Responses of nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis neurons to vestibular stimulation in the rat

Summary Forty-nine neurons were recorded in the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP) during horizontal vestibular and/or optokinetic stimulation in immobilized pigmented rats. During optokinetic stimulation, the response of NRTP neurons was either unidirectional (51%) or bidirectional (49%). Histological reconstruction showed that unidirectional neurons were located in the dorsal-medial part of NRTP, and bidirectional neurons in the lateral part. All neurons exhibited a response during pure vestibular sinusoidal stimulation in the frequency range 0.025 Hz-0.2 Hz. NRTP neurons were divided into two groups according to their threshold to vestibular stimulation. Group A neurons had a low threshold, a low spontaneous activity and their firing frequency slowly increased with acceleration. Group B neurons showed opposite characteristics. Phase and gain analysis suggested that NRTP neurons carry a head velocity signal. After hemiflocculectomy, the gain of the vestibular response of contralateral NRTP neurons increased. From these data, the role of NRTP in the horizontal vestibulo-oculomotor is discussed.Supported by DGRST 79.7.1012     

一氧化氮合酶与缺氧复氧所致神经细胞凋亡及银杏叶提取物的保护作用

目的　探讨一氧化氮 (NO)在缺氧复氧诱导神经细胞凋亡中的作用及中药银杏叶提取物的保护机制。方法　实验使用胎龄 16～ 17日Wistar大鼠的大脑皮层神经细胞进行原代分离培养 ;采用Wright Giemsa染色 ,光镜、透射电子显微镜观察 ;原位末端标记法确立缺氧复氧神经细胞凋亡病理模型 ;应用NADPH d组织化学方法检测神经细胞一氧化氮合酶 (NOS)的表达并用计算机图像分析系统进行定量检测。　结果　缺氧复氧可以使大鼠大脑皮层神经细胞发生凋亡 ,随缺氧时间的延长 ,凋亡细胞数渐多 ,至缺氧 8h复氧 18h达高峰 ;在缺氧 2h(H2 R0 组 )和缺氧 8h复氧 18h(R8R1 8)组中神经细胞NOS表达均显著增高 ,与正常对照组比有显著性差异 (P <0 0 1;P <0 0 5 )。EGB能显著抑制此双时相NOS活性的增强 ,并明显降低神经细胞凋亡率。　结论　缺氧复氧损伤可诱导培养的大鼠大脑皮层神经细胞发生凋亡。NOS表达增强从而使NO产生增加可能是缺氧复氧诱导神经细胞凋亡的机制之一。银杏叶提取物 (EGB)经下调NOS表达活性 ,抑制NO的产生保护培养的大鼠大脑皮层神经细胞免于凋亡。     

The caudate lobe of the liver

Summary The caudate lobe of the liver is an independent segment straddling the right and left lobes of the liver. It is divided into 2 parts, right and left, indicated eternally by the caudate and papillary processes. It is now possible to unvestigate it by ultrasonography and computed tomography, allowing its surgical excision for tumoral disease of the superior biliary confluence.

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Le lobe caudé du foie

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Résumé Le lobe caudé du foie est un secteur indépendant à cheval sur les foies droit et gauche. Il est séparé en 2 parties droites et gauches, marquées extérieurement par les processus caudé et papillaire. Son exploration est actuellement possible (échographie et tomodensitométrie), ce qui autorise son exérèse chirurgicale (pathologie tumorale du confluent biliaire supérieur).

     

Effects of selective NMDA and non-NMDA blockade in the nucleus accumbens on the plus-maze test

Effect of blocking N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and non-NMDA-glutamatergic receptors on performance in the plus-maze was studied in male rats bilaterally cannulated into the nucleus accumbens (Acc). Rats were divided into seven groups that received either 1 microl injections of saline, (+/-)2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (AP-7, 0.2, 0.5, or 1 microg) or 2,3 dioxo-6-nitro-1,2,3,4,tetrahydrobenzo-(f)quinoxaline-7-sulphonamide disodium (NBQX, 0.2, 0.5, or 1 microg) 15 min before testing. Time spent in open arm, time per entry, end arrivals, open, closed, and total arm entries, relationship between open-, closed-, and total arm entries, rearing, face-, head-, and body grooming, and number of fecal boli were recorded. Time spent in the open arm increased under AP-7 (0.5 and 1 microg; P<.01) and NBQX (1 microg; P<.05) treatment, whereas time per entry was increased only with AP-7 (1 microg; P<.05). Open arm entries were increased by the intermediate doses of AP-7 (0.5 microg; P<.01) and NBQX (0.5 microg; P<.05); end arrivals were increased by the intermediate dose of AP-7 (0.5 microg/1 microl, P<.05). The frequency of rearing, grooming, and closed arm entries was not affected by the treatment. We conclude that NMDA and non-NMDA-glutamatergic blockade in the Acc lead to a behavioral disinhibition of cortical influences with the median doses, but that at higher doses the blockers have an anxiolytic-like effect.     

The development of fibrocartilage in the rat intervertebral disc

The development of fibrocartilage in rat lumbar intervertebral discs has been correlated with an immunohistochemical analysis of the changing distribution of extracellular matrix components. Disc anlagen were first recognised by embryonic day 14 as segmental cell condensations. By E16, the notochord formed a series of bulges, each representing a future nucleus pulposus, and the annulus fibrosus had differentiated in the disc anlagen. The inner part of the annulus was composed of cartilage which linked that of adjacent vertebral bodies. The outer part was fibroblastic, with layers of parallel fibroblasts. The long axes of the cells in successive layers lay at an angle of approximately 90° to each other. This criss-cross orientation of cells preceded the oriented deposition of collagen fibres to form the lamellae. Disc anlagen were immunolabelled weakly for types I and III collagen, chondroitin 6-sulphate and dermatan sulphate. Later tissue differentiation was marked by the appearance of type II collagen, chondroitin 4-sulphate and keratan sulphate in the inner annulus. These components also appeared in the outer annulus, but only in adult animals, and indicated metaplastic change in the lamellar fibroblasts. Fibrocartilage in the nucleus pulposus was only seen in old animals, and the origin of the tissue was less clear. However, the fibrocartilage cells appeared to be derived from the cartilage end plate and/or from the inner annulus. We conclude that fibrocartilage in the intervertebral disc is derived from several sources and that the radial distribution patterns of extracellular matrix components in the adult disc are explained by the embryonic origins of its parts.     

Nucleus basalis lesions in neonate rats induce a selective cortical cholinergic hypofunction and cognitive deficits during adulthood

Summary Ibotenic acid was infused into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nBM) of 2-day old rats to eliminate immature cholinergic neurons before they develop functional synaptic connections in the neocortex. For bilaterally lesioned neonates, cognitive testing was initiated 2 months after lesioning and animals were sacrificed at 8 or 12 months of age. Lesioned animals exhibited a marked deficit in the retention of passive avoidance behavior, as well as in the acquisition of 2-way active avoidance behavior. Lesioned animals also made significantly more alternation errors than control animals in the Lashley III spatial maze and showed severe impairments in general learning, reference memory and working memory during 17-arm radial maze testing. For all 4 tasks, neonatally lesioned animals did not show any recovery to the performance level of control animals. Histological analysis of the subcortex from lesioned animals during adulthood revealed: (1) a substantial reduction in acetylcholinesterase-positive cells (presumably cholinergic) within the nucleus basalis, (2) decreased acetylcholinesterase staining in neocortex and (3) a gliosis essentially restricted to the globus pallidus. Surrounding brain regions were apparently not damaged as a direct result of excitotoxin infusion. Neurochemically, neonate nBM lesioning produced a long term cholinergic hypofunction as evidenced by significant reductions of 25% and 18% in frontal cortex chorine acetyltransferase (CAT) activity at 12 and 8 months of age, respectively. By contrast, prefrontal cortical concentrations of biogenic amines and their metabolites were unaffected, thus indicating a degree of neurochemical specificity for these neonatal nBM lesions. The persistant cortical cholinergic hypofunction in lesioned animals may be related to the long term deficits in learning/memory abilities that were also observed. It is suggested that neonatal nBM lesioning could provide a useful animal model for elucidating the plasticity of the developing brain after cortical anervation.     

CCKB受体诱发的小鼠神经元蛋白质磷酸化的研究

目的：从蛋白质可逆磷酸化修饰的角度初步勾勒出CCK_B型受体介导的胞内信号转导途径。方法:培养的小鼠大脑皮质神经元分为实验组、对照组和受体拮抗剂组，在无磷培养基加入 ［32P］-NaH₂PO₄标记细胞中的磷蛋白后，刺激组给予CCK₈（10^-7 mol/L），对照组加入等量的无磷培养基，受体拮抗剂组在分别加入CCK_A型、CCK_B型受体拮抗剂L364 718、L365 260以及L364 718＋L365 260，浓度均为10^-8 mol/L，孵育10 min后，再加入10^-7 mol/L CCK₈，37 ℃作用60 min，液氮中终止磷酸化反应。裂解细胞提取蛋白质，双向电泳分离，放射自显影7d后，获得磷酸化蛋白的放射自显影双向电泳图谱。采用PDQuest 2D分析软件对图谱进行差异分析，并在Swiss-Prot蛋白质数据库和自建磷蛋白数据库中查询定性。结果:CCK₈作用60 min后，小鼠神经元CCK₈信号转导相关磷酸化蛋白有：多种蛋白激酶、细胞信号分子、生长因子受体、转录因子等。加入L364 718后，神经元中PKCδ、P55G等的磷酸化水平降低，加入L365 260后， PKCα、PKGβ、OGFR、EGFR等的磷酸化水平呈现不同程度的降低，表明皮质神经元中CCK_B受体介导的信号转导更复杂。结论:CCK_A型、GGK_B型受体均可介导CCK₈在神经元的信号转导，但CCK_B型受体可能发挥了更重要的作用，其介导的信号途径可能包括：肌醇磷脂信使系统、cAMP-PKA途径、MAPK途径、JNK途径、PI3K-PKB途径和cGMP-PKG途径。     

紫草素通过PI3K/Akt通路抑制氧糖剥夺诱导的大鼠原代皮层神经元凋亡

目的:探讨紫草素对氧糖剥夺(OGD)损伤模型中大鼠原代皮层神经元的作用及机制。方法:用不同浓度(0. 02、0. 2、2和20μmol/L)紫草素对大鼠原代皮层神经元经进行预处理,再经OGD损伤处理,用乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)释放法和荧光素二乙酸酯/碘化丙啶(FDA/PI)双染法分别检测神经元活性和凋亡情况,选择最适紫草素浓度。然后,在加入紫草素之前提前加入LY294002(PI3K/Akt信号通路抑制剂,1μmol/L),用Wesern blot法检测神经元p-Akt(Ser473)水平变化,用LDH法和FDA/PI双染法检测神经元活性和凋亡率变化。结果:0. 2、2及20μmol/L的紫草素可显著提高神经元存活率(P 0. 05),同时还可使神经元内p-Akt(Ser473)水平显著升高(P 0. 05); LY294002可显著阻断紫草素对神经元p-Akt(Ser473)水平和凋亡率的影响(P 0. 05)。结论:紫草素可通过激活PI3K/Akt通路来减少OGD诱导的大鼠原代皮层神经元凋亡。     

Age-related alterations in responses of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis neurons to frontal cortex stimulation in rats

The present study investigated the age-related alterations in responses of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbM) neurons to frontal cortex (FCX) stimulation. Single unit extracellular recording from the nbM neurons were obtained with glass micropipettes in urethane-anesthetized rats. A total of 137 units were located within the nbM in the three age groups (young, 3 months; adult, 12 months; old, 24 months). FCX stimulation elicited responses in 91% of the 137 neurons. Most of them were excited. The frequency of occurrence of excitatory responses in the nbM neurons was decreased with aging. The thresholds and latencies of excitatory responses evoked by FCX stimulation were increased in old rats. The mean peak-firing rate of exciting phase was gradually reduced with aging. These findings indicate that there might be some functional changes in the nbM neurons with aging.