Glial contribution to amino acid content and metabolism of the deafferented dentate gyrus

The effect of an N-methyl-D-aspartate lesion in the hippocampus on glial and neuronal marker proteins

The study employed an immunochemical quantification of brain cell marker proteins in addition to quantitative morphology in order to provide a more multifacetted and characterized model for an excitotoxic CNS lesion. The importance of the approach in the evaluation of the potential of neuroprotective agents is emphasized. The S-100 protein, the glial fibrillary acidic (GFA) protein, neuron specific enolase (NSE) and neuronal intermediary filament polypeptides (NF 68 and NF 200) were measured with a dot-immunobinding assay, 3-30 days after a unilateral injection of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) in the left dorsal hippocampus of the rat. After 3 days, the neuronal cell loss averaged 80% in the hippocampus. The S-100 content was reduced 3 days after injection, but was 150% of control at 30 days. GFA increased constantly from days 3 to 30. The neuronal marker proteins were all markedly reduced 7 days after injection. However, at 30 days, NF 68 and NF 200 were close to control (80%). Increasing content would reflect regeneration and sprouting of neurites. The content of the neuronal cytoplasmic marker, NSE, was significantly lower than control also at 10 and 30 days, although a gradual recovery could be traced.

Excitant amino acid projections from rat amygdala and thalamus to nucleus accumbens

High affinity uptake of D-[3H]aspartate, [3H]choline and [3H]GABA was examined in synaptosomal-containing preparations of rat nucleus accumbens septi 7 to 10 days after unilateral or bilateral N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions confined to the parataenial nucleus of the thalamus or the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala. Uptake of both D-[3H]aspartate and [3H]choline was significantly reduced (11% and 14% less than control, respectively) by unilateral lesion of the thalamus, whereas [3H]GABA uptake was unaffected. Bilateral thalamic lesions significantly reduced D-[3H]aspartate uptake (11% less than control) into homogenates of the nucleus accumbens, whilst [3H]GABA uptake was unaltered. D-[3H]aspartate uptake was significantly reduced (26% less than control) following unilateral lesion of the amygdala, whereas both [3H]GABA and [3H]choline uptake were unaffected. Bilateral amygdaloid lesions significantly increased D-[3H]aspartate uptake (39% greater than control), whilst uptake of [3H]GABA was not affected. The results implicate glutamate and/or aspartate as putative neurotransmitters in afferent projections from the basolateral amygdala and the parataenial thalamus to the nucleus accumbens. Thalamic afferents to the nucleus accumbens may also utilize acetylcholine as their transmitter.

Detection limits of different approaches in behavioral teratology, and correlation of effects with neurochemical parameters

Five laboratories collaborated in the evaluation of detection limits of different testing concepts in behavioral teratology. In one laboratory, rat dams were treated by gavage with five doses of methylmercury (0.0, 0.25, 0.05, 0.5, and 5.0 mg/kg/day). The treatment period was restricted to days 6 to 9 of gestation. The usual reproduction parameters were assessed in the dams. The offspring (88-99 per group) were subjected to a routine developmental and behavioral testing battery. After completion of these tests, random samples of the animals were further investigated in four other laboratories using the following techniques: auditory startle habituation, visual discrimination and figure-8 activity monitor; wheel-shaped activity monitor and spatial alternation operant conditioning; two-compartment locomotor activity, passive avoidance and male ultrasonic vocalization during sexual behavior; assays of the weight of different brain areas, their glial fibrillary acidic (GFA) protein and S-100 protein concentration. The following dose-dependent effects were noted in ascending dose sensitivity order: delayed vaginal opening; increased and more variable passiveness in spatial alternation; impaired swimming behavior, increased GFA protein concentration in the cerebellar vermis; increased auditory startle amplitude, decreased intertrial interval pokes in the visual discrimination test, increased percentage of visits in passive area of figure-8 activity monitor, increased path iteration frequencies and decreased local activity in the wheel-shaped activity monitor, decreased locomotor activity in the two-compartment monitor, increased cerebellar vermis weight, and decreased S-100 protein in the hippocampus. Therefore, this study showed comparable sensitivities for the behavioral testing battery, for some automated multiparametric test systems and for the neurochemical assays.

In vivo studies on the extracellular, and veratrine-releasable, pools of endogenous amino acids in the rat striatum: effects of corticostriatal deafferentation and kainic acid lesion

The effects of corticostriatal deafferentation (decortication) and destruction of intrinsic neurons (intrastriatal kainate injection) on the extracellular concentration, and veratrine-releasable pools, of endogenous amino acids in the rat striatum were examined using the in vivo brain dialysis technique. Intracellular amino acid content was also determined. Decortication reduced selectively intra- and extracellular levels of glutamate (Glu) and aspartate (Asp). Extracellular changes were more pronounced than those in tissue content. gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), taurine (Tau), and phosphoethanolamine (PEA) levels were not affected, whereas nonneuroactive amino acids were increased at 1 week but not at 1 month post-lesion. The intracellular pool of Glu and Asp was also reduced in kainate-lesioned striata. However, extracellular levels of these compounds were not affected significantly by this treatment. The tissue content of all other amino acids was decreased, the most prominent change being in the concentration of GABA. Extracellular GABA concentration was also reduced dramatically, whereas the concentrations of noneuroactive amino acids were increased to varying degrees. These data suggest that transmitter pools of neuroactive amino acids are an important supply for their extracellular pools. Lesion-induced alterations in nonneuroactive amino acids are discussed with regard to the loss of metabolic pools, glial reactivity, and changes in blood-brain barrier transport. Veratrine induced a massive release of neuroactive amino acids such as Glu, Asp, GABA, and Tau into the extracellular fluid, and a delayed increase in PEA. Extracellular levels of neuroactive amino acids were raised slightly. Decortication reduced, selectively, the amounts of Glu and Asp released by veratrine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Irreversible effects of dichloromethane on the brain after long term exposure: a quantitative study of DNA and the glial cell marker proteins S-100 and GFA

Two astroglial proteins S-100 and GFA, as well as DNA, were quantitatively determined in different regions of the gerbil brain after continuous long term exposure to moderate concentrations of dichloromethane. The intention of the experiment was to expose three groups of animals at three different solvent concentrations (210, 350, or 700 ppm) for three months. Because of the high mortality rate, however, the 700 ppm experiment was terminated after seven weeks. In the 350 ppm experiment half the exposed animals died and the exposure period was terminated after ten weeks. After the exposure period, the surviving gerbils in the 350 ppm exposure group and those from the 210 ppm group were allowed a postexposure solvent free period of four months. After exposure to 350 ppm, increased concentrations of the two astroglial proteins were found in the frontal and sensory motor cerebral cortex, compatible with astrogliosis in these regions. Exposure to 350 ppm and 210 ppm decreased the concentrations of DNA in the hippocampus. Moreover, after exposure at 350 ppm, DNA concentrations were also decreased in the cerebellar hemispheres. These results indicate a decreased cell density in these brain regions, probably due to cell loss. The neurotoxic effects were not found to correlate with the endogenous formation of carbon monoxide.

Effect of cortico-striate pathway lesion on the activities of enzymes involved in synthesis and metabolism of amino acid neurotransmitters in the striatum

The activities of several enzymes involved in the metabolism of aspartate and glutamate were measured in striatal (nucleus caudatus and putamen) homogenates 2-3, 6-7, and 35-40 days following frontoparietal and frontal cortical ablation. The activity of glutamine synthetase (GS) was substantially increased (46-48%) on the operated side 6-7 days following the lesion whereas smaller changes were observed at 2-3 and 35-40 days after lesion. In contrast, decreased levels of glutaminase and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were observed by 6-7 days while no significant change was found at either 2-3 or 35-40 after the lesion. The activities of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) were elevated after 35-40 days whereas no changes in the levels of either GDH or aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) were found at 2-3 or 6-7 days after the fronto-parietal decortication. When only the frontal cortex was removed quantitatively similar changes were observed in striatal GS and glutaminase activity. The content of glutamate and glutamine in the denervated striatum followed qualitatively the changes in glutaminase and GS. The results indicate that the degeneration of cortico-striatal terminals causes a profound glial reaction in the striatum, and both glutaminase and MDH are present in relatively high concentrations in the corticostriatal terminals.

Effect of lesions of the olfactory bulb on the levels of amino acids and related enzymes in the olfactory cortex of the guinea pig

Olfactory bulb removal and consequential degeneration of the lateral olfactory tract led to a decrease in the levels of glutaminase and malate dehydrogenase in the ipsilateral olfactory cortex. These changes in enzyme activity may account for the well established decrease in the levels of aspartate and glutamate in the olfactory cortex following ipsilateral bulbectomy. The level of glutamine synthetase, a glial marker enzyme, was slightly increased while the activities of glutamate decarboxylase, glutamate dehydrogenase, and glutamate oxaloacetic transaminase were unchanged.