Effects of chronic ethanol consumption on SER of Purkinje neurons in old F344 rats

Prefrontal Cortical Thickness Deficit in Detoxified Alcohol-dependent Patients

Alcohol dependence is a serious disorder that can be related with a number of potential health-related and social consequences. Cortical thickness measurements would provide important information on the cortical structural alterations in patients with alcohol dependence. Twenty-one patients with alcohol dependence and 22 healthy comparison subjects have been recruited and underwent high-resolution brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and clinical assessments. T1-weighted MR images were analyzed using the cortical thickness analysis program. Significantly thinner cortical thickness in patients with alcohol dependence than healthy comparison subjects was noted in the left superior frontal cortical region, correcting for multiple comparisons and adjusting with age and hemispheric average cortical thickness. There was a significant association between thickness in the cluster of the left superior frontal cortex and the duration of alcohol use. The prefrontal cortical region may particularly be vulnerable to chronic alcohol exposure. It is also possible that the pre-existing deficit in this region may have rendered individuals more susceptible to alcohol dependence.

Ethanol-Induced Alterations in Purkinje Neuron Dendrites in Adult and Aging Rats: a Review

Uncomplicated alcoholics suffer from discrete motor dysfunctions that become more pronounced with age. These deficits involve the structure and function of Purkinje neurons (PN), the sole output neurons from the cerebellar cortex. This review focuses on alterations to the PN dendritic arbor in the adult and aging Fischer 344 rat following lengthy alcohol consumption. It describes seminal studies using the Golgi-Cox method which proposed a model for ethanol-induced dendritic regression. Subsequent ultrastructural studies of PN dendrites showed dilation of the extensive smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) which preceded and accompanied dendritic regression. The component of the SER that was most affected by ethanol was the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase pump (SERCA) responsible for resequestration of calcium into the SER. Ethanol-induced decreases in SERCA pump levels, similar to the finding of SER dilation, preceded and occurred concomitantly with dendritic regression. Discrete ethanol-induced deficits in balance also accompanied these decreases. Ethanol-induced ER stress within the SER of PN dendrites was proposed as an underlying cause of dendritic regression. It was recently shown that increased activation of caspase 12, inherent to the ER, occurred in PN of acute slices in ethanol-fed rats and was most pronounced following 40 weeks of ethanol treatment. These findings shed new light into alcohol-induced disruption in PN dendrites providing a new model for the discrete but critical changes in motor function in aging, adult alcoholics.

Apoptosis of Purkinje and granular cells of the cerebellum following chronic ethanol intake

Ethanol alters motricity, learning, cognition, and cellular metabolism in the cerebellum. We evaluated the effect of ethanol on apoptosis in Golgi, Purkinje, and granule cells of the cerebellum in adult rats. There were two groups of 20 rats: a control group that did not consume ethanol and an experimental group of UChA rats that consumed ethanol at 10% (<2 g ethanol/kg body weight/day). At 120 days old, rats were anesthetized and decapitated, and their cerebella were collected and fixed. Cerebellar sections were subjected to immunohistochemistry for terminal deoxynucleotide transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), caspase-3, X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP), and insulin-like growth factor 1-receptor (IGF-1R); real-time PCR (RT-PCR) to determine caspase-3, XIAP, and IGF-1R gene expression; and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We identified fragmentation of DNA and an increase in caspase-3 protein and XIAP in Purkinje cells, whereas granule cells exhibited increased caspase-3 and XIAP. IGF-1R expression was unchanged. There was no significant difference in gene expression of caspase-3, XIAP, and IGF-1R. There were an increase in lipid droplets, a reduction in the cellular cytoplasm in electron-dense nuclei, and changes in the myelin sheath in the cerebellar cortex. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that ethanol induced apoptosis in the Purkinje and granule cells of the cerebellum of adult UChA rats.

ATF6 and caspase 12 expression in Purkinje neurons in acute slices from adult, ethanol-fed rats

The purpose of this study was to determine, whether previously reported ethanol-induced alterations to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), predispose Purkinje neurons (PN) to thapsigargin-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Thapsigargin blocks the sarco/endoplasmic Ca(2+) ATPase pump (SERCA 2), depleting the SER of calcium. Forty-one, eight month old Fischer 344 male rats were treated with either the AIN (American Institute of Nutrition) liquid control or ethanol diets for 10 (n=14), 20 (n=10), or 40(n=17) weeks. At the end of treatment, acute cerebellar slices were prepared by standard means. Cerebellar slices were treated with thapsigargin or as controls for three hours in oxygenated (95% CO2, 5% O2) ACSF (artificial cerebrospinal fluid). Slices were then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and sectioned on a freezing microtome. Free floating sections were stained with antibodies against activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) or activated caspase 12 and calbindin. Results showed a significant increase in the activated caspase+PN dendrites in the EF rats along with a significant interaction due to enhanced expression of activated caspase 12 at 20 weeks. The density of ATF6 labeling was not different between the EF and PF groups and was confined to the PN soma. The finding of activated caspase and ATF6 expression in PN within both the EF and PF groups supports the finding of thapsigargin-induced ER stress. The finding of increased activated caspase 12 in the dendrites supports an increased tendency to ER stress and other dendritic deficits in the ethanol rats.

Time course of SERCA 2b and calreticulin expression in Purkinje neurons of ethanol-fed rats with behavioral correlates

Chronic ethanol consumption for 40 weeks in adult rats results in dilation of the extensive smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), a major component of the calcium homeostatic system within Purkinje neuron (PN) dendrites.

AIMS

The aim of the present study was to determine whether chronic ethanol consumption results in alterations of the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase pump (SERCA) on the SER membrane of PN dendrites. The density of calreticulin, a calcium chaperone, was also investigated in the PN along with balancing ability.

METHODS

Ninety 8-month-old rats were exposed to rat chow, the AIN-93 M liquid control or ethanol diets (30/diet) for a duration of 10, 20 or 40 weeks (30/duration). Age changes relative to the rat chow controls were assessed with 3-month-old control rats (n = 10). Balance was assessed prior to euthanasia. Quantitative immunocytochemistry was used to determine the density of SERCA 2b + dendrites and calreticulin + PN soma and nuclei. Molecular layer volumes were also determined.

RESULTS

Following 40 weeks of ethanol treatment, there were ethanol-induced decreases in SERCA 2b densities within the dendritic arbor and decreased balancing ability on the more difficult round rod balance test. There were no ethanol-induced changes in calreticulin densities.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that ethanol-induced decreases in the SERCA pump accompany SER dilation and contribute to previously reported ethanol-induced dendritic regression in PN. Ethanol-induced changes in balance also occurred. Chronic ethanol consumption does not alter calreticulin expression in PN.

Ethanol-related increases in degenerating bodies in the Purkinje neuron dendrites of aging rats

Chronic ethanol consumption in aging rats results in regression of Purkinje neuron (PN) dendritic arbors ([Pentney, 1995 Measurements of dendritic pathlengths provide evidence that ethanol-induced lengthening of terminal dendritic segments may result from dendritic regression. Alcohol Alcohol. 30, 87-96]), loss of synapses (Dlugos and Pentney, 1997), dilation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), and the formation of degenerating bodies within PN dendrites ([Dlugos, C.A., 2006a. Ethanol-Related Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum Dilation in Purkinje Dendrites of Aging Rats. Alcohol., Clin. Exp. Res. 30, 883-891,Dlugos, C.A., 2006b. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum dilation and degeneration in Purkinje neuron dendrites of aging ethanol-fed female rats. Cerebellum. 5, 155-162]). Dilation of the SER and the formation of degenerating bodies may be a predictor of dendritic regression. Ethanol-induced effects on mitochondria may be involved as mitochondria cooperate with the SER to maintain calcium homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether degenerating body number and mitochondrial density and structure are altered by chronic ethanol treatment in PN dendrites. Male, Fischer 344 rats, 12 months of age, were fed an ethanol or pair-fed liquid diet, or rat chow for a period of 10, 20, or 40 weeks (15 rats/treatment; 45 rats/treatment duration). Ethanol-fed rats received 35% of their calories as ethanol. At the end of treatment, all animals were euthanized, perfused, and tissue prepared for electron microscopy. The densities of degenerating bodies and mitochondria, mitochondrial areas, and the distance between the SER and the mitochondria were measured. Results showed that there was an ethanol-related increase in degenerating bodies compared to controls at 40 weeks. Ethanol-induced alterations to mitochondria were absent. Correlation of the present results with those of previous studies suggest that degenerating bodies may be formed from membrane reabsorption during dendritic regression or from degenerating SER whose function has been compromised by dilation.

Smooth endoplasmic reticulum dilation and degeneration in Purkinje neuron dendrites of aging ethanol‐fed female rats

The effects of chronic ethanol consumption on the extensive Purkinje neuron (PN) dendritic arbor of male rats include dilation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) and dendritic regression. The purpose of the present study was to examine the molecular layer of female rats for the presence of ethanol-related SER dilation and evidence of degeneration within the PN dendritic arbor. Twenty-one 12-month-old Fischer 344 female rats (n = 7/treatment group) received a liquid ethanol, liquid control, or rat chow diet for a period of 40 weeks. Ethanol-fed rats received 35% of their dietary calories as ethanol. Pair-fed rats received a liquid control diet that was isocaloric to the ethanol diet. Chow-fed rats received standard laboratory rat chow ad libitum. At the end of treatment, tissues from the anterior and posterior lobes of the cerebellar vermis were viewed and photographed with the electron microscope. The diameters of SER profiles were measured and the density of degenerating bodies within the PN dendritic arbor was quantitated. In the posterior lobe, ethanol-related SER dilation was apparent. In the anterior lobe, the density of degenerating bodies within PN dendritic shafts was significantly increased but SER dilation in PN dendritic shafts was absent. These results confirm that SER dilation and dendritic degeneration in PN dendrites may precede and contribute to ethanol-related regression in female rats. In addition, comparison of these results with data obtained in male rats from a previous study suggests that PN dendrites in females may be more sensitive to the effects of ethanol.

Ethanol-Related Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum Dilation in Purkinje Dendrites of Aging Rats

BACKGROUND

Long-term ethanol consumption in aging rats results in degeneration and regression of the Purkinje neuron (PN) dendritic arbor. One marked ethanol-related change in Purkinje dendrite ultrastructure is dilation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) within PN dendritic shafts. The purpose of this study was to determine a time course for ethanol-related dendritic regression in PN dendritic shafts and spines.

METHODS

One-hundred eighty aging, male Fischer 344 rats were used. Four durations of treatment (5, 10, 20, and 40 weeks) and 3 dietary treatment groups (60 rats/treatment group) were studied. Ethanol-fed rats received a liquid ethanol diet (35% of dietary calories from ethanol). Pair-fed rats received an isocaloric liquid control diet and chow-fed rats received rat chow and water ad libitum. After each duration of treatment, 45 rats (15/treatment) were euthanized and 2 posterior cerebellar lobules/rat were viewed with electron microscopy and photographed. Diameters of SER profiles within PN shafts and spines were measured with image analysis.

RESULTS

Ethanol-related SER dilation in dendritic shafts occurred following 40 weeks of treatment. Ethanol-related SER dilation was not detected in PN dendritic spines.

CONCLUSIONS

These results confirm that ethanol-related dilation of SER profiles in PN dendritic shafts occurs following the same duration of treatment as the dendritic regression previously reported in other studies. Degenerating bodies that may be linked to dendritic regression were also identified in PN dendrites.

Ultrastructure of rat pup's Purkinje neurons whose mothers were exposed to ethanol during pregnancy and lactation

This study was intended to investigate the effects of alcohol on the ultrastructure of fetal cerebellar Purkinje cells. Twelve adult female rats of Sprague-Dawley species were utilized. Control and experiment groups were formed. Rats were made pregnant. Rats in experiment group were administered liquid diet containing 6% alcohol. Cerebellums of infant rats were taken on 6th, 8th, and 10th days after birth. For electron microscopy, tissue sections were processed and stained with the usual methods. When control and experiment groups were compared for electron microscopic investigation, degeneration of mithocondria as cristolysis, dilatations of rough endoplasmic reticulum tubuli, and ring-shaped appearance of Golgi apparatus unit were determined. In some groups, nuclear membrane disintegrated. In cytoplasms of Purkinje cells, multivesicular bodies were distinguished. It was determined that liquid diet containing 6% alcohol had toxic effects on Purkinje cells and caused ultrastructural signs of degeneration in these cells.

Effect of chronic ethanol ingestion on Purkinje and Golgi cell firing in vivo and on motor coordination in mice

As motor coordination impairment is a common symptom of acute and chronic alcohol intoxication, different studies have been conducted on cerebellar Purkinje cell sensitivity to ethanol since Purkinje cell firing constitutes the final integrative output of the cerebellar cortex. However, the effects of chronic ethanol ingestion on Purkinje firing and other cerebellar neurons such as Golgi cells remain unknown. Here, we studied the extracellular discharge of Purkinje and Golgi cells in four groups of non-anesthetized mice drinking ad libitum either 0%, 6%, 12% or 18% ethanol isocallorically compensated with sucrose 25% during a 3-month period. No difference in Golgi cell firing was found with respect to ethanol consumption. The only group that presented significant differences in Purkinje cell firing compared to the other groups was the 18% ethanol-drinking group. These mice presented decreased simple spike and complex spike firing and increased complex spike duration and pause. The 18% ethanol-drinking group was also the only one to present a slight but significant motor coordination impairment (evaluated by rotarod and runway) in naïve task. No motor coordination impairment was noticed in task learned before ethanol consumption. These results suggest that chronic high doses of ethanol are necessary to produce Purkinje cell firing alterations and measurable motor coordination impairment in naïve task. These alterations in Purkinje cell firing did not affect the ability to learn or to recall a motor coordination task.

The roles of dendritic spine shapes in Purkinje cells

Shapes of dendritic spines are changed by various physiological or pathological states. The high degree of spine shape heterogeneity suggests that they would be the morphological basis for synaptic plasticity. An increasing number of proteins and signal transduction pathways have recently been shown to be associated with structural modifications of spines. Here, we review the possible functional roles of spine shapes in cerebellar Purkinje neurons. Several studies have suggested that spine shapes in Purkinje cells are regulated by both intrinsic and environmental factors, and different spine shapes could have significantly different consequences for brain function. Clearly constricted necks observed in thin, mushroom-shaped, and branched spines serve for compartmentalization of calcium and other second messenger molecules, influencing different signaling mechanisms and synaptic plasticity. Mushroom-shaped spines frequently have perforated postsynaptic density and the area of the spine head is much larger than simple spines, implying that membrane dynamics and receptor turnover are occurring. Branched spines might form additional synapses with afferent inputs resulting in the modification of neuronal circuits. Taken together, all these studies suggest that each spine shape is likely to have a distinct role in Purkinje cell function.

Neurocircuitry in alcoholism: a substrate of disruption and repair

The chronic, excessive consumption of alcohol results in significant modification of selective neural systems of the brain structure, physiology, and function. Quantitative MR structural imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and functional MRI (fMRI), together with neuropsychological challenges, have enabled rigorous in vivo characterization of the results of alcoholism on the brain in the human condition. Neuroimaging has also enabled longitudinal study for the examination of alcoholism's dynamic course through periods of drinking and sobriety. Controlled studies have revealed compelling evidence for alcohol-related brain structural and functional modification--some longstanding, some transient, and some compensatory. Patterns of circuitry disruption identified through structural and functional MRI studies suggest a central role for degradation of frontocerebellar neuronal nodes and connecting circuitry affecting widespread brain regions and contributing to alcoholism's salient, enduring, and debilitating cognitive and motor deficits--executive dysfunction, visuospatial impairment, and ataxia.

Analyses of smooth endoplasmic reticulum of cerebellar parallel fibers in aging, ethanol-fed rats

The smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), a calcium storage organelle, is essential for normal neuronal function. Dilation of the SER is pathologic and a threat to neuronal calcium homeostasis. Dilation of the SER has been reported within the dendrites of cerebellar Purkinje neurons of aging rats after lengthy ethanol treatment. Ethanol-related alterations of parallel fiber SER have not been investigated despite the fact that such dilation may precede and contribute transsynaptically to SER dilation and degeneration in Purkinje neuron dendrites. Male Fischer 344 rats (n = 120; age = 12 months old) were randomly divided into three dietary groups (40 rats per group) and fed rat chow, the AIN-93M liquid control diet, or the AIN-93M liquid ethanol diet (without water) for 5, 10, 20, or 40 weeks (30 rats per time point). Sections from posterior vermal lobules were viewed with the electron microscope. Maximum and minimum diameters of parallel fiber SER profiles were measured. Ethanol-related dilation of parallel fiber SER was not found after 5, 10, 20, or 40 weeks of treatment. Age-related dilation of parallel fiber SER profiles did occur. These findings support the suggestions that (1) parallel fiber SER, unlike the SER in Purkinje neurons, is insensitive to ethanol and (2) the mechanisms by which ethanol and aging alter cerebellar function and structure are different.

Abnormal Immunoreactivity to Serotonin in Cerebellar Purkinje Cells after Neonatal Cocaine Exposure

Neonatal cocaine is known to affect the developing serotonergic system in many brain structures, including the cerebellum. Changes in the cerebellar Purkinje cells after drug exposure are well documented and result in impairment of movement and other cerebellar disorders such as ataxia. These cells have a major postnatal developmental pattern; therefore, neonatal exposure to cocaine is likely to affect them. In this work, male and female Wistar rats were injected with 15 mg of cocaine hydrochloride/kg body weight/day, subcutaneously, in two daily doses, from postnatal day 1 (PND1) to PND29. Controls were given 0.9% of saline. On PND14, PND21, and PND30, rats were transcardially perfused, and brains removed and cryoprotected. Coronal sections from the cerebellum were processed for immunocytochemistry of cells containing serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT). At the same postnatal age, rats from at least three different litters were sacrificed by decapitation, and brains were dissected for determination of 5-HT in the cerebellum by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Upon the expected distribution of immunoreactivity to 5-HT, an abnormal immunoreactivity to 5-HT was observed in the Purkinje cells of six cocaine-exposed animals, but not in control animals. Also, levels of cerebellar 5-HT in cocaine-exposed rats were significantly increased on PND21. These results, together with previously reported observations of altered patterns of motor behavior, indicate that neonatal cocaine exposure affects the serotonergic cerebellar system, altering the standard development of Purkinje cells and possibly compromising the motor function.

Patterned Purkinje cell death in the cerebellum

The object of this review is to assemble much of the literature concerning Purkinje cell death in cerebellar pathology and to relate this to what is now known about the complex topography of the cerebellar cortex. A brief introduction to Purkinje cells, and their regionalization is provided, and then the data on Purkinje cell death in mouse models and, where appropriate, their human counterparts, have been arranged according to several broad categories--naturally-occurring and targeted mutations leading to Purkinje cell death, Purkinje cell death due to toxins, Purkinje cell death in ischemia, Purkinje cell death in infection and in inherited disorders, etc. The data reveal that cerebellar Purkinje cell death is much more topographically complex than is usually appreciated.

Disruption of frontocerebellar circuitry and function in alcoholism

This article represents a symposium of the 2002 joint meeting of RSA and ISBRA held in San Francisco. Presentations were Neuropathology of alcohol-related cerebellar damage in humans, by Antony J. Harding; Neuropathological evidence of cerebellar damage in an animal model of alcoholism, by Roberta Pentney and Cynthia Dlugos; Understanding cortical-cerebellar circuits through neuroimaging study of chronic alcoholics, by Peter R. Martin and Mitchell H. Parks; and Functional reorganization of the brain in alcoholism: neuroimaging evidence, by John E. Desmond, S.H. Annabel Chen, Michelle R. Pryor, Eve De Rosa, Adolf Pfefferbaum, and Edith V. Sullivan.

Ethanol effects on three strains of zebrafish: model system for genetic investigations

The effects of acute and chronic ethanol administration on the wild-type (WT), long-fin striped (LFS), and blue long-fin (BLF) strains of zebrafish were investigated. In the LFS strain, acute exposure to 0.25% (v/v) ethanol inhibited the startle reaction and increased both the area occupied by a group of subjects and the average distance between each fish and its nearest neighbor. Similar effects were found in the WT fish although higher concentrations of ethanol were required. No effects on the behavior of the BLF fish were observed with up to 1.0% (v/v) ethanol. Brain alcohol levels were comparable among the three strains precluding a pharmacokinetic explanation for the behavioral results. In LFS zebrafish, behavioral tolerance was observed after 1 week of continual exposure to ethanol. Conversely, chronic ethanol exposure of the WT fish for up to 2 weeks did not result in the development of tolerance, but rather appeared to increase the disruptive action of the drug. The present results suggest the observed strain differences in the effects of ethanol reflect genotypic differences in both the response of the central nervous system (CNS) to ethanol as well as the ability of the CNS to adapt to ethanol exposure. Although preliminary, the present study indicates that the zebrafish is an excellent model system to investigate the genetic determinants involved in regulating the responses to ethanol.

Dendritic spine pathology: cause or consequence of neurological disorders?

Altered dendritic spines are characteristic of traumatized or diseased brain. Two general categories of spine pathology can be distinguished: pathologies of distribution and pathologies of ultrastructure. Pathologies of spine distribution affect many spines along the dendrites of a neuron and include altered spine numbers, distorted spine shapes, and abnormal loci of spine origin on the neuron. Pathologies of spine ultrastructure involve distortion of subcellular organelles within dendritic spines. Spine distributions are altered on mature neurons following traumatic lesions, and in progressive neurodegeneration involving substantial neuronal loss such as in Alzheimer's disease and in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Similarly, spine distributions are altered in the developing brain following malnutrition, alcohol or toxin exposure, infection, and in a large number of genetic disorders that result in mental retardation, such as Down's and fragile-X syndromes. An important question is whether altered dendritic spines are the intrinsic cause of the accompanying neurological disturbances. The data suggest that many categories of spine pathology may result not from intrinsic pathologies of the spiny neurons, but from a compensatory response of these neurons to the loss of excitatory input to dendritic spines. More detailed studies are needed to determine the cause of spine pathology in most disorders and relationship between spine pathology and cognitive deficits.

The total numbers of cerebellar granule neurons in young and aged Fischer 344 and Wistar-Kyoto rats do not change as a result of lengthy ethanol treatment

It is generally accepted that long term chronic ethanol consumption by young rats will lead to significant losses of cerebellar granule neurons (GN). A recent study in this laboratory showed, however, that 40 weeks of chronic ethanol consumption had no effect on the total numbers of GN in aged Fischer 344 rats (F344). The goals of the present study were to determine whether F344 GN were resistant to ethanol toxicity only in aged rats and whether resistance of GN in aged rats to ethanol toxicity occurred only in the F344 strain. To accomplish those goals, young and aged adult F344 and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were treated chronically with ethanol for 40 weeks during the first or second half of their life span. In each rat the total numbers of GN were estimated with the optical fractionator and the volumes of the GN layer were estimated according to Cavalieri's theorem. After the 40 weeks of ethanol, there were significant age-related differences in the total numbers of GN in the F344 rats. There were also significant strain-related differences in the total numbers of GN and volumes of the GN layer. There were no significant ethanol-related differences, however, in numbers of cerebellar GN or volumes of the GN layer in F344 rats or WKY rats. The results presented here show that consumption of ethanol over long periods of time had no effect on the total numbers of cerebellar GN or the granular layer volumes in young or aged F344 or WKY rats.