Mechanisms of modulation of AMPA-induced Na+-activated K+ current by mGluR1

Euchromatin histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2 regulates the expression of potassium-sodium-activated channel subfamily T member 1 in primary sensory neurons and contributes to remifentanil-induced pain sensitivity

Intraoperative remifentanil administration has been linked to increased postoperative pain sensitivity. Recent studies have identified the involvement of euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2 (Ehmt2/G9a) in neuropathic pain associated with the transcriptional silencing of many potassium ion channel genes. This study investigates whether G9a regulates the potassium sodium-activated channel subfamily T member 1 (Slo2.2) in remifentanil-induced post-incisional hyperalgesia (RIH) in rodents. We performed remifentanil infusion (1 μg·kg-1·min-1 for 60 min) followed by plantar incision to induce RIH in rodents. Our results showed that RIH was accompanied by increased G9a and H3K9me2 production and decreased Slo2.2 expression 48 h postoperatively. Deletion of G9a rescued Slo2.2 expression in DRG and reduced RIH intensity. Slo2.2 overexpression also reversed this hyperalgesia phenotype. G9a overexpression decreased Slo2.2-mediated leak current and increased excitability in the small-diameter DRG neurons and laminal II small-diameter neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, which was implicated in peripheral and central sensitization. These results suggest that G9a contributes to the development of RIH by epigenetically silencing Slo2.2 in DRG neurons, leading to decreased central sensitization in the spinal cord. The findings may have implications for the development of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of postoperative pain.

A Role for Transmembrane Protein 16C/Slack Impairment in Excitatory Nociceptive Synaptic Plasticity in the Pathogenesis of Remifentanil-induced Hyperalgesia in Rats

Remifentanil is widely used to control intraoperative pain. However, its analgesic effect is limited by the generation of postoperative hyperalgesia. In this study, we investigated whether the impairment of transmembrane protein 16C (TMEM16C)/Slack is required for α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic receptor (AMPAR) activation in remifentanil-induced postoperative hyperalgesia. Remifentanil anesthesia reduced the paw withdrawal threshold from 2 h to 48 h postoperatively, with a decrease in the expression of TMEM16C and Slack in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and spinal cord. Knockdown of TMEM16C in the DRG reduced the expression of Slack and elevated the basal peripheral sensitivity and AMPAR expression and function. Overexpression of TMEM16C in the DRG impaired remifentanil-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation and behavioral hyperalgesia. AMPAR-mediated current and neuronal excitability were downregulated by TMEM16C overexpression in the spinal cord. Taken together, these findings suggest that TMEM16C/Slack regulation of excitatory synaptic plasticity via GluA1-containing AMPARs is critical in the pathogenesis of remifentanil-induced postoperative hyperalgesia in rats.

Behavioural and neurofunctional impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on somatosensory learning

We investigated the effect of repeated delivery of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on somatosensory performance and long-term learning. Over the course of five days, tDCS was applied to the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) by means of neuronavigation employing magnetencephalography (MEG). Compared to its sham application, tDCS promoted tactile learning by reducing the two-point discrimination threshold assessed by the grating orientation task (GOT) primarily by affecting intersessional changes in performance. These results were accompanied by alterations in the neurofunctional organization of the brain, as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging conducted prior to the study, at the fifth day of tDCS delivery and four weeks after the last application of tDCS. A decrease in activation at the primary site of anodal tDCS delivery in the left S1 along retention of superior tactile acuity was observed at follow-up four weeks after the application of tDCS. Thus, we demonstrate long-term effects that repeated tDCS imposes on somatosensory functioning. This is the first study to provide insight into the mode of operation of tDCS on the brain's response to long-term perceptual learning, adding an important piece of evidence from the domain of non-invasive brain stimulation to show that functional changes detectable by fMRI in primary sensory cortices participate in perceptual learning.

Adenosine-mediated modulation of ventral horn interneurons and spinal motoneurons in neonatal mice

Neuromodulation allows neural networks to adapt to varying environmental and biomechanical demands. Purinergic signaling is known to be an important modulatory system in many parts of the CNS, including motor control circuitry. We have recently shown that adenosine modulates the output of mammalian spinal locomotor control circuitry (Witts EC, Panetta KM, Miles GB. J Neurophysiol 107: 1925–1934, 2012). Here we investigated the cellular mechanisms underlying this adenosine-mediated modulation. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were performed on ventral horn interneurons and motoneurons within in vitro mouse spinal cord slice preparations. We found that adenosine hyperpolarized interneurons and reduced the frequency and amplitude of synaptic inputs to interneurons. Both effects were blocked by the A₁-type adenosine receptor antagonist DPCPX. Analysis of miniature postsynaptic currents recorded from interneurons revealed that adenosine reduced their frequency but not amplitude, suggesting that adenosine acts on presynaptic receptors to modulate synaptic transmission. In contrast to interneurons, recordings from motoneurons revealed an adenosine-mediated depolarization. The frequency and amplitude of synaptic inputs to motoneurons were again reduced by adenosine, but we saw no effect on miniature postsynaptic currents. Again these effects on motoneurons were blocked by DPCPX. Taken together, these results demonstrate differential effects of adenosine, acting via A₁ receptors, in the mouse spinal cord. Adenosine has a general inhibitory action on ventral horn interneurons while potentially maintaining motoneuron excitability. This may allow for adaptation of the locomotor pattern generated by interneuronal networks while helping to ensure the maintenance of overall motor output.

Novel coupling between TRPC-like and KNa channels modulates low threshold spike-induced afterpotentials in rat thalamic midline neurons

Neurons in thalamic midline and paraventricular nuclei (PVT) display a unique slow afterhyperpolarizing potential (sAHP) following the low threshold spike (LTS) generated by activation of their low voltage Ca(2+) channels. We evaluated the conductances underlying this sAHP using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in rat brain slice preparations. Initial observations recorded in the presence of TTX revealed a marked dependency of the LTS-induced sAHP on extracellular Na(+): replacing Na(+) with TRIS(+) in the external medium eliminated the LTS-induced sAHP; substitution of Na(+) with either Li(+) or choline(+) in the external medium resulted in a gradual loss of the sAHP and its replacement with a prolonged slow afterdepolarizing potential (sADP). The LTS-induced sAHP was reduced by quinidine and potentiated by loxapine, suggesting involvement of KNa-like channels. Canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels were considered the source for Na(+) based on observations that the sAHP was suppressed by nonselective TRPC channel blockers (2-APB, flufenamic acid and ML204) but unchanged in the presence of TRPV1 channel blocker (SB-366791). In addition, after replacement of Na(+) with Li(+), the isolated LTS-induced sADP was significantly suppressed in the presence of 2-APB or ML204, after replacement of extracellular Ca(2+) with Sr(2+), and by intracellular Ca(2+) chelation with EGTA, data that collectively suggest involvement of Ca(2+)-activated TRPC-like conductances containing TRPC4/5 subunits. The isolated LTS-induced sADP also exhibited a strong voltage dependency, decreasing at hyperpolarizing potentials, further support for involvement of TRPC4/5 subunits. This sADP exhibited neurotransmitter receptor sensitivity, with suppression by 5-CT, a 5-HT7 receptor agonist, and enhancement by the neuropeptide orexin A. These data suggest that LTS-induced slow afterpotentials reflect a simultaneous interplay between KNa and TRPC-like conductances, novel for midline thalamic neurons.

Slack, Slick and Sodium-Activated Potassium Channels

The Slack and Slick genes encode potassium channels that are very widely expressed in the central nervous system. These channels are activated by elevations in intracellular sodium, such as those that occur during trains of one or more action potentials, or following activation of non-selective cationic neurotransmitter receptors such as AMPA receptors. This review covers the cellular and molecular properties of Slack and Slick channels and compares them with findings on the properties of sodium-activated potassium currents (termed K_Na currents) in native neurons. Human mutations in Slack channels produce extremely severe defects in learning and development, suggesting that K_Na channels play a central role in neuronal plasticity and intellectual function.

Differential regulation of synaptic transmission by pre- and postsynaptic SK channels in the spinal locomotor network

The generation of activity in the central nervous system requires precise tuning of cellular properties and synaptic transmission. Neural networks in the spinal cord produce coordinated locomotor movements. Synapses in these networks need to be equipped with multiple mechanisms that regulate their operation over varying regimes to produce locomotor activity at different frequencies. Using the in vitro lamprey spinal cord, we explored whether Ca(2+) influx via different routes in postsynaptic soma and dendrites and in presynaptic terminals can activate apamin-sensitive Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK) channels and thereby shape synaptic transmission. We show that postsynaptic SK channels are tightly coupled to Ca(2+) influx via NMDA receptors. Activation of these channels by synaptically induced NMDA-dependent Ca(2+) transients restrains the time course of the synaptic current and the amplitude of the synaptic potential. In addition, presynaptic SK channels are activated by Ca(2+) influx via voltage-gated channels and control the waveform of the action potential and the resulting Ca(2+) dynamics in the axon terminals. The coupling of SK channels to different Ca(2+) sources, pre- and postsynaptically, acts as a negative feedback mechanism to shape synaptic transmission. Thus SK channels can play a pivotal role in setting the dynamic range of synapses and enabling short-term plasticity in the spinal locomotor network.

Fragile X syndrome: mechanistic insights and therapeutic avenues regarding the role of potassium channels

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a common form of mental disability and one of the known causes of autism. The mutation responsible for FXS is a large expansion of the trinucleotide CGG repeats that leads to DNA methylation of the fragile X mental retardation gene 1 (FMR1) and transcriptional silencing, resulting in the absence of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an mRNA binding protein. Although it is widely known that FMRP is critical for metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-dependent long-term depression (LTD), which has provided a general theme for developing pharmacological drugs for FXS, specific downstream targets of FMRP may also be of therapeutic value. Since alterations in potassium channel expression level or activity could underlie neuronal network defects in FXS, here we describe recent findings on how these channels might be altered in mouse models of FXS and the possible therapeutic avenues for treating FXS.

Gating the polarity of endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity by nitric oxide in the spinal locomotor network

The final motor output underlying behavior arises from an appropriate balance between excitation and inhibition within neural networks. Retrograde signaling by endocannabinoids adapts synaptic strengths and the global activity of neural networks. In the spinal cord, endocannabinoids are mobilized postsynaptically from network neurons and act retrogradely on presynaptic cannabinoid receptors to potentiate the locomotor frequency. However, it is still unclear whether mechanisms exist within the locomotor networks that determine the sign of the modulation by cannabinoid receptors to differentially regulate excitation and inhibition. In this study, using the lamprey spinal cord in vitro, we first report that 2-AG (2-arachidonyl glycerol) is mobilized by network neurons and underlies a form of modulation that is embedded within the locomotor networks. We then show that the polarity of the endocannabinoid modulation is gated by nitric oxide to enable simultaneously potentiation of excitation and depression of inhibition within the spinal locomotor networks. Our results suggest that endocannabinoid and nitric oxide systems interact to mediate inversion of the polarity of synaptic plasticity within the locomotor networks. Thus, endocannabinoid and nitric oxide shift in the excitation-inhibition balance to set the excitability of the spinal locomotor network.

Low-threshold calcium currents contribute to locomotor-like activity in neonatal mice

In this study, we examined the contribution of a low-threshold calcium current [I(Ca(T))] to locomotor-related activity in the neonatal mouse. Specifically, the role of I(Ca(T)) was studied during chemically induced, locomotor-like activity in the isolated whole cord and in a genetically distinct population of ventromedial spinal interneurons marked by the homeobox gene Hb9. In isolated whole spinal cords, cycle frequency was decreased in the presence of low-threshold calcium channel blockers, which suggests a role for I(Ca(T)) in the network that produces rhythmic, locomotor-like activity. Additionally, we used Hb9 interneurons as a model to study the cellular responses to application of low-threshold calcium channel blockers. In transverse slice preparations from transgenic Hb9::enhanced green fluorescent protein neonatal mice, N-methyl-d-aspartate-induced membrane potential oscillations in identified Hb9 interneurons also slowed in frequency with application of nickel when fast, spike-mediated, synaptic transmission was blocked with TTX. Voltage-clamp and immunolabeling experiments confirmed expression of I(Ca(T)) and channels, respectively, in Hb9 interneurons located in the ventromedial spinal cord. Taken together, these results provide support that T-type calcium currents play an important role in network-wide rhythm generation during chemically evoked, fictive locomotor activity.

Beyond connectivity of locomotor circuitry-ionic and modulatory mechanisms

Discrete neural networks in the central nervous system generate the repertoire of motor behavior necessary for animal survival. The final motor output of these networks is the result of the anatomical connectivity between the individual neurons and also their biophysical properties as well as the dynamics of their synaptic transmission. To illustrate how this processing takes place to produce coordinated motor activity, we have summarized some of the results available from the lamprey spinal locomotor network. The detailed knowledge available in this model system on the organization of the network together with the properties of the constituent neurons and the modulatory systems allows us to determine how the impact of specific ion channels and receptors is translated to the global activity of the locomotor circuitry. Understanding the logic of the neuronal and synaptic processing within the locomotor network will provide information about not only their normal operation but also how they react to disruption such as injuries or trauma.

Activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors modulates locomotor-related motoneuron output in mice

Fast glutamatergic transmission via ionotropic receptors is critical for the generation of locomotion by spinal motor networks. In addition, glutamate can act via metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) to modulate the timing of ongoing locomotor activity. In the present study, we investigated whether mGluRs also modulate the intensity of motor output generated by spinal motor networks. Application of the group I mGluR agonist (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) reduced the amplitude and increased the frequency of locomotor-related motoneuron output recorded from the lumbar ventral roots of isolated mouse spinal cord preparations. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings of spinal motoneurons revealed multiple mechanisms by which group I mGluRs modulate motoneuron output. Although DHPG depolarized the resting membrane potential and reduced the voltage threshold for action potential generation, the activation of group I mGluRs had a net inhibitory effect on motoneuron output that appeared to reflect the modulation of fast, inactivating Na(+) currents and action potential parameters. In addition, group I mGluR activation decreased the amplitude of locomotor-related excitatory input to motoneurons. Analyses of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents indicated that mGluRs modulate synaptic drive to motoneurons via both pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms. These data highlight group I mGluRs as a potentially important source of neuromodulation within the spinal cord that, in addition to modulating components of the central pattern generator for locomotion, can modulate the intensity of motoneuron output during motor behavior. Given that group I mGluR activation reduces motoneuron excitability, mGluRs may provide negative feedback control of motoneuron output, particularly during high levels of glutamatergic stimulation.

The role of endocannabinoid signaling in motor control

Cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoid signaling are distributed throughout the rostrocaudal neuraxis. Retrograde signaling via endocannabinoid mediates synaptic plasticity in many regions in the central nervous system. Here, we review the role of endocannabinoid signaling in different parts of the vertebrate motor system from networks responsible for the execution of movement to planning centers in the basal ganglia and cortex. The ubiquity of endocannabinoid-mediated plasticity suggests that it plays an important role in producing motion from defined circuitries and also for reconfiguring networks to learn new motor skills. The long-term plasticity induced by endocannabinoids may provide a long-term buffer that stabilizes the organization of motor circuits and their activity.