Search results for " channels."
showing 10 items of 386 documents
Synaptopodin regulates denervation-induced homeostatic synaptic plasticity
2013
Synaptopodin (SP) is a marker and essential component of the spine apparatus (SA), an enigmatic cellular organelle composed of stacked smooth endoplasmic reticulum that has been linked to synaptic plasticity. However, SP/SA-mediated synaptic plasticity remains incompletely understood. To study the role of SP/SA in homeostatic synaptic plasticity we here used denervation-induced synaptic scaling of mouse dentate granule cells as a model system. This form of plasticity is of considerable interest in the context of neurological diseases that are associated with the loss of neurons and subsequent denervation of connected brain regions. In entorhino-hippocampal slice cultures prepared from SP-de…
Modulation of voltage-gated K(+) channels Kv11 and Kv1 4 by forskolin.
2002
Forskolin (FSK) affects voltage-gated K + (Kv) currents in different cell types, but it is not known which of the various subunits form FSK-sensitive Kv channels. We compared the effect of the compound at Kv1.1 and Kv1.4 channels ectopically expressed in HEK 293 cells. Low FSK concentrations induced a phosphorylation-dependent potentiation of Kv1.1 currents. At higher concentrations, this effect was superimposed by a fast, cAMP-independent channel block. Kv1.4 currents were inhibited with lower potency by FSK but were not modified by phosphorylation. The variable effect of the compound might help to distinguish between Kv subunits expressed by native cells. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All …
Analysis of phosphorylation-dependent modulation of Kv1.1 potassium channels.
2003
The voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.1 contains phosphorylation sites for protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC). To study Kv1.1 protein expression and cellular distribution in regard to its level of phosphorylation, the effects of PKA and PKC activation on Kv1.1 were investigated in HEK 293 cells stably transfected with Kv1.1 (HEK 293/1). Without kinase activation, HEK 293/1 cells carry unphosphorylated Kv1.1 protein in the plasma membranes, whereas large amounts of phosphorylated and unphosphorylated Kv1.1 protein were located intracellularly. Activation of PKA resulted in phosphorylation of intracellular Kv1.1 protein, followed by a rapid translocation of Kv1.1 into the pla…
Activation by Acidic pH of CLC-7 Expressed in Oocytes from Xenopus laevis
2002
ClC chloride channels are important in diverse physiological functions such as transepithelial transport, cell volume regulation, excitability, and acidification of intracellular organelles. We have investigated the expression of CLC-7 in oocytes from Xenopus laevis with the two electrode voltage clamp technique and Western blot analysis. Using a specific antibody against CLC-7, we found an approximately 80 kDa protein in oocytes, previously injected with CLC-7-cRNA. In voltage clamp experiments on ClC-7-cRNA-injected oocytes, no current changes were detected at normal pH (7.4). However, acidification of the Ringer solution to pH values between 6 and 4 revealed strong currents which reverse…
Sequential acquisition of cacophony calcium currents, sodium channels and voltage-dependent potassium currents affects spike shape and dendrite growt…
2014
During metamorphosis the CNS undergoes profound changes to accommodate the switch from larval to adult behaviors. In Drosophila and other holometabolous insects, adult neurons differentiate either from respecified larval neurons, newly born neurons, or are born embryonically but remain developmentally arrested until differentiation during pupal life. This study addresses the latter in the identified Drosophila flight motoneuron 5. In situ patch-clamp recordings, intracellular dye fills and immunocytochemistry address the interplay between dendritic shape, excitability and ionic current development. During pupal life, changes in excitability and spike shape correspond to a stereotyped, progr…
Immunohistochemical study of correlation between histologic subtype and expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins in synovial …
2011
Context.—Synovial sarcomas are mesenchymal tumors with epithelial nature and comprise biphasic and monophasic fibrous subtypes. However, factors determining epithelial or spindle cell differentiation are still unexplored. Aberrant epithelial-mesenchymal transition has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diverse human malignancies.Objective.—To analyze the correlation between cellular phenotype and expression of proteins associated with different epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related pathways.Design.—Immunohistochemical analysis of E-cadherin, Snail, Slug, and dysadherin, components of the Wnt/wingless and PI3K/Akt pathways, was performed on 14 biphasic and 27 monophasic fibrous tumor…
Novel modes of rhythmic burst firing at cognitively-relevant frequencies in thalamocortical neurons.
2008
It is now widely accepted that certain types of cognitive functions are intimately related to synchronized neuronal oscillations at both low (alpha/theta) (4-7/8-13 Hz) and high (beta/gamma) (18-35/30-70 Hz) frequencies. The thalamus is a key participant in many of these oscillations, yet the cellular mechanisms by which this participation occurs are poorly understood. Here we describe how, under appropriate conditions, thalamocortical (TC) neurons from different nuclei can exhibit a wide array of largely unrecognised intrinsic oscillatory activities at a range of cognitively-relevant frequencies. For example, both metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) and muscarinic Ach receptor (mAchR) …
Arachidonic acid relaxes human pulmonary arteries through K+ channels and nitric oxide pathways.
2004
We aimed to investigate the role of K(+) channels and nitric oxide (NO) on the relaxant effects of arachidonic acid in the human intralobar pulmonary arteries. Arachidonic acid produced a concentration-dependent relaxation (E(max)=93+/-3% of maximal relaxation induced by papaverine 0.1 mM;-log EC(30)=7.03+/-0.09) that was antagonized by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (1 microM), by the combination of cyclooxygenase blockade and cytochrome P450 (CYP) blockade with 17-octadecynoic acid (17-ODYA, 10 microM), by the combination of cyclooxygenase inhibition and NO synthase (NOS) inhibition with N(omega)-nitro-l-arginine (l-NOARG, 100 microM), by the simultaneous inhibition of CYP and …
Biochemical Characterization of a Novel Channel-Activating Site on Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors
1993
We have studied the interaction of the reversible acetylcholine esterase inhibitor (-)physostigmine and several structurally related compounds with the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) from Torpedo marmorata electric tissue by means of ligand-induced ion flux into nAChR-rich membrane vesicles, direct binding studies and photoaffinity labeling. (-)Physostigmine acts as a channel-activating ligand at low concentrations and as a direct channel blocker at elevated concentrations. Channel activation is not inhibited by desensitizing concentrations of ACh or ACh-competitive ligands (including alpha-bungarotoxin and D-tubocurarine) but is inhibited by antibody FK1 and several other compoun…
Kinetics and state-dependent effects of verapamil on cardiac L-type calcium channels.
1996
The voltage dependence and the kinetics of block by verapamil of L-type calcium current (ICa) were investigated in ventricular myocytes from rat hearts using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. ICa was elicited repetitively in response to depolarizing voltage pulses from -80 mV to 0 mV at different pulse intervals and durations. Verapamil reduced the magnitude of ICa in a frequency-dependent manner without tonic component. The time course of ICa remained unchanged suggesting that not open but inactivated channels were affected by the drug. The interaction of verapamil with inactivated channels was investigated by the application of twin pulses. In the presence of verapamil, the duration o…