Interstitial and tissue cations and electrical potential after experimental spinal cord injury

A model of injury potential for myelinated nerve fiber

Excellent models have been described in literatures which related membrane potential to extracellular electric or magnetic stimulation and which described the formation and propagation of action potentials along the axon, for both myelinated and nonmyelinated fibers. There is not, however, an adequate model for nerve injury which allows to compute the distribution of injury potential, a direct current potential difference between intact and injured nerve, because its importance has been ignored in the shadow of the well-known action potential. This paper focus on the injury potential and presents a model of the electrical properties of myelinated nerve which describes the time course of events following injury. The time-varying current and potential at all nodes can be computed from the model, and the factors relate to the amplitude of injury potential can be determined. It is shown that the amplitude of injury potential decreased gradually with injury time, and the recession curve was exponential. Results also showed that the initial amplitude of injury potential is positively related to the grade of injury and fiber diameter. This model explained the mechanism of formation of injury potential and can provide instruction for applied electric field to prevent the formation injury potential.

Injury potentials of spinal cord in ex vivo compression injury model

The effect of applied electric field on neuroprotection and axonal regeneration has been studied in previous studies of acute spinal cord injury (SCI). However, due to the complexity of the microenvironment of the lesion site, the underlying mechanism of applied electric field is not yet fully understood. Thus, the injury potential, a significant index of the microenvironment change, was investigated in ex vivo spinal cords compression injury. Spinal cords isolated from rat were cultured in a double sucrose gap recording chamber. Both compound action potential (CAP) and injury potential were measured. Compression induced the decreasement of compound action potential, but the amplitude of CAP increased gradually after decompression. Compression also lead to the appearance of injury potential, represented by the voltage difference between the gap potential before and after compression, and the injury potential decreased with time logarithmicly after decompression. Intracellular Na(+) and Ca(2+) concentrations were measured and results showed that after injury these ions flowed into intracellular space. Therefore, the current approach can provide a basis for investigating the formation mechanism of the injury potential and help understand the pathophysiology of the SCI.

The dual face of connexin-based astroglial Ca(2+) communication: a key player in brain physiology and a prime target in pathology

For decades, studies have been focusing on the neuronal abnormalities that accompany neurodegenerative disorders. Yet, glial cells are emerging as important players in numerous neurological diseases. Astrocytes, the main type of glia in the central nervous system , form extensive networks that physically and functionally connect neuronal synapses with cerebral blood vessels. Normal brain functioning strictly depends on highly specialized cellular cross-talk between these different partners to which Ca(2+), as a signaling ion, largely contributes. Altered intracellular Ca(2+) levels are associated with neurodegenerative disorders and play a crucial role in the glial responses to injury. Intracellular Ca(2+) increases in single astrocytes can be propagated toward neighboring cells as intercellular Ca(2+) waves, thereby recruiting a larger group of cells. Intercellular Ca(2+) wave propagation depends on two, parallel, connexin (Cx) channel-based mechanisms: i) the diffusion of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate through gap junction channels that directly connect the cytoplasm of neighboring cells, and ii) the release of paracrine messengers such as glutamate and ATP through hemichannels ('half of a gap junction channel'). This review gives an overview of the current knowledge on Cx-mediated Ca(2+) communication among astrocytes as well as between astrocytes and other brain cell types in physiology and pathology, with a focus on the processes of neurodegeneration and reactive gliosis. Research on Cx-mediated astroglial Ca(2+) communication may ultimately shed light on the development of targeted therapies for neurodegenerative disorders in which astrocytes participate. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Calcium signaling in health and disease. Guest Editors: Geert Bultynck, Jacques Haiech, Claus W. Heizmann, Joachim Krebs, and Marc Moreau.

Electrical stimulation modulates injury potentials in rats after spinal cord injury

An injury potential is the direct current potential difference between the site of spinal cord injury and the healthy nerves. Its initial amplitude is a significant indicator of the severity of spinal cord injury, and many cations, such as sodium and calcium, account for the major portion of injury potentials. This injury potential, as well as injury current, can be modulated by direct current field stimulation; however, the appropriate parameters of the electrical field are hard to define. In this paper, injury potential is used as a parameter to adjust the intensity of electrical stimulation. Injury potential could be modulated to slightly above 0 mV (as the anode-centered group) by placing the anodes at the site of the injured spinal cord and the cathodes at the rostral and caudal sections, or around -70 mV, which is resting membrane potential (as the cathode-centered group) by reversing the polarity of electrodes in the anode-centered group. In addition, rats receiving no electrical stimulation were used as the control group. Results showed that the absolute value of the injury potentials acquired after 30 minutes of electrical stimulation was higher than the control group rats and much lower than the initial absolute value, whether the anodes or the cathodes were placed at the site of injury. This phenomenon illustrates that by changing the polarity of the electrical field, electrical stimulation can effectively modulate the injury potentials in rats after spinal cord injury. This is also beneficial for the spontaneous repair of the cell membrane and the reduction of cation influx.

Intercellular Ca(2+) waves: mechanisms and function

Intercellular calcium (Ca(2+)) waves (ICWs) represent the propagation of increases in intracellular Ca(2+) through a syncytium of cells and appear to be a fundamental mechanism for coordinating multicellular responses. ICWs occur in a wide diversity of cells and have been extensively studied in vitro. More recent studies focus on ICWs in vivo. ICWs are triggered by a variety of stimuli and involve the release of Ca(2+) from internal stores. The propagation of ICWs predominately involves cell communication with internal messengers moving via gap junctions or extracellular messengers mediating paracrine signaling. ICWs appear to be important in both normal physiology as well as pathophysiological processes in a variety of organs and tissues including brain, liver, retina, cochlea, and vascular tissue. We review here the mechanisms of initiation and propagation of ICWs, the key intra- and extracellular messengers (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and ATP) mediating ICWs, and the proposed physiological functions of ICWs.

Low extracellular Ca2+ conditions induce an increase in brain endothelial permeability that involves intercellular Ca2+ waves

The intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) is an important factor determining the permeability of endothelial barriers including the blood-brain barrier (BBB). However, nothing is known concerning the effect of spatially propagated intercellular Ca(2+) waves (ICWs). The propagation of ICWs relies in large part on channels formed by connexins that are present in endothelia. We hypothesized that ICWs may result in a strong disturbance of endothelial function, because the [Ca(2+)](i) changes are coordinated and involve multiple cells. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of ICWs on endothelial permeability. ICW activity was triggered in immortalized and primary brain endothelial cells by lowering the extracellular Ca(2+) concentration. Low extracellular Ca(2+) increased the endothelial permeability and this was significantly suppressed by buffering [Ca(2+)](i) with BAPTA-AM, indicating a central role of [Ca(2+)](i) changes. The endothelial permeability increase was furthermore inhibited by the connexin channel blocking peptide Gap27, which also blocked the ICWs, and by inhibiting protein kinase C (PKC), Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) and actomyosin contraction. We compared these observations with the [Ca(2+)](i) changes and permeability alterations provoked by the inflammatory agent bradykinin (BK), which triggers oscillatory [Ca(2+)](i) changes without wave activity. BK-associated [Ca(2+)](i) changes and the endothelial permeability increase were significantly smaller than those associated with ICWs, and the permeability increase was not influenced by inhibition of PKC, CaMKII or actomyosin contraction. We conclude that ICWs significantly increase endothelial permeability and therefore, the connexins that underlie wave propagation form an interesting target to limit BBB alterations. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Electrical Synapses.

A high throughput screen identifies chemical modulators of the laminin-induced clustering of dystroglycan and aquaporin-4 in primary astrocytes

BACKGROUND

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) constitutes the principal water channel in the brain and is clustered at the perivascular astrocyte endfeet. This specific distribution of AQP4 plays a major role in maintaining water homeostasis in the brain. A growing body of evidence points to a role of the dystroglycan complex and its interaction with perivascular laminin in the clustering of AQP4 at perivascular astrocyte endfeet. Indeed, mice lacking components of this complex or in which laminin-dystroglycan interaction is disrupted show a delayed onset of brain edema due to a redistribution of AQP4 away from astrocyte endfeet. It is therefore important to identify inhibitory drugs of laminin-dependent AQP4 clustering which may prevent or reduce brain edema.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

In the present study we used primary rat astrocyte cultures to screen a library of >3,500 chemicals and identified 6 drugs that inhibit the laminin-induced clustering of dystroglycan and AQP4. Detailed analysis of the inhibitory drug, chloranil, revealed that its inhibition of the clustering is due to the metalloproteinase-2-mediated ß-dystroglycan shedding and subsequent loss of laminin interaction with dystroglycan. Furthermore, chemical variants of chloranil induced a similar effect on ß-dystroglycan and this was prevented by the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine.

CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE

These findings reveal the mechanism of action of chloranil in preventing the laminin-induced clustering of dystroglycan and AQP4 and validate the use of high-throughput screening as a tool to identify drugs that modulate AQP4 clustering and that could be tested in models of brain edema.

Failure and function of intracellular pH regulation in acute hypoxic-ischemic injury of astrocytes

Astrocytes can die rapidly following ischemic and traumatic injury to the CNS. Brain acid-base status has featured prominently in theories of acute astrocyte injury. Failure of astrocyte pH regulation can lead to cell loss under conditions of severe acidosis. By contrast, the function of astrocyte pH regulatory mechanisms appears to be necessary for acute cell death following the simulation of transient ischemia and reperfusion. Severe lactic acidosis, and the failure of astrocytes to regulate intracellular pH (pH(i)) have been emphasized in brain ischemia under hyperglycemic conditions. Direct measurements of astrocyte pH(i) after cardiac arrest demonstrated a mean pH(i) of 5.3 in hyperglycemic rats. In addition, both in vivo and in vitro studies of astrocytes have shown similar pH levels to be cytotoxic. Whereas astrocytes exposed to hypoxia alone may require 12-24 h to die, acidosis has been found to exacerbate and speed hypoxic loss of these cells. Recently, astrocyte cultures were exposed to hypoxic, acidic media in which the large ionic perturbations characteristic of brain ischemia were simulated. Upon return to normal saline ("reperfusion"), the majority of cells died. This injury was dependent on external Ca2+ and was prevented by inhibition of reversed Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange, blockade of Na(+)-H+ exchange, or by low pH of the reperfusion saline. These data suggested that cytotoxic elevation of [Ca2+]i occurred during reperfusion due to a sequence of activated Na(+)-H+ exchange, cytosolic Na+ loading, and resultant reversal of Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange. The significance of this reperfusion model to ischemic astrocyte injury in vivo is discussed.

Role of Na+-H+ and Na+-Ca2+ exchange in hypoxia-related acute astrocyte death

Cultured astrocytes do not succumb to hypoxia/zero glucose for up to 24 h, yet astrocyte death following injury can occur within 1 h. It was previously demonstrated that astrocyte loss can occur quickly when the gaseous and interstitial ionic changes of transient brain ischemia are simulated: After a 20-40-min exposure to hypoxic, acidic, ion-shifted Ringer (HAIR), most cells died within 30 min after return to normal saline (i.e., "reperfusion"). Astrocyte death required external Ca2+ and was blocked by KB-R7943, an inhibitor of reversed Na+-Ca2+ exchange, suggesting that injury was triggered by a rise in [Ca2+]i. In the present study, we confirmed the elevation of [Ca2+]i during reperfusion and studied the role of Na+-Ca2+ and Na+-H+ exchange in this process. Upon reperfusion, elevation of [Ca2+]i was detectable by Fura-2 and was blocked by KB-R7943. The low-affinity Ca2+ indicator Fura-FF indicated a mean [Ca2+]i rise to 4.8+/-0.4 microM. Loading astrocytes with Fura-2 provided significant protection from injury, presumably due to the high affinity of the dye for Ca2+. Injury was prevented by the Na+-H+ exchange inhibitors ethyl isopropyl amiloride or HOE-694, and the rise of [Ca2+]i at the onset of reperfusion was blocked by HOE-694. Acidic reperfusion media was also protective. These data are consistent with Na+ loading via Na+-H+ exchange, fostering reversal of Na+-Ca2+ exchange and cytotoxic elevation of [Ca2+]i. The results indicate that mechanisms involved in pH regulation may play a role in the fate of astrocytes following acute CNS injuries.

Early induction of secondary injury factors causing activation of calpain and mitochondria-mediated neuronal apoptosis following spinal cord injury in rats

To investigate a potential relationship between calpain and mitochondrial damage in spinal cord injury (SCI), a 40 gram-centimeter force (g-cm) injury was induced in rats by a weight-drop method and allowed to progress for 4 hr. One-centimeter segments of spinal cord tissue representing the adjacent rostral, lesion, and adjacent caudal areas were then removed for various analyses. Calcium green 2-AM staining of the lesion and penumbra sections showed an increase in intracellular free calcium (Ca(2+)) levels following injury, compared with corresponding tissue sections from sham-operated (control) animals. Western blot analysis showed increased calpain expression and activity in the lesion and penumbra segments following SCI. Double-immunofluorescent labeling indicated that increased calpain expression occurred in neurons in injured segments. Western blot analysis also showed an increased Bax:Bcl-2 ratio, indicating the induction of the mitochondria-mediated cell death pathway in the lesion and penumbra. The morphology of mitochondria was altered in lesion and penumbra following SCI: mostly hydropic change (swelling) in the lesion, with the penumbra shrunken or normal. At 4 hr after induction of injury, a substantial amount of cytochrome c had been released into the cytoplasm, suggesting a trigger for apoptosis through caspase 3 activation. Neuronal death after 4 hr of injury was detected by a combined TUNEL and double-immunofluoresence assay in the lesion and penumbra sections of injured cord, compared with sham controls. These results suggest that an early induction of secondary factors is involved in the pathogenesis of SCI. The increased Ca(2+) levels could activate calpain and mediate mitochondrial damage leading to neuronal death in lesion and penumbra following injury. Thus, secondary injury processes mediating cell death are induced as early as 4 hr after the injury, and calpain and caspase inhibitors may provide neuroprotection.

The release of excitatory amino acids, dopamine, and potassium following transplantation of embryonic mesencephalic dopaminergic grafts to the rat striatum, and their effects on dopaminergic neuronal survival in vitro

A major limitation to the effectiveness of grafts of fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue for parkinsonism is that about 90-95% of grafted dopaminergic neurones die. In rats, many of the cells are dead within 1 day and most cell death is complete within 1 week. Our previous results suggest that a major cause of this cell death is the release of toxins from the injured CNS tissue surrounding the graft, and that many of these toxins have dissipated within 1 h of inserting the grafting cannula. In the present experiments we measured the change over time in the concentration of several potential toxins around an acutely implanted grafting cannula. We also measured the additional effect of injecting suspensions of embryonic mesencephalon, latex microspheres, or vehicle on these concentrations. Measurements of glutamate, aspartate, and dopamine by microdialysis showed elevated levels during the first 20-60 min, which then declined to baseline. In the first 20 min glutamate levels were 10.7 times, aspartate levels 5 times, and dopamine levels 24.3 times baseline. Potassium levels increased to a peak of 33 +/- 10.6 mM 4-5 min after cannula insertion, returning to baseline of <5 mM by 30 min. Injection of cell suspension, latex microspheres, or vehicle had no significant effect on these levels. We then assayed the effect of high concentrations of glutamate, aspartate, dopamine, and potassium on dopaminergic neuronal survival in E14 ventral mesencephalic cultures. In monolayer cultures only dopamine at 200 microM showed toxicity. In three-dimensional cultures only the combination of raised potassium, dopamine, glutamate, and aspartate together decreased dopaminergic neuronal survival. We conclude that toxins other than the ones measured are the main cause of dopaminergic cell death after transplantation, or the effects of the toxins measured are enhanced by anoxia and metabolic challenges affecting newly inserted grafts.

Effects of sodium and chloride on neuronal survival after neurite transection

An in vitro investigation was undertaken to study the roles of Na+ and Cl- in mammalian spinal cord (SC) neuron deterioration and death after injury involving physical disruption of the plasma membrane. Individual SC neurons in monolayer cultures were subjected to UV laser microbeam transection of a primary dendrite. Neurons lesioned in modified ionic environments (MIEs) where 50%-75% of the NaCl was replaced with sucrose had higher survival (65%-75%) than neurons lesioned in medium with normal (125 mM) NaCl (28%; p < 0.001). Subsequent experiments found a comparable increase in lesioned neuron survival in MIEs in which only Na+ was replaced with specific ionic substitutes; however, replacement of Cl- was not protective. Electron microscope examinations of neurons fixed <16 min after lesioning showed a dramatic decrease in vesiculation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus in the low NaCl or low Na+ MIEs. It is hypothesized that Na+ entry after membrane disruption may stimulate elevation of [Ca+2]i leading to ultrastructural disruption and death of injured neurons. The results of these studies suggest that a low NaCl MIE may be useful as an irrigant to limit damage spread and cell death within CNS tissues during surgery or after trauma.

Ionic changes accompanying astrocytic intercellular calcium waves triggered by mechanical cell damaging stimulation

Mechanically poking or damaging a single cell within a confluent astrocyte culture produces the so-called intercellular calcium (Ca(2+)) waves, that is, cell-to-cell propagating changes of intracellular free Ca(2+). We were interested whether intercellular Ca(2+) waves are also associated with changes in other intra- or extracellular ions. To that purpose, we investigated spatiotemporal changes of intracellular Ca(2+) (Ca(i)2+), sodium (Na(i)+) and protons (H(i)+) in primary cultures of rat cortical astrocytes using microfluorescence imaging with fura-2, SBFI and BCECF, respectively; changes of extracellular potassium (K(e)+) were monitored with K(+)-sensitive microelectrodes. Mechanical damage to a single cell by stimulation with a piezo-electrically driven micropipette initiated intercellular Ca(2+) waves that propagated to about 160 microm away from the stimulation point. Na(i)(+) increases could be detected in cells located 2-3 cell diameters from the stimulated cell, acidification was observed 1-2 cell diameters away and Ke(+) increases were measured up to 75 microm away. Kinetic analysis suggests that the Na(i)(+) and H(i)(+) changes occur after, and thus secondary to the Ca(i)(2+) changes. In contrast, K(e)(+) changes occurred very fast, even before the Ca(i)(2+) changes, but their propagation speed was too fast to implicate them as a trigger of Ca(i)(2+) changes. As Na(i)(+) is an important regulator of glycolysis in astrocytes, we hypothesize that astrocytic Na(i)(+) changes in cells located remotely from a damaged cell might be a signal that activates glycolysis thereby producing more lactate that is transferred to the neurons and increases their energy potential to survive the inflicted damage.

In vitro central nervous system models of mechanically induced trauma: a review

Injury is one of the leading causes of death among all people below the age of 45 years. In the United States, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) together are responsible for an estimated 90,000 disabled persons annually. To improve treatment of the patient and thereby decrease the associated mortality, morbidity, and cost, several in vivo models of central nervous system (CNS) injury have been developed and characterized over the past two decades. To complement the ability of these in vivo models to reproduce the sequelae of human CNS injury, in vitro models of neuronal injury have also been developed. Despite the inherent simplifications of these in vitro systems, many aspects of the posttraumatic sequelae are faithfully reproduced in cultured cells, including ultrastructural changes, ionic derangements, alterations in electrophysiology, and free radical generation. This review presents a number of these in vitro systems, detailing the mechanical stimuli, the types of tissue injured, and the in vivo injury conditions most closely reproduced by the models. The data generated with these systems is then compared and contrasted with data from in vivo models of CNS injury. We believe that in vitro models of mechanical injury will continue to be a valuable tool to study the cellular consequences and evaluate the potential therapeutic strategies for the treatment of traumatic injury of the CNS.

Neuronal cell death in the mammalian nervous system: the calmortin hypothesis

1. This review is concerned with the calcium-dependent mechanisms involved in neuronal cell death. To this end, it provides definitions of the major types of cell death and then describes what is known of their occurrence during development and degeneration of the mammalian nervous system. 2. An analysis is presented of the different sources and compartments of calcium in neurons and of how these are related to the known calcium-dependent enzymes whose excess activation will lead to cell death. 3. The review uses the relatively large amount of pertinent information now available for other cell types, especially thymocytes, to reveal our limited knowledge of how calcium controls neuronal cell death. 4. In the final section, consideration is given to the identification of those factors that may mitigate against the calcium-dependent pathways leading to neuronal degeneration.