been studied. The purpose of the present study was to examine this issue by determining the effects produced on diaphragm force generation by two protein kinase inhibitors: (a) H7, an inhibitor of both cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and of protein kinase C, and (b) H89, a selective inhibitor of PKA. Experiments (n=15) were performed using isolated, arterially perfused, electrically stimulated rat diaphragms. Perfusate temperature was adjusted to maintain muscle temperature at 27 degrees C and arterial pressure was kept at 150 Torr. Animals were divided into three groups: (a) a control group perfused with Krebs-Henselheit solution equilibrated with 95% O(2)/5% CO(2), (b) a group in which H7 (2 microM) was added to the perfusate, and (c) a group perfused with solution containing H89 (4 microM). In all three groups, we assessed diaphragm twitch kinetics, force-frequency relationships and in vitro fatiguability. We found that both H7 and H89 administration slowed twitch relaxation, augmented force generation in response to low frequency stimulation, and increased the rate of development of fatigue. Specifically, for control, H7 and H89 groups, respectively, we found: (a) 1/2 relaxation time averaged 64+/-2 S.E.M., 87+/-6 and 90+/-2 ms, P<0. 003, (b) force production during 10-Hz stimulation averaged 12.6+/-1. 1, 20.1+/-2.3, and 20.3+/-2.1 N/cm(2), P<0.035, and (c) force fell to 14.3+/-2.0, 9.5+/-0.5 and 8.7+/-0.2% of its initial value after 20 min of fatiguing stimulation, P<0.035. These data show that it is possible to produce large increases in low frequency skeletal muscle force generation by directly inhibiting PKA. We speculate that it may be possible to pharmacologically augment respiratory muscle force and pressure generation in clinical medicine by administration of PKA inhibitors.     

Calcium-binding sites on sensory processes in vertebrate hair cells.

Vertebrate lateral line and vestibular systems center their function on highly mechanosensitive hair cells. Each hair cell is equipped with one kinocilium (which resembles a motile cilium) and 50-100 actin-containing stereocilia (which resemble microvilli) at the site of stimulus reception. This report describes electron-microscopic localization of calcium-binding sites on the sensory processes of vertebrate hair cells. Using the Oschman-Wall technique for calcium localization [Oschman, J. L. & Wall, B. J. (1972) J. Cell Biol. 55, 58-73] together with electron-probe x-ray microanalysis of thin sections, we observed: (i) calcium- and iron-containing deposits in the region of the ciliary necklace in goldfish lateral line hair cells, (ii) calcium deposits upon the surface of stereocilia of hair cells of the bullfrog inner ear, and (iii) calcium deposits upon stereocilia of hair cells of the guinea pig vestibular system.     

Novel sensory adaptation mechanism in bacterial chemotaxis to oxygen and phosphotransferase substrates.

The involvement of methylation in the chemosensory response of bacteria to many attractants has been clearly established by studies in several laboratories. It has been assumed that adaptation of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli to all attractants involves methylation of a transmembrane methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein. The methyl donor in this reaction is S-adenosyl-L-methionine, and the protein methyltransferase is the product of the cheR gene. In contrast, adaptation to oxygen and phosphotransferase substrates were found to be independent of this methylation system. In E. coli AW660 (tsr tar trg), which lacks the known methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins, chemotaxis was normal to oxygen and to substrates of the phosphotransferase system such as D-mannose, D-glucose, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. When S-adenosyl-L-methionine was depleted by methionine starvation or by addition of 1-aminocyclopentane-1-carboxylic acid, methylation-dependent adaptation to serine, aspartate, and ribose was defective in wild-type E. coli and S. typhimurium. However, adaptation to oxygen and phosphotransferase substrates was independent of S-adenosyl-L-methionine and the cheR product. These results suggest that there are methylation-independent and methylation-dependent mechanisms for sensory adaptation in bacteria.     

Efficient transformation of an auditory population code in a small sensory system

Optimal coding principles are implemented in many large sensory systems. They include the systematic transformation of external stimuli into a sparse and decorrelated neuronal representation, enabling a flexible readout of stimulus properties. Are these principles also applicable to size-constrained systems, which have to rely on a limited number of neurons and may only have to fulfill specific and restricted tasks? We studied this question in an insect system—the early auditory pathway of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers use genetically fixed songs to recognize mates. The first steps of neural processing of songs take place in a small three-layer feed-forward network comprising only a few dozen neurons. We analyzed the transformation of the neural code within this network. Indeed, grasshoppers create a decorrelated and sparse representation, in accordance with optimal coding theory. Whereas the neuronal input layer is best read out as a summed population, a labeled-line population code for temporal features of the song is established after only two processing steps. At this stage, information about song identity is maximal for a population decoder that preserves neuronal identity. We conclude that optimal coding principles do apply to the early auditory system of the grasshopper, despite its size constraints. The inputs, however, are not encoded in a systematic, map-like fashion as in many larger sensory systems. Already at its periphery, part of the grasshopper auditory system seems to focus on behaviorally relevant features, and is in this property more reminiscent of higher sensory areas in vertebrates.     

A key mechanism underlying sensory experience-dependent maturation of neocortical GABAergic circuits in vivo

Mechanisms underlying experience-dependent refinement of cortical connections, especially GABAergic inhibitory circuits, are unknown. By using a line of mutant mice that lack activity-dependent BDNF expression (bdnf-KIV), we show that experience regulation of cortical GABAergic network is mediated by activity-driven BDNF expression. Levels of endogenous BDNF protein in the barrel cortex are strongly regulated by sensory inputs from whiskers. There is a severe alteration of excitation and inhibition balance in the barrel cortex of bdnf-KIV mice as a result of reduced inhibitory but not excitatory conductance. Within the inhibitory circuits, the mutant barrel cortex exhibits significantly reduced levels of GABA release only from the parvalbumin-expressing fast-spiking (FS) interneurons, but not other interneuron subtypes. Postnatal deprivation of sensory inputs markedly decreased perisomatic inhibition selectively from FS cells in wild-type but not bdnf-KIV mice. These results suggest that postnatal experience, through activity-driven BDNF expression, controls cortical development by regulating FS cell-mediated perisomatic inhibition in vivo.     

Cellular thin filament protein contents and force generation in porcine arteries and veins.

We estimated the cellular myosin, actin, and tropomyosin contents of vascular smooth muscle from (1) seven major arteries, (2) seven large veins, and (3) the first through third order branches of the uterine vasculature to determine whether variations in the contractile apparatus contribute to the functional diversity of vascular smooth muscle. We obtained the estimates by quantitative densitometry of stained polyacrylamide gels after electrophoresis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated tissue homogenates. No differences in cellular myosin content were found (18.7 +/- 1.0 mg/g cell wet weight in arteries vs. 17.2 +/- 0.7 in veins). However, the actin and tropomyosin contents were higher in arteries (49.7 +/- 2.9 and 13.1 +/- 0.8 mg/g cell, respectively) than in veins (25.5 +/- 1.4 and 7.0 +/- 0.3 mg/g cell). These differences persisted in the smaller uterine vessels. The higher contents of thin filament proteins in arteries, compared with veins and several other smooth muscle tissues previously studied, may underlie the high force generating capacity of arterial smooth muscle.     

Rate of force generation in muscle: correlation with actomyosin ATPase activity in solution.

Crossbridge models of muscle contraction based on biochemical studies predict that there may be a relationship between the rate-limiting step in the actomyosin ATPase cycle in vitro and the rate of force development in vivo. In the present study, we measured the rate of force redevelopment in skinned rabbit muscle fibers following unloaded isotonic shortening and a rapid restretch. For comparison, ATPase activity was measured under identical conditions, using myosin subfragment-1 chemically crosslinked to actin. We found that the time course of force redevelopment is well fitted by a single exponential function, implying that force redevelopment is a first-order process, described by a single rate constant. The magnitude of this rate constant is in close agreement with the rate constant necessary to simulate the experimental force-velocity relation on the basis of a crossbridge model of the type proposed by A. F. Huxley in 1957. In addition, the observed close correlation between the rate constant for force redevelopment and the maximal actin-activated actomyosin ATPase rate under a variety of conditions suggests that the step that determines the rate of force generation in the crossbridge cycle may be the physiological equivalent of the rate-limiting step in the actomyosin ATPase cycle in solution.     

P2Y1 purinergic receptors in sensory neurons: contribution to touch-induced impulse generation.

Somatic sensation requires the conversion of physical stimuli into the depolarization of distal nerve endings. A single cRNA derived from sensory neurons renders Xenopus laevis oocytes mechanosensitive and is found to encode a P2Y1 purinergic receptor. P2Y1 mRNA is concentrated in large-fiber dorsal root ganglion neurons. In contrast, P2X3 mRNA is localized to small-fiber sensory neurons and produces less mechanosensitivity in oocytes. The frequency of touch-induced action potentials from frog sensory nerve fibers is increased by the presence of P2 receptor agonists at the peripheral nerve ending and is decreased by the presence of P2 antagonists. P2X-selective agents do not have these effects. The release of ATP into the extracellular space and the activation of peripheral P2Y1 receptors appear to participate in the generation of sensory action potentials by light touch.     

Developmental segregation in the afferent projections to mammalian auditory hair cells.

The mammalian ear contains two types of auditory receptors, inner and outer hair cells, that lie in close proximity to each other within the sensory epithelium of the cochlea. In adult mammals, these two classes of auditory hair cells are innervated by separate populations of afferent neurons that differ strikingly in their cellular morphology and their pattern of arborization within the cochlea. At present, it is unclear when or how these distinctive patterns of cochlear innervation emerge and become segregated during development. In the present study, an in vitro horseradish peroxidase labeling method was used to examine the formation of individual auditory neuron arbors at the same location within the apex of the developing gerbil cochlea. At birth, most cochlear neurons displayed peripheral arbors that embraced both inner and outer hair cell receptors. During the next 6 days, however, the arbors of individual cochlear afferents become confined to either the inner or outer hair cell zone, and thus there is a complete segregation of afferent innervation. This neural segregation occurs principally through the withdrawal of inappropriate connections to the outer hair cell system and is completed well before hearing commences.     

A genetically encoded system for oxygen generation in living cells

Oxygen plays a key role in supporting life on our planet. It is particularly important in higher eukaryotes where it boosts bioenergetics as a thermodynamically favorable terminal electron acceptor and has important roles in cell signaling and development. Many human diseases stem from either insufficient or excessive oxygen. Despite its fundamental importance, we lack methods with which to manipulate the supply of oxygen with high spatiotemporal resolution in cells and in organisms. Here, we introduce a genetic system, SupplemeNtal Oxygen Released from ChLorite (SNORCL), for on-demand local generation of molecular oxygen in living cells, by harnessing prokaryotic chlorite O₂-lyase (Cld) enzymes that convert chlorite (ClO₂⁻) into molecular oxygen (O₂) and chloride (Cl⁻). We show that active Cld enzymes can be targeted to either the cytosol or mitochondria of human cells, and that coexpressing a chlorite transporter results in molecular oxygen production inside cells in response to externally added chlorite. This first-generation system allows fine temporal and spatial control of oxygen production, with immediate research applications. In the future, we anticipate that technologies based on SNORCL will have additional widespread applications in research, biotechnology, and medicine.

Oxygen is vital for life and is one of the most widely used substrates in all of biochemistry (1). One of the most important events for life on our planet was the great oxygenation event (GOE), some 2.1 to 2.4 billion years ago (2), which changed our environment and spawned aerobic life. Oxygen provides a thermodynamically favorable terminal electron acceptor that helps to power metabolism and has been proposed as a prerequisite for the emergence of complex forms of animal life (3). Since oxygen is a di-radical and can be toxic, numerous mechanisms evolved to allow organisms to safely wield its thermodynamic potential (4). In addition, oxygen plays a key role in signaling (5, 6) and contributes to cell differentiation and development (7). Humans have an absolute requirement for oxygen, being only able to survive minutes in complete anoxia. At the other extreme, hyperoxia can also be toxic, leading to seizures, pulmonary toxicity, and retinopathy (8).Blood oxygen levels are routinely monitored in clinical medicine, and when required, we have facile means of delivering supplemental oxygen through nasal cannula, face masks, mechanical ventilation, and even extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. In contrast, we only have few ways of providing supplemental oxygen within cells. In the research setting, cells and organisms of course can be grown in chambers in which the ambient oxygen is regulated with gas mixtures (8). However, the poor solubility of oxygen in biofluids, its continuous exchange with the atmosphere, and its active consumption by mitochondrial respiration, make it challenging to manipulate intracellular oxygen levels with high spatiotemporal precision. Ideally, we would have an easy-to-use, genetically encoded system capable of delivering on-demand, localized production of molecular oxygen in living cells.Here we sought to develop such a tool by harnessing naturally occurring enzymes that generate molecular oxygen. While genetic tools exist for generating reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen in living cells (9), none have been described that generate molecular oxygen in its more familiar and stable triplet state. Enzymatic formation of the O-O bond is extremely rare. The most well appreciated and studied example is the water-splitting oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II, which is central to oxygenic photosynthesis. However, the OEC contains numerous cofactors including chlorophyll, quinones, and a unique manganese cluster (10). Oxygen can also be produced from methane-oxidizing bacteria (11), though the mechanism is not well studied. Another enzyme, called chlorite O₂-lyase or chlorite dismutase (Cld), converts chlorite (ClO₂⁻) to oxygen (O₂) and chloride (Cl⁻) in numerous bacterial and archaeal species [reviewed in ref. (12)].We chose to focus on the Cld family of oxidoreductases as a chassis for a simple-to-use oxygen generator given that its substrate is bioorthogonal to eukaryotic metabolism. We show that when expressed in human cells, Cld enzymes exhibit high activity, and that we can coexpress plasma membrane transporters that promote uptake of sodium chlorite for its subsequent intracellular conversion to oxygen. In this way we are able to successfully deploy a genetic system for SupplemeNtal Oxygen Released from ChLorite (SNORCL).