NMDA receptor expression in the mouse cerebellar cortex

Reevaluation of the beam and radial hypotheses of parallel fiber action in the cerebellar cortex

The role of parallel fibers (PFs) in cerebellar physiology remains controversial. Early studies inspired the "beam" hypothesis whereby granule cell (GC) activation results in PF-driven, postsynaptic excitation of beams of Purkinje cells (PCs). However, the "radial" hypothesis postulates that the ascending limb of the GC axon provides the dominant input to PCs and generates patch-like responses. Using optical imaging and single-cell recordings in the mouse cerebellar cortex in vivo, this study reexamines the beam versus radial controversy. Electrical stimulation of mossy fibers (MFs) as well as microinjection of NMDA in the granular layer generates beam-like responses with a centrally located patch-like response. Remarkably, ipsilateral forepaw stimulation evokes a beam-like response in Crus I. Discrete molecular layer lesions demonstrate that PFs contribute to the peripherally generated responses in Crus I. In contrast, vibrissal stimulation induces patch-like activation of Crus II and GABAA antagonists fail to convert this patch-like activity into a beam-like response, implying that molecular layer inhibition does not prevent beam-like responses. However, blocking excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) generates beam-like responses in Crus II. These beam-like responses are suppressed by focal inhibition of MF-GC synaptic transmission. Using EAAT4 reporter transgenic mice, we show that peripherally evoked patch-like responses in Crus II are aligned between parasagittal bands of EAAT4. This is the first study to demonstrate beam-like responses in the cerebellar cortex to peripheral, MF, and GC stimulation in vivo. Furthermore, the spatial pattern of the responses depends on extracellular glutamate and its local regulation by EAATs.

Differential modulation of cerebellar climbing fiber and parallel fiber synaptic responses at high pressure

High pressure, which induces central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction (high-pressure neurological syndrome) depresses synaptic transmission at all synapses examined to date. Several lines of evidence indicate an inhibitory effect of pressure on Ca2+ entry into the presynaptic terminal. In the present work we studied for the first time the effect of pressure on the cerebellar climbing fiber (CF) synaptic responses. Pressure modulation of cerebellar synaptic plasticity was tested in both the CF and parallel fiber (PF) pathways using paired-pulse protocols. CF synapses, which normally operate at a high baseline release probability, demonstrate paired-pulse depression (PPD). High pressure reduced CF synaptic responses at 5.1 and 10.1 MPa but did not affect its PPD. High extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o) could not antagonize the effect of pressure on the CF response, whereas low [Ca2+]o, in contrast to pressure, decreased both the response amplitude and the observed PPD. PF synapses, which usually operate at low release probability, exhibit paired-pulse facilitation (PPF). Pressure increased PF PPF at all interstimulus intervals (ISIs) tested (20–200 ms). Several Ca2+ channel blockers as well as low [Ca2+]o could mimic the effect of pressure on the PF response but significantly increased the PPF only at the 20-ms ISI. These results, together with previous data, show that the CF synapse is relatively resistant to pressure. The lack of pressure effect on CF PPD is surprising and may suggest that the PPD is not directly linked to synaptic depletion, as generally suggested. The increase in PPF of the PF at pressure, which is mimicked by Ca2+ channel blockers or low [Ca2+]o, further supports pressure involvement in synaptic release mechanism(s). These results also indicate that pressure effects may be selective for various types of synapses in the CNS.

Measurement of glycine binding site ofN-methyl-d-asparate receptors in living human brain using 4-acetoxy derivative of L-703,717, 4-acetoxy-7-chloro-3-[3-(4-[11c] methoxybenzyl) phenyl]-2(1H)-quinolone (AcL703) with positron emission tomography

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are of major interest in brain functions and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, at present there are few suitable radioligands for in vivo imaging of NMDA receptors. 7-choloro-4-hydroxy-3-[3-(4-methoxybenzyl) phenyl]-2(1H)-quinolone (L-703,717) is one of the potent ligands for the glycine-binding site of NMDA receptors. 4-Acetoxy derivative of L-703,717 (AcL703) is a candidate, as a positron emission tomography (PET) ligand for NMDA receptors, because of its better permeability at the blood-brain barrier compared with L-703,717. After intravenous injection of 624-851 MBq of [11C]AcL703, dynamic PET scan was performed on six healthy males for 90 min. Regions-of-interest were located on the cerebral cortices, cerebellar cortex, and cerebral white matter. The binding potential (BP) was calculated from the ratio of the area under the curve (AUC) of radioactivities from 40 to 90 min in the target region to that in white matter. Regional radioactivities reached close to equilibrium in all regions after about 40 min postinjection. Regional brain uptake of [11C]AcL703 at 40 min after injection was 0.00028-0.00065% of the injected dose/milliliter. Radioactivity concentration of [11C]AcL703 was highest in the cerebellar cortex and lowest in white matter. AUC in the cerebellar cortex was higher than those of cerebral cortices, thalamus, striatum, and white matter. BP in the cerebellar cortex was twofold higher than in the cerebral cortices (cerebellar cortex: BP=2.20+/-0.72; cerebral cortices: BP=1.05+/-0.45). Despite the low brain uptake of [11C]AcL703, regional distributions were in good agreement with our previous studies of rodents. This indicates the possibility of in vivo evaluation of NMDA receptors using PET with [11C]AcL703 in living human brain.

Distribution of NMDA receptor subunit NR1 in arctic ground squirrel central nervous system

Hibernation is a natural model of neuroprotection and adult synaptic plasticity. NMDA receptors (NMDAR), which play key roles in excitotoxicity and synaptic plasticity, have not been characterized in a hibernating species. Tolerance to excitotoxicity and cognitive enhancement in Arctic ground squirrels (AGS, Spermophilus parryii) suggests that NMDAR expression may decrease in hibernation and increase upon arousal. NMDAR consist of at least one NMDAR1 (NR1) subunit, which is required for receptor function. Localization of NR1 reflects localization of the majority, if not all, NMDAR complexes. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to characterize the distribution of NR1 subunits in AGS central nervous system using immunohistochemistry. In addition, we compare NR1 expression in hippocampus of hibernating AGS (hAGS) and inter-bout euthermic AGS (ibeAGS) and assess changes in cell somata size using NR1 stained sections in three hippocampal sub-regions (CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus). For the first time, we report that immunoreactivity of anti-NR1 is widely distributed throughout the central nervous system in AGS and is similar to other species. No differences exist in the expression and distribution of NR1 in hAGS and ibeAGS. However, we report a significant decrease in size of hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus NR1-expressing neuronal somata during hibernation torpor.

NMDA receptor subunits GluRepsilon1, GluRepsilon3 and GluRzeta1 are enriched at the mossy fibre-granule cell synapse in the adult mouse cerebellum

Cerebellar N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are concentrated in the granular layer and are involved in motor coordination and the induction of long-term potentiation at mossy fibre-granule cell synapses. In the present study, we used immunohistochemistry to examine the distribution of NMDA receptor subunits in the adult mouse cerebellum. We found that appropriate pepsin pretreatment of sections greatly enhanced the sensitivity and specificity of immunohistochemical detection. As a result, intense immunolabelling for GluRepsilon1 (NR2A), GluRepsilon3 (NR2C), and GluRzeta1 (NR1) all appeared in synaptic glomeruli of the granular layer. Double immunofluorescence showed that these subunits were colocalized in individual synaptic glomeruli. Within the glomerulus, NMDA receptor subunits were located between centrally-located huge mossy fibre terminals and peripherally-located tiny Golgi axon terminals. By immunoelectron microscopy, all three subunits were detected at the postsynaptic junction in granule cell dendrites, forming synapses with mossy fibre terminals. Consistent with the known functional localization, GluRepsilon1, GluRepsilon3, and GluRzeta1 are, thus, anatomically concentrated at the mossy fibre-granule cell synapse. By contrast, immunohistochemical signals were very low in Purkinje cell somata and dendrites in the molecular layer. The lack of GluRzeta1 immunolabelling in Purkinje cells was unexpected because the cells express GluRzeta1 mRNA at high levels and high levels of GluRzeta1 protein in the molecular layer were revealed by immunoblot. As Purkinje cells are exceptionally lacking GluRepsilon expression, the discrepant result may provide in vivo evidence suggesting the importance of accompanying GluRepsilon subunits in synaptic localization of GluRzeta1.

Development of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit immunoreactivity in the neonatal gerbil cochlear nucleus

The distribution of immunoreactivity for the ionotropic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunits was mapped in the cochlear nucleus of postnatal day (P) 7, P14, P21, and P28 gerbils. Frozen sections and serial plastic sections of tissue were incubated with antibodies to NMDAR1 (NR1), NMDAR2A (NR2A), NMDAR2A/B (NR2A/B), and NMDAR2B (NR2B). An overall diffuse stain was noted at P7 for NR1 and NR2A/B. Staining of neuronal somata in the dorsal cochlear nucleus molecular layer and fusiform cell layer, the posteroventral cochlear nucleus octopus cell area, and the anteroventral cochlear nucleus increased from P7 to P28. Staining of the neuropil (the unresolved mass of processes and axons, excluding only neuronal somata and distinctly stained proximal dendrites) of the deep dorsal cochlear nucleus and posteroventral cochlear nucleus showed a steady decrease, while molecular layer neuropil remained moderately stained. The NR2A antibody produced a distinctive staining of dendrites in the dorsal cochlear nucleus deep and fusiform cell layers seen first at P14 with increasing dendritic lengths stained at P21 and P28. Giant neurons of the deep dorsal cochlear nucleus were the most conspicuous somata stained by the NR2A. Their stained dendrites spanned much of the dorsal cochlear nucleus deep and fusiform cell layers and even extended into the octopus cell area of the posteroventral cochlear nucleus. Dendritic staining was also present in caudal and rostral posteroventral cochlear nucleus, first distinguishable at P14 and becoming increasingly strong. The Chemicon polyclonal NR2B antibody produced glial staining especially prominent in the caudal posteroventral cochlear nucleus and the dorsal cochlear nucleus fusiform cell layer, most intense at P7 and subsequently decreasing, although not disappearing, in all areas through P28. The Molecular Probes (Eugene, OR) polyclonal NR2B produced a light granular staining pattern over a number of somata but no glial staining. Neuropil staining was not prominent with either NR2B antibody. Differences in changes of neonatal immunoreactivity patterns in different populations of cochlear nucleus neuronal somata and dendrites for NR1, NR2A, NR2A/B, and NR2B suggest that alterations in some receptor composition is occurring over the period spanning the onset of hearing.

Differential expression of the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1alpha by neurons and axons in the cochlear nucleus: in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry

mGluR1alpha is a metabotropic glutamate receptor involved in synaptic modifiability. A differential expression in specific neuronal types could reflect their different connections and response properties in central auditory processing. Using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, we studied mGluR1alpha receptor expression throughout the cochlear nucleus. Robust labeling occurred in the dorsal cochlear nucleus and small cell shell, with less in the ventral cochlear nucleus. Among the most intensely labeled were the granule cells of the small cell shell. In the dorsal cochlear nucleus, most cell types expressed message and receptor protein, except granule cells. High levels of receptor were expressed by corn cells and cartwheel cells. The terminal dendrites and synaptic spines of cartwheel and fusiform cells contained receptor protein in the molecular layer, where they could synapse with parallel fibers. Fusiform dendrites also expressed mRNA for mGluR1alpha. The basal dendrites of fusiform cells contained receptor protein in the region where they receive cochlear nerve synapses. Immunostaining of terminal axons was prominent in the molecular layer and the small cell shell, where they were associated with synaptic nests, structures thought to provide long-term changes in excitability. Differential expression levels may reflect different functional requirements of specific cell types, including inhibitory interneurons, like corn cells and cartwheel cells, and excitatory interneurons, like granule cells in the small cell shell, which may participate in local circuits involved in modulatory or gating functions, such as stimulus enhancement or suppression. In presynaptic axons, mGluR1alpha may relate to the long-term signaling requirements of their modulatory functions.

Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins and neuron-restrictive silencer factor participate in cell-specific transcriptional control of the NMDAR1 gene

Our previous studies revealed that a proximal region of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor 1 (NMDAR1) promoter is important for cell-type-specific expression. We have now explored the contributions of several regulatory elements to this specificity. Deletion of the neuron-restrictive silencer element partially relieved the suppression of promoter activity in C6 glioma and HeLa cells. An overlapping G(C/G)G/tandem Sp1-containing region crucial for both basal and nerve growth factor (NGF)-regulated promoter activity specifically bound nuclear proteins on its purine-rich sense strand. A faster migrating complex, single-stranded binding protein complex 1 (SBPC1), was highly enriched in HeLa cells, whereas a slower migrating complex, SBPC2, was enriched in PC12 cells. A high ratio of 2/1 complex correlated with a high level of promoter activity. NGF treatment of PC12 cells reduced SBPC1 but increased SBPC2. Competition experiments showed that the SBPC1 binding required a dG4 sequence and the SBPC2 needed a core of TG3A plus a 5'-flanking sequence. Single-stranded DNA encompassing TG3A and/or dG4 specifically suppressed cotransfected NMDAR1 promoter activity. UV cross-linking studies indicated that a 31.5-kDa protein mainly formed SBPC1, whereas SBPC2 contained several larger proteins. Our results suggest that neuron-restrictive silencer factor and single-stranded DNA-binding proteins may both play a role in cell-type specificity of the NMDAR1 gene, and the latter may also be involved in basal and NGF-regulated activity.

The distribution of the NMDA R1 subunit in the rat hippocampus--an immunocytohistochemical study

In the present study we examined immunocytochemically the distribution of the R1 subunit of NMDA receptors in rat hippocampus. The applied antibody directed against the III-IV transmembrane region of the R1 subunit of NMDA receptors revealed a heterogeneous distribution of NMDA R1 protein which was highest in the CA1 pyramidal layer and lowest in the stratum lacunosum moleculare. The high immunoreactivity that corresponded to the presence of NMDA R1 receptor subunits was observed mainly in layers of cell bodies of hippocampal neurons, such as deep pyramidal layers of CA1, CA2 and CA3 regions and a granular cell layer of the dentate gyrus. The obtained data are discussed in terms of correlation between the receptor localization and the vulnerability of hippocampal neurons to overstimulation associated with activation of NMDA receptors.

Cholecystokinin modulation of spontaneous and excitatory amino acid-induced activity in the opossum cerebellum

Cholecystokinin-B (CCK-8) is an octapeptide that was initially described in the gastrointestinal tract. Recent studies have shown that this peptide also has an extensive distribution in the central nervous system, including the cerebellum of the opossum. In addition to the protein, binding sites for CCK-8 also have been described in the granule cell and molecular layer of this species. These anatomical data suggest that CCK-8 has a functional role in cerebellar circuitry. In the present study we have determined the physiological effects of CCK-8 on spontaneous and amino acid-induced activity. The results indicate that this peptide has both excitatory and inhibitory effects on spontaneous activity as well as the excitatory responses elicited by application of the excitatory amino acids aspartate, glutamate and quisqualate. The data suggest that CCK-8 may influence more than one population of cerebellar neurons. The findings support a neuromodulatory role for this peptide in cerebellar circuitry.

Differential expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in the cochlear nucleus of the mouse

Glutamate is used in the cochlear nucleus as a neurotransmitter by cochlear nerve synapses and by local circuits of granule cell axons. In the present study, immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization were used to identify different types of neurons expressing N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit I (NMDAR1) in the mouse cochlear nucleus. N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 1 was expressed in most neuronal types, but granule cells in the dorsal cochlear nucleus had little, if any, expression, unlike their heavily labeled counterparts in the small cell shell and cerebellum. The findings do not support an analogy between the dorsal cochlear nucleus and the cerebellar cortex. In the cochlear nucleus the most heavily labeled structures were dendrites in the small cell shell and superficial dorsal cochlear nucleus, including the fusiform cell apical dendrites, which are targets of granule cell axons. However, fusiform cell basal dendrites, which are the synaptic sites of cochlear nerve fibers, did not express N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 1. Thus different parts of the fusiform cells can have different subunits in their glutamate receptors. Also branches of the same cochlear nerve axons projecting to the octopus, stellate, and bushy cells of the ventral cochlear nucleus can use N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, while their branches to fusiform cells cannot. Each cochlear nucleus neuron type has a characteristic level of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit 1 expression. Each type differs in its auditory response properties, which may depend on synaptic activities requiring different glutamate subunit patterns.

Distribution of NMDA and AMPA receptors in the cerebellar cortex of rhesus macaques

The distribution of glutamate receptors in the cerebellar cortex of the rhesus macaque was examined by light microscopic immunocytochemistry using an antibody specific to the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) R1 receptor subunit (i.e. NMDAR1) as well as antibodies specific to alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunits (i.e. GluR1, GluR2/3, and GluR4). NMDAR1 immunolabeling was most prevalent in the Purkinje cell perikarya and dendrities, but was also significant in the stellate and basket cells of the granular layer and Golgi cells of the molecular layer. On the other hand, GluRl and GluR4 immunolabeling was concentrated principally in the processes of the Bergmann glia located in the vicinity of the Purkinje cell perikarya. Although GluR2/3 immunolabeling also occurred in these Bergmann glia processes as well as in the Bergmann fibers, it was more pronounced in the Purkinje cell perikarya and dendrites; additionally, significant GluR2/3 labeling was evident in the stellate and basket cells of the molecular layer and medium-size soma of the granular layer (most likely Golgi cells). In situ hybridization histochemistry (ISHH), using cRNA probes to NMDAR1. GluR1.GluR2, and GluR3, showed glutamate receptor mRNA distribution patterns consistent with those disclosed in the immunocytochemical study. Furthermore, the ISHH findings suggest that the positive immunocytochemical labeling of Purkinje cells with the GluR2/3 antibody is most likely due to the gene expression of both GluR2 and GluR3 AMPA receptor subtypes. Taken together, the results are potentially important for the elucidation of mechanisms that control aspects of cerebellar function, such as long-term depression.