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Maamrah B, Pocsai K, Bayasgalan T, Csemer A, Pál B. KCNQ4 potassium channel subunit deletion leads to exaggerated acoustic startle reflex in mice. Neuroreport 2023; 34:232-237. [PMID: 36789839 PMCID: PMC10399928 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000001883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
The potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 4 (KCNQ4) subunit forms channels responsible for M-current, a muscarine-sensitive potassium current regulating neuronal excitability. In contrast to other KCNQ subunits, its expression is restricted to the cochlear outer hair cells, the auditory brainstem and other brainstem nuclei in a great overlap with structures involved in startle reflex. We aimed to show whether startle reflexis affected by the loss of KCNQ4 subunit and whether these alterations are similar to the ones caused by brainstem hyperexcitability. Young adult KCNQ4 knockout mice and wild-type littermates, as well as mice expressing hM3D chemogenetic actuator in the pontine caudal nucleus and neurons innervating it were used for testing acoustic startle. The acoustic startle reflex was significantly increased in knockout mice compared with wild-type littermates. When mice expressing human M3 muscarinic (hM3D) in nuclei related to startle reflex were tested, a similar increase of the first acoustic startle amplitude and a strong habituation of the further responses was demonstrated. We found that the acoustic startle reflex is exaggerated and minimal habituation occurs in KCNQ4 knockout animals. These changes are distinct from the effects of the hyperexcitability of nuclei involved in startle. One can conclude that the exaggerated startle reflex found with the KCNQ4 subunit deletion is the consequence of both the cochlear damage and the changes in neuronal excitability of startle networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baneen Maamrah
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen
- Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Krisztina Pocsai
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen
| | - Tsogbadrakh Bayasgalan
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen
- Doctoral School of Molecular Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Andrea Csemer
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen
| | - Balázs Pál
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen
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Dautan D, Kovács A, Bayasgalan T, Diaz-Acevedo MA, Pal B, Mena-Segovia J. Modulation of motor behavior by the mesencephalic locomotor region. Cell Rep 2021; 36:109594. [PMID: 34433068 PMCID: PMC8641693 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) serves as an interface between higher-order motor systems and lower motor neurons. The excitatory module of the MLR is composed of the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) and the cuneiform nucleus (CnF), and their activation has been proposed to elicit different modalities of movement. However, how the differences in connectivity and physiological properties explain their contributions to motor activity is not well known. Here we report that CnF glutamatergic neurons are more electrophysiologically homogeneous than PPN neurons and have mostly short-range connectivity, whereas PPN glutamatergic neurons are heterogeneous and maintain long-range connections, most notably with the basal ganglia. Optogenetic activation of CnF neurons produces short-lasting muscle activation, driving involuntary motor activity. In contrast, PPN neuron activation produces long-lasting increases in muscle tone that reduce motor activity and disrupt gait. Our results highlight biophysical and functional attributes among MLR neurons that support their differential contribution to motor behavior. Dautan et al. show key differences in the connectivity and physiological properties of neurons of the mesencephalic locomotor region. Although activation of CnF neurons elicits involuntary locomotor responses, activation of PPN neurons increases muscle tone and reduces motor activity, suggesting that PPN encodes a readiness signal that precedes locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Dautan
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
| | - Adrienn Kovács
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, 4012 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tsogbadrakh Bayasgalan
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, 4012 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Miguel A Diaz-Acevedo
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | - Balazs Pal
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, 4012 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Juan Mena-Segovia
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
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Bayasgalan T, Stupniki S, Kovács A, Csemer A, Szentesi P, Pocsai K, Dionisio L, Spitzmaul G, Pál B. Alteration of Mesopontine Cholinergic Function by the Lack of KCNQ4 Subunit. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:707789. [PMID: 34381336 PMCID: PMC8352570 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.707789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), a structure known as a cholinergic member of the reticular activating system (RAS), is source and target of cholinergic neuromodulation and contributes to the regulation of the sleep–wakefulness cycle. The M-current is a voltage-gated potassium current modulated mainly by cholinergic signaling. KCNQ subunits ensemble into ion channels responsible for the M-current. In the central nervous system, KCNQ4 expression is restricted to certain brainstem structures such as the RAS nuclei. Here, we investigated the presence and functional significance of KCNQ4 in the PPN by behavioral studies and the gene and protein expressions and slice electrophysiology using a mouse model lacking KCNQ4 expression. We found that this mouse has alterations in the adaptation to changes in light–darkness cycles, representing the potential role of KCNQ4 in the regulation of the sleep–wakefulness cycle. As cholinergic neurons from the PPN participate in the regulation of this cycle, we investigated whether the cholinergic PPN might also possess functional KCNQ4 subunits. Although the M-current is an electrophysiological hallmark of cholinergic neurons, only a subpopulation of them had KCNQ4-dependent M-current. Interestingly, the absence of the KCNQ4 subunit altered the expression patterns of the other KCNQ subunits in the PPN. We also determined that, in wild-type animals, the cholinergic inputs of the PPN modulated the M-current, and these in turn can modulate the level of synchronization between neighboring PPN neurons. Taken together, the KCNQ4 subunit is present in a subpopulation of PPN cholinergic neurons, and it may contribute to the regulation of the sleep–wakefulness cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Bayasgalan
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - S Stupniki
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca (INIBIBB), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional Del Sur (UNS), Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - A Kovács
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - A Csemer
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - P Szentesi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - K Pocsai
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - L Dionisio
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca (INIBIBB), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional Del Sur (UNS), Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - G Spitzmaul
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca (INIBIBB), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional Del Sur (UNS), Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - B Pál
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Bayasgalan T, Csemer A, Kovacs A, Pocsai K, Pal B. Topographical Organization of M-Current on Dorsal and Median Raphe Serotonergic Neurons. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:614947. [PMID: 33716672 PMCID: PMC7947297 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.614947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Dorsal and median raphe nuclei (DR and MR, respectively) are members of the reticular activating system and play important role in the regulation of the sleep-wakefulness cycle, movement, and affective states. M-current is a voltage-gated potassium current under the control of neuromodulatory mechanisms setting neuronal excitability. Our goal was to determine the proportion of DR and MR serotonergic neurons possessing M-current and whether they are organized topographically. Electrophysiological parameters of raphe serotonergic neurons influenced by this current were also investigated. We performed slice electrophysiology on genetically identified serotonergic neurons. Neurons with M-current are located rostrally in the DR and dorsally in the MR. M-current determines firing rate, afterhyperpolarization amplitude, and adaptation index (AI) of these neurons, but does not affect input resistance, action potential width, and high threshold oscillations.These findings indicate that M-current has a strong impact on firing properties of certain serotonergic neuronal subpopulations and it might serve as an effective contributor to cholinergic and local serotonergic neuromodulatory actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsogbadrakh Bayasgalan
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Andrea Csemer
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Adrienn Kovacs
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Krisztina Pocsai
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Balazs Pal
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
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Baksa B, Kovács A, Bayasgalan T, Szentesi P, Kőszeghy Á, Szücs P, Pál B. Characterization of functional subgroups among genetically identified cholinergic neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus. Cell Mol Life Sci 2019; 76:2799-2815. [PMID: 30734834 PMCID: PMC6588655 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03025-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) is a part of the reticular activating system which is composed of cholinergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons. Early electrophysiological studies characterized and grouped PPN neurons based on certain functional properties (i.e., the presence or absence of the A-current, spike latency, and low threshold spikes). Although other electrophysiological characteristics of these neurons were also described (as high threshold membrane potential oscillations, great differences in spontaneous firing rate and the presence or absence of the M-current), systematic assessment of these properties and correlation of them with morphological markers are still missing. In this work, we conducted electrophysiological experiments on brain slices of genetically identified cholinergic neurons in the PPN. Electrophysiological properties were compared with rostrocaudal location of the neuronal soma and selected morphometric features obtained with post hoc reconstruction. We found that functional subgroups had different proportions in the rostral and caudal subregions of the nucleus. Neurons with A-current can be divided to early-firing and late-firing neurons, where the latter type was found exclusively in the caudal subregion. Similar to this, different parameters of high threshold membrane potential oscillations also showed characteristic rostrocaudal distribution. Furthermore, based on our data, we propose that high threshold oscillations rather emerge from neuronal somata and not from the proximal dendrites. In summary, we demonstrated the existence and spatial distribution of functional subgroups of genetically identified PPN cholinergic neurons, which are in accordance with differences found in projection and in vivo functional findings of the subregions. Being aware of functional differences of PPN subregions will help the design and analysis of experiments using genetically encoded opto- and chemogenetic markers for in vivo experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Baksa
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyerdei krt 98, Debrecen, 4012, Hungary
| | - A Kovács
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyerdei krt 98, Debrecen, 4012, Hungary
| | - T Bayasgalan
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyerdei krt 98, Debrecen, 4012, Hungary
| | - P Szentesi
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyerdei krt 98, Debrecen, 4012, Hungary
| | - Á Kőszeghy
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyerdei krt 98, Debrecen, 4012, Hungary
- Division of Cognitive Neurobiology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - P Szücs
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embriology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Balázs Pál
- Department of Physiology, University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Nagyerdei krt 98, Debrecen, 4012, Hungary.
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Nakayama K, Bayasgalan T, Yamanaka K, Kumada M, Gotoh T, Utsumi N, Yanagisawa Y, Okayama M, Kajii E, Ishibashi S, Iwamoto S. Large scale replication analysis of loci associated with lipid concentrations in a Japanese population. J Med Genet 2009; 46:370-4. [PMID: 19487539 DOI: 10.1136/jmg.2008.064063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent genome wide association studies discovered seven novel loci that influence plasma concentrations of triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in Europeans. To date, large scale replication studies using populations with known differences in genome-wide linkage disequilibrium (LD) pattern have not been undertaken. METHODS To address this issue, we tested associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the seven novel loci and plasma lipid profiles in 21 010 Japanese individuals. RESULTS Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the rs3812316 in MLXIPL was strongly associated with triglyceride concentrations (p approximately 3.0x10(-11), 7.1 mg/dl decrease per minor C allele) and that rs599839 in CELSR2/PSRC1/SORT1 was strongly associated with LDL cholesterol concentrations (p approximately 3.1x10(-11), 4.7 mg/dl decrease per minor G allele) in the Japanese population. SNPs near ANGPTL3, TRIB1 and GALNT2 showed evidence for associations with triglyceride concentrations (3.6x10(-6)<p<5.1x10(-5)). SNP near TRIB1 showed association with LDL cholesterol concentrations (p approximately 1.2x10(-5)). On the other hand, SNPs in NCAN/CILP2/PBX4 and MVK/MMAB were not associated with any plasma lipid profiles in the Japanese population. Ethnic differences in LD pattern would explain the lack of association between these two loci and plasma lipid concentrations in the Japanese population. CONCLUSION Associations between the novel loci and plasma lipid concentrations were generally conserved in the Japanese population, with the exception of NCAN/CILP2/PBX4 and MVK/MMAB.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Nakayama
- Division of Human Genetics, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke-city, Tochigi, 329-0498 Japan.
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