Search results for " neurons"
showing 10 items of 290 documents
Progerin expression induces a significant downregulation of transcription from human repetitive sequences in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons.
2019
Repetitive DNA sequences represent about half of the human genome. They have a central role in human biology, especially neurobiology, but are notoriously difficult to study. The purpose of this study was to quantify the transcription from repetitive sequences in a progerin-expressing cellular model of neuronal aging. Progerin is a nuclear protein causative of the Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome that is also incrementally expressed during the normal aging process. A dedicated pipeline of analysis allowed to quantify transcripts containing repetitive sequences from RNAseq datasets oblivious of their genomic localization, tolerating a sufficient degree of mutational noise, all with low c…
m-Chlorophenylpiperazine excites non-dopaminergic neurons in the rat Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area by activating serotonin-2c receptors
2001
In vivo electrophysiological techniques were used to study the effect of m-chlorophenylpiperazine, a non-selective serotonin-2C receptor agonist, on the activity of non-dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars reticulata and the ventral tegmental area of anesthetized rats. Intravenous administration of m-chlorophenylpiperazine (5–320 μg/kg) caused a dose-dependent increase in the basal firing rate of a subpopulation of nigral neurons which do not respond to a footpinch stimulus [P(0) neurons], whereas it did not affect the activity of neurons which are responsive to the footpinch [P(+) neurons]. However, m-chlorophenylpiperazine (5–320 μg/kg) excited all non-dopaminergic neurons sa…
Enhancement of the FGFR1 signaling in the FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complex in midbrain raphe 5-HT neuron systems. Relevance for neuroplasticity an…
2015
New findings show existence of FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complexes in 5-HT nerve cells of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei of the rat midbrain and hippocampus. Synergistic receptor-receptor interactions in these receptor complexes indicated their enhancing role in hippocampal plasticity. The existence of FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complexes also in midbrain raphe 5-HT nerve cells open up the possibility that antidepressant drugs by increasing extracellular 5-HT levels can cause an activation of the FGF-2/FGFR1 mechanism in these nerve cells as well. Therefore, the agonist modulation of the FGFR1-5-HT1A heteroreceptor complexes and their specific role is now determined in rat medullary …
Modulatory effects of the novel TrkB receptor agonist 7,8-dihydroxyflavone on synaptic transmission and intrinsic neuronal excitability in mouse visu…
2013
7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8 DHF) is a new recently identified TrkB receptor agonist, which possesses a potent neurotrophic activity and shares many physiological properties with the neurotrophin "Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor" (BDNF). However, its precise mechanism of action at the cellular level has not been clarified yet. In the present study we explored the effects of this agent on synaptic and intrinsic neuronal properties by performing whole-cell patch clamp recordings from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. Incubation of acute cortical slices with 7,8-DHF (20 µM) for 30 min caused a selective reduction in the strength of GABAergic inhibition. The amplitude of evoked inhibitory postsynapti…
Biogenic Amines Modulate Olfactory Receptor Neurons Firing Activity in Mamestra brassicae
2001
The modulatory effects of the biogenic amines octopamine and serotonin on pheromonal receptor neurons of Mamestra brassicae were investigated. The responses to sex pheromone components of two cells types (A and B) in single male long sensilla trichodea were monitored. Cell types A and B do not respond to the same compound. The response of type A to a pulse of the major sex pheromone component increased 5 min after octopamine injection. Responses of type B to other odorants increased after 30 min. In the absence of any pheromone stimulation the background firing activity of type A increased following octopamine injection. This background activity was used to evaluate the kinetics of octopami…
Modeling the insect mushroom bodies: application to a delayed match-to-sample task.
2013
Despite their small brains, insects show advanced capabilities in learning and task solving. Flies, honeybees and ants are becoming a reference point in neuroscience and a main source of inspiration for autonomous robot design issues and control algorithms. In particular, honeybees demonstrate to be able to autonomously abstract complex associations and apply them in tasks involving different sensory modalities within the insect brain. Mushroom Bodies (MBs) are worthy of primary attention for understanding memory and learning functions in insects. In fact, even if their main role regards olfactory conditioning, they are involved in many behavioral achievements and learning capabilities, as …
Sensory neuropathy with bone destruction due to a mutation in the membrane-shaping atlastin GTPase 3.
2014
Many neurodegenerative disorders present with sensory loss. In the group of hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies loss of nociception is one of the disease hallmarks. To determine underlying factors of sensory neurodegeneration we performed whole-exome sequencing in affected individuals with the disorder. In a family with sensory neuropathy with loss of pain perception and destruction of the pedal skeleton we report a missense mutation in a highly conserved amino acid residue of atlastin GTPase 3 (ATL3), an endoplasmic reticulum-shaping GTPase. The same mutation (p.Tyr192Cys) was identified in a second family with similar clinical outcome by screening a large cohort of 115 patients …
The Link between Oxidative Stress, Redox Status, Bioenergetics and Mitochondria in the Pathophysiology of ALS
2021
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most common neurodegenerative disease of the motor system. It is characterized by the degeneration of both upper and lower motor neurons, which leads to muscle weakness and paralysis. ALS is incurable and has a bleak prognosis, with median survival of 3–5 years after the initial symptomatology. In ALS, motor neurons gradually degenerate and die. Many features of mitochondrial dysfunction are manifested in neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS. Mitochondria have shown to be an early target in ALS pathophysiology and contribute to disease progression. Disruption of their axonal transport, excessive generation of reactive oxygen species, disruptio…
Experimental study of electrical FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons with modified excitability
2006
International audience; We present an electronical circuit modelling a FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron with a modified excitability. To characterize this basic cell, the bifurcation curves between stability with excitation threshold, bistability and oscillations are investigated. An electrical circuit is then proposed to realize a unidirectional coupling between two cells, mimicking an inter-neuron synaptic coupling. In such a master-slave configuration, we show experimentally how the coupling strength controls the dynamics of the slave neuron, leading to frequency locking, chaotic behavior and synchronization. These phenomena are then studied by phase map analysis. The architecture of a possible ne…
Rebalancing β-Amyloid-Induced Decrease of ATP Level by Amorphous Nano/Micro Polyphosphate: Suppression of the Neurotoxic Effect of Amyloid β-Protein …
2017
Morbus Alzheimer neuropathology is characterized by an impaired energy homeostasis of brain tissue. We present an approach towards a potential therapy of Alzheimer disease based on the high-energy polymer inorganic polyphosphate (polyP), which physiologically occurs both in the extracellular and in the intracellular space. Rat pheochromocytoma (PC) 12 cells, as well as rat primary cortical neurons were exposed to the Alzheimer peptide Aβ25-35. They were incubated in vitro with polyphosphate (polyP); ortho-phosphate was used as a control. The polymer remained as Na+ salt; or complexed in a stoichiometric ratio to Ca2+ (Na-polyP[Ca2+]); or was processed as amorphous Ca-polyP microparticles (C…