Synaptic membrane proteins in mammalian brain

Corticospinal excitability and conductivity are related to the anatomy of the corticospinal tract

Probing the brain structure-function relationship is at the heart of modern neuroscientific explorations, enabled by recent advances in brain mapping techniques. This study aimed to explore the anatomical blueprint of corticospinal excitability and shed light on the structure-function relationship within the human motor system. Using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging tractography, based on the spherical deconvolution approach, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we show that anatomical inter-individual variability of the corticospinal tract (CST) modulates the corticospinal excitability and conductivity. Our findings show for the first time the relationship between increased corticospinal excitability and conductivity in individuals with a bigger CST (i.e., number of streamlines), as well as increased corticospinal microstructural organization (i.e., fractional anisotropy). These findings can have important implications for the understanding of the neuroanatomical basis of TMS as well as the study of the human motor system in both health and disease.

Brain-associated glycoproteins expressed in bovine heart Purkinje fibres

The Purkinje fibres of bovine heart were investigated immunohistochemically by use of monoclonal antibodies with specificity against the glycoproteins Thy-1 and Gp120, expressed in human brain. The existence and expression in bovine tissues (brain and thymus) of antigens displaying similar properties and immunochemical crossreactivity with monoclonal antibodies against the human antigens were confirmed. Both these antigens, as identified by use of anti Thy-1 and anti-Gp120 monoclonal antibodies were found to be associated with the membranes of the impulse conduction system. The presence of the antigens was seen in areas facing other conduction cells. No parts of the cells facing the basal membrane of the fibres were stained. The continuous staining between the cells was different from that of desmosome related proteins. These findings may have physiological and functional implications and are interesting in relation to recent evidences suggesting that the conduction tissue might be a derivative of the neural crest.

Demonstration of immunochemical identity between the synaptic vesicle proteins synaptin and synaptophysin/p38

The synaptic vesicle proteins synaptin and synaptophysin/p38 were shown to be immunochemically identical. Western immunoblot analysis of Triton X-100 extracts from rat brain showed that polyclonal polyspecific anti-synaptin antibodies and monoclonal antibody SY38 against synaptophysin both reacted with a band of 38 kDa. In two-dimensional immunoblots of chromaffin granule membranes from bovine adrenal medulla anti-synaptin and anti-synaptophysin antibodies also recognized the same component. Finally, in a Western immunoblotting experiment SY38 reacted with an immuno-isolated synaptin antigen.

N-methyl-D-aspartate promotes the survival of cerebellar granule cells in culture

Our previous studies on the survival-promoting influence of elevated concentrations of extracellular K+ ([K+]e) on cultured cerebellar granule cells led to the proposal that depolarization in vitro mimics the effect of the earliest afferent inputs received by the granule cells in vivo. This, in turn, might be mediated through the stimulation of excitatory amino acid receptors, in particular the N-methyl-D-aspartate-preferring subtype gating ion channels which are also permeable to Ca2+. Here we report that N-methyl-D-aspartate indeed has a dramatic effect on the survival in culture of cells derived from dissociated cerebella of 7-8-day-old rats and cultured in media containing 'low' [K+]e (5-15 mM). In addition to the visual inspection of the cultures, the effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate was quantitatively evaluated, using estimates related to the number of viable cells (determination of DNA and of reduction rate of a tetrazolium salt). Furthermore, proteins which are relatively enriched in either nerve cells (neuronal cell adhesion molecule, D3-protein and synaptin) or in glia (glutamine synthetase) were also measured. The findings showed that the rescue of cells by N-methyl-D-aspartate involved primarily nerve cells and that the survival requirement for N-methyl-D-aspartate, as for high K+, developed between 2 and 4 days in vitro. The effect depended on both the concentration of N-methyl-D-aspartate and the degree of depolarization of the cells: both the potency and the efficacy of N-methyl-D-aspartate were increased as [K+]e was raised from 5 to 15 mM, at which range K+ on its own has little if any influence on granule cell survival. These characteristics are consistent with the voltage-dependence of ion conductance through the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-linked channel. The most pronounced effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate was obtained in the presence of 15 mM K+, when cell survival approached that obtained in 'control' cultures (grown in 25 mM K+-containing media without N-methyl-D-aspartate), and the potency of N-methyl-D-aspartate (half-maximal effective concentration, EC50, about 20 microM) was similar to its known affinity in binding to cerebral membranes. The effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate was blocked by the specific receptor antagonist 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate, which also reduced the limited survival of cells in cultures grown in 'low' K+ in the absence of N-methyl-D-aspartate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)