An ultrastructural study into the effect of global transient cerebral ischaemia on the synaptic population of the cerebellar cortex in rats

Synapse Loss and Regeneration: A Mechanism for Functional Decline and Recovery after Cerebral Ischemia?

Little is known of the mechanisms governing functional recovery after ischemic brain injury, and there is no clinical therapy established to restore neurologic function after ischemic injury is complete. Even so, pronounced spontaneous recovery of function is often observed in a subset of patients. Resolution of neurological deficits after ischemia must occur through replacement of lost tissue via production of new neurons, or through changes in the structure, function, or connectivity of surviving neurons. This review focuses on the neuronal synapse as a potential locus for functional recovery. Selective disruption of synaptic elements is a characteristic feature of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, such as that seen in ischemic stroke or cardiac arrest. Ischemic damage to synapses occurs even in the absence of neuronal loss, and therefore might underlie the clinical disability observed in patients following mild or transient ischemia. We review evidence that recovery of lost synapses occurs after ischemic injury and that this recovery may be a necessary step for restoration of neurological function. The process of synapse loss and recovery can be examined in neuronal cultures and experimental stroke models. Such studies may help to gain a better understanding of the extracellular factors and intracellular cascades that facilitate recovery of synapses, and may result in therapeutic approaches to improve function after cerebral ischemia.

Raised Intracellular Calcium Contributes to Ischemia-Induced Depression of Evoked Synaptic Transmission

Oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) leads to depression of evoked synaptic transmission, for which the mechanisms remain unclear. We hypothesized that increased presynaptic [Ca²⁺]_i during transient OGD contributes to the depression of evoked field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs). Additionally, we hypothesized that increased buffering of intracellular calcium would shorten electrophysiological recovery after transient ischemia. Mouse hippocampal slices were exposed to 2 to 8 min of OGD. fEPSPs evoked by Schaffer collateral stimulation were recorded in the stratum radiatum, and whole cell current or voltage clamp recordings were performed in CA1 neurons. Transient ischemia led to increased presynaptic [Ca²⁺]_i, (shown by calcium imaging), increased spontaneous miniature EPSP/Cs, and depressed evoked fEPSPs, partially mediated by adenosine. Buffering of intracellular Ca²⁺ during OGD by membrane-permeant chelators (BAPTA-AM or EGTA-AM) partially prevented fEPSP depression and promoted faster electrophysiological recovery when the OGD challenge was stopped. The blocker of BK channels, charybdotoxin (ChTX), also prevented fEPSP depression, but did not accelerate post-ischemic recovery. These results suggest that OGD leads to elevated presynaptic [Ca²⁺]_i, which reduces evoked transmitter release; this effect can be reversed by increased intracellular Ca²⁺ buffering which also speeds recovery.

Acyl Ghrelin Improves Synapse Recovery in an In Vitro Model of Postanoxic Encephalopathy

Comatose patients after cardiac arrest have a poor prognosis. Approximately half never awakes as a result of severe diffuse postanoxic encephalopathy. Several neuroprotective agents have been tested, however without significant effect. In the present study, we used cultured neuronal networks as a model system to study the general synaptic damage caused by temporary severe hypoxia and the possibility to restrict it by ghrelin treatment. Briefly, we applied hypoxia (pO₂ lowered from 150 to 20 mmHg) during 6 h in 55 cultures. Three hours after restoration of normoxia, half of the cultures were treated with ghrelin for 24 h, while the other, non-supplemented, were used as a control. All cultures were processed immunocytochemically for detection of the synaptic marker synaptophysin. We observed that hypoxia led to drastic decline of the number of synapses, followed by some recovery after return to normoxia, but still below the prehypoxic level. Additionally, synaptic vulnerability was selective: large- and small-sized neurons were more susceptible to synaptic damage than the medium-sized ones. Ghrelin treatment significantly increased the synapse density, as compared with the non-treated controls or with the prehypoxic period. The effect was detected in all neuronal subtypes. In conclusion, exogenous ghrelin has a robust impact on the recovery of cortical synapses after hypoxia. It raises the possibility that ghrelin or its analogs may have a therapeutic potential for treatment of postanoxic encephalopathy.

Intra-Amniotic LPS Induced Region-Specific Changes in Presynaptic Bouton Densities in the Ovine Fetal Brain

Rationale. Chorioamnionitis has been associated with increased risk for fetal brain damage. Although, it is now accepted that synaptic dysfunction might be responsible for functional deficits, synaptic densities/numbers after a fetal inflammatory challenge have not been studied in different regions yet. Therefore, we tested in this study the hypothesis that LPS-induced chorioamnionitis caused profound changes in synaptic densities in different regions of the fetal sheep brain. Material and Methods. Chorioamnionitis was induced by a 10 mg intra-amniotic LPS injection at two different exposure intervals. The fetal brain was studied at 125 days of gestation (term = 150 days) either 2 (LPS2D group) or 14 days (LPS14D group) after LPS or saline injection (control group). Synaptophysin immunohistochemistry was used to quantify the presynaptic density in layers 2-3 and 5-6 of the motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, entorhinal cortex, and piriforme cortex, in the nucleus caudatus and putamen and in CA1/2, CA3, and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Results. There was a significant reduction in presynaptic bouton densities in layers 2-3 and 5-6 of the motor cortex and in layers 2-3 of the entorhinal and the somatosensory cortex, in the nucleus caudate and putamen and the CA1/2 and CA3 of the hippocampus in the LPS2D compared to control animals. Only in the motor cortex and putamen, the presynaptic density was significantly decreased in the LPS14 D compared to the control group. No changes were found in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the piriforme cortex. Conclusion. We demonstrated that LPS-induced chorioamnionitis caused a decreased density in presynaptic boutons in different areas in the fetal brain. These synaptic changes seemed to be region-specific, with some regions being more affected than others, and seemed to be transient in some regions.

Ischemic cerebral damage: an appraisal of synaptic failure

In the human brain, ≈30% of the energy is spent on synaptic transmission. Disappearance of synaptic activity is the earliest consequence of cerebral ischemia. The changes of synaptic function are generally assumed to be reversible and persistent damage is associated with membrane failure and neuronal death. However, there is overwhelming experimental evidence of isolated, but persistent, synaptic failure resulting from mild or moderate cerebral ischemia. Early failure results from presynaptic damage with impaired transmitter release. Proposed mechanisms include dysfunction of adenosine triphosphate-dependent calcium channels and a disturbed docking of glutamate-containing vesicles resulting from impaired phosphorylation. We review energy distribution among neuronal functions, focusing on energy usage of synaptic transmission. We summarize the effect of ischemia on neurotransmission and the evidence of long-lasting synaptic failure as a cause of persistent symptoms in patients with cerebral ischemia. Finally, we discuss the implications of synaptic failure in the diagnosis of cerebral ischemia, including the limited sensitivity of diffusion-weighted MRI in those cases in which damage is presumably limited to the synapses.

Fetal asphyxia leads to the loss of striatal presynaptic boutons in adult rats

Fetal asphyxic insults in the brain are known to be associated with developmental and neurological problems like neuromotor disorders and cognitive deficits. Little is known, however, about the long-term consequences of fetal asphyxia contributing to the development of different neurological diseases common in the adult or the aging brain. For that reason the present study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of fetal asphyxia on synaptic organization within the adult rat brain. Fetal asphyxia was induced at embryonic day 17 by 75-min clamping of the uterine and ovarian arteries. Presynaptic bouton densities and numbers were analyzed in the striatum and prefrontal cortex at the age of 19 months. A substantial decrease in presynaptic bouton density and number was observed in the striatum of fetal asphyxia rats compared to control rats, while an increase was found in the fifth layer of the prefrontal cortex. These results suggest that fetal asphyxia can have long-lasting effects on synaptic organization that might contribute to a developmental etiology of different neurological disorders and aging.

Changes in synaptic ultrastructure during reactive synaptogenesis in the rat dentate gyrus

Advances in stereology, combined with continuing relevance to aging, as well as recovery from disease and injury make the reexamination of reactive synaptogenesis (RS) overdue. Moreover, recent mathematical models have suggested novel aspects of morphology, such as compartmentalization, may have profound effects on synaptic transmission. Given these novel findings, their correlation with other models of synaptic plasticity, and their potential significance for behavioral function, the precise nature of these changes need to be explored through quantitative morphometry. Towards this goal, the synaptic morphology of the dentate gyrus was assessed via serial electron microscopy at 3, 6, 10, 15, and 30 days following unilateral entorhinal cortex lesions. Foremost, the results showed that degree of curvature is a plastic feature of synapses. During RS, concave synapses showed an immediate/long-lasting increase in curvature, suggesting their importance in the compensation response. Flat synapses showed unique changes in growth, having implications for development and activation following synaptogenesis. Moreover, changes in size and curvature showed a different dynamic depending on proximity from damage. In the directly denervated MML, synapses showed an increase in curvature proportionate to increases in size. In the neighboring IML, however, these changes were independent-increases in curvature far surpassed synaptic growth.

Dendritic spines lost during glutamate receptor activation reemerge at original sites of synaptic contact

During cerebral ischemia, neurons undergo rapid alterations in dendritic structure consisting of focal swelling and spine loss. We used time-lapse microscopy to determine the fate of dendritic spines that disappeared after brief, sublethal hypoxic or excitotoxic exposures. Dendrite and spine morphology were assessed in cultured cortical neurons expressing yellow fluorescent protein or labeled with the fluorescent membrane tracer, DiI. Neurons exposed to NMDA, kainate, or oxygen-glucose deprivation underwent segmental dendritic beading and loss of approximately one-half of dendritic spines. Most spine loss was observed in regions of local dendritic swelling. Despite widespread loss, spines recovered within 2 hr after termination of agonist exposure or oxygen-glucose deprivation and remained stable over the subsequent 24 hr. Recovery was slower after NMDA than AMPA/kainate receptor activation. Time-lapse fluorescence imaging showed that the vast majority of spines reemerged in the same location from which they disappeared. In addition to spine recovery, elaboration of dendritic filopodia was observed in new locations along the dendritic shaft after dendrite recovery. Spine recovery did not depend on actin polymerization because it was not blocked by application of latrunculin-A, which eliminated filamentous actin staining in spines and blocked spine motility. Throughout spine loss and recovery, presynaptic and postsynaptic elements remained in physical proximity. These results suggest that elimination of dendritic spines is not necessarily associated with loss of synaptic contacts. Rapid reestablishment of dendritic spine synapses in surviving neurons may be a substrate for functional recovery after transient cerebral ischemia.