大鼠冷暴露过程中不同脑区和血清中单胺类递质及代谢物质的变化

用高效液相色谱电化学检测法观测了大鼠冷暴露（５±２℃,２１天）过程中下丘脑、海马、桥延脑和血清中单胺类递质及主要代谢物质含量的变化。结果显示,在冷暴露初期（２４小时）在下丘脑和血清中去甲肾上腺素、肾上腺素和多巴胺含量分别显著地减少或增加,２１天后下丘脑中去甲肾上腺素量趋于正常,肾上腺素和多巴胺仍分别明显低或高于正常水平。桥延脑中去甲肾上腺素和３甲氧基４羟基苯乙二醇的含量先增加后恢复正常,而肾上腺素和多巴胺的含量无明显变化。与之不同,下丘脑和血清中５羟色胺和５羟吲哚乙酸的含量无明显变化,而海马和桥延脑中５羟色胺和５羟吲哚乙酸的含量明显减少且一直呈低水平状态。上述脑内和血清中单胺类递质含量的不同变化反映了不同单胺类递质可能以不同的机制和时空模式参与冷应激反应和冷适应的体温调节。     

Presenilin-1/Presenilin-2双基因敲除小鼠脑中单胺类神经递质变化的研究

条件性presenilins双基因敲除小鼠(dKO小鼠)表现出类似阿尔茨海默症(AD)的大部分神经退行性病症,如Tau 蛋白磷酸化、神经元凋亡、皮层萎缩以及认知能力受损等．为探讨presenilins功能缺失、神经退行性症状与单胺类递质变化的相关性,利用毛细管电泳法检测6、9和12月龄dKO小鼠皮层、海马及其他前脑部位中各单胺类神经递质的含量．结果显示,与对照组相比,dKO小鼠皮层中单胺类神经递质在6月龄时显著降低,而随着年龄的增长,神经退行性病变加剧,递质浓度也均明显上升,在海马区,dKO小鼠单胺类递质则呈上升趋势,但仅6月龄时5-羟色胺和肾上腺素及12月龄时各递质的上升有统计学意义,前脑其他部位5-羟色胺和多巴胺递质在6、9月龄时与对照组相近,在12月龄时则显著降低,而去甲肾上腺素和肾上腺素在6月和12月龄时均呈降低趋势,且均有统计学差异(6月龄肾上腺素除外)．实验表明,单胺类神经递质在presenilins双基因敲除的小鼠前脑各区域中的水平均发生了随龄化的变化,且在前脑皮层、海马与前脑其他区域的变化趋势各有不同,而单胺类递质的变化是presenilins双基因敲除导致的直接结果还是间接结果,单胺类递质在AD样神经退性行病变中的作用如何,还有待于进一步的研究．     

加压素对记忆的影响及其与海马中去甲肾上腺素和多巴胺的关系

采用海马内注射方法,探讨了精氨酸加压素对大鼠穿梭箱条件回避行为的影响及其与海马中去甲肾上腺素能末梢递质的关系;用高效液相色谱-电化学检测法研究了精氨酸加压素对海马中单胺类递质及其代谢产物含量的影响。结果显示:(1)两侧海马内注射精氨酸加压素(各50pg),可延缓动物条件回避行为的消退;(2)用6-羟多巴胺(各10μg)损毁两侧海马中的去甲肾上腺素能末梢,可阻断精氨酸加压素的促记忆效应;(3)精氨酸加压素可加速海马中去甲肾上腺素和多巴胺的消失。上述结果提示,加压素对记忆的易化作用,至少部分通过海马起作用;海马内的去甲肾上腺素能末梢可能参与加压素对记忆过程的调节;加压素的作用很可能是通过加强脑内去甲肾上腺素的降解代谢来实现的。     

儿茶酚胺的生物合成与代谢

儿茶酚胺(catecholamines)是具有儿茶酚核的胺类化合物。已经发现,哺乳动物体内存在的儿茶酚胺有四种,即:去甲肾上腺素、肾上腺素、儿茶酚乙胺(dopamine)及异丙基去甲肾上腺素(isopropylnoradrenaline)。已证明,去甲肾上腺素是肾上腺素能神经的传递介质,可能还参予中枢神经系统的化学传递。它和肾上腺素都是肾上腺髓质分泌的重要激素。儿茶酚乙胺发现较晚,已知它是合成去甲肾上腺素的前体,在神经系统内含量较多;它本身可能也有重大的生理意义,例如,它可能与锥体外系统的功能有关。异丙基去甲肾上腺素系自猫、猴及人等的肾上     

抑郁症单胺类递质受体研究进展

目前认为,抑郁症的发病主要与单胺类递质有关,单胺类递质受体系统在抑郁症的发病及治疗过程中会发生明显变化,本文综述了5-羟色胺受体,肾上腺素受体和多巴胺受体在抑郁症发病机制中所起作用的研究进展。     

人参皂甙Re对神经内分泌系统功能的影响

研究人参皂甙Re对神经内分泌系统的保护作用。采用高效液相色谱检测法测定水浸．束缚应激大鼠脑内单胺类递质和血清皮质酮的含量。水浸-束缚应激模型能使大鼠额叶、纹状体、下丘脑三个脑区的单胺类递质及其代谢产物（去甲肾上腺素、多巴胺、高香草酸、5-羟色胺、5．羟吲哚乙酸）和血清皮质酮的含量明显增高。预先给予人参皂甙Re（4．5和9mg／kg,ig）后均有不同程度的降低,并呈一定的量效关系。结果表明人参皂甙Re具有一定的神经保护作用。     

中枢去甲肾上腺素能神经元下行通路对脊髓侧角功能的影响

自六十年代中期发现脊髓侧角含有高浓度的单胺类递质去甲肾上腺素(NE)和5-羟色胺(5-HT)后,人们开始注意脊髓内的单胺类与侧角植物性功能的关系。经过二十多年的研究,目前对于由脑干下行至脊髓侧角的NE能通路的解剖结构与生理功能,已有较多的了解。一、中枢NE能下行通路对脊髓侧角的支配(一)脑干NE神经元核团及其下行纤维中枢NE神经元的胞体集中于延脑和桥脑,     

单胺类递质发现史

有关单胺类递质的综述资料很多,本文仅就该类递质的两个大类——儿茶酚胺类和吲哚胺类(包括三个递质“候选者”,candidate)的发现史作一简介,供有关研究者参考。哺乳动物中枢由L-酪氨酸→L-多巴→多巴胺→L-去甲肾上腺素→L-肾上腺素,这一生物合成序列现已众所周知。有趣的是,人们认识该序列中化合物的次序却相反,并且都是在外周首先发现的。肾上腺素(A)是第一个以结晶形式被分离出来的生物体激素。1895年Oliver等首次观察到肾上腺髓质提取液具有心血管作用。稍后,英国生理学家Langley(1901年)发现,给动物注射肾上腺提取液能兴奋受交感神经支配     

经典递质与肽递质在电场诱发蟾蜍胃窦部收缩中的相互关系

实验采用中华大蟾蜍(Bulo gargarizans)离体胃窦部胃段,观察了经典递质之间以及经典递质与肽递质之间在电场诱发胃窦部收缩中的相互关系。结果如下:1)去甲肾上腺紊经α受体起抑制效应。乙酰胆碱的作用复杂,效应多样。2)乙酰胆碱能加强去甲肾上腺素的抑制效应。3)乙酰胆碱对肽类递质的作用具有调节怍用。4)肽类递质和乙酰胆碱均可通过去甲肾上腺素经α受体产生抑制效应。     

肾上腺素受体在大鼠中枢神经系统发育中的作用研究

去甲肾上腺素和肾上腺素受体在大鼠中枢神经系统（CNS）的发育早期开始表达,且受体表达的时空模式与脑发育过程中某些脑区神经元的迁移和分化相一致,这提示去甲肾上腺素在中枢神经系统的发育中具有重要作用。本文论述了胚胎和新出生的大鼠不同脑区肾上腺素受体mRNA的表达模式以及这些受体对体外培养的成熟细胞和相应的前体细胞的调控效应,通过离体和在体研究的实验证据,阐述肾上腺素受体介导了去甲肾上腺素对神经前体细胞的增殖、生长、迁移、分化和存活的调控作用。进一步明确了去甲肾上腺素在CNS发育中所起的作用,使其可作为成体脑修复的助动剂而赋予新的意义。     

Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) current and exocytosis in responses to caffeine and muscarine in voltage-clamped guinea-pig adrenal chromaffin cells

We characterized changes in membrane currents and the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration, [Ca(2+)](i), in response to caffeine, and compared them with those in response to muscarine using the perforated patch-clamp technique and fura-2 microfluorimetry in guinea-pig adrenal chromaffin cells. Catecholamine release from single voltage-clamped cells was monitored with amperometry using carbon microelectrodes. Caffeine produced a transient outward current (I(out)) at holding potentials over - 60 mV, increasing in amplitude with increasing the potentials. It also evoked a rapid increase of [Ca(2+)](i) at all potentials examined. The current-voltage relation revealed that the activation of K(+) channels was responsible for the I(out) evoked by caffeine. Both current and [Ca(2+)](i) responses were reversibly abolished by cyclopiazonic acid, an inhibitor of Ca(2+)-pump ATPase. At - 30 mV, the caffeine-induced I(out), but not [Ca(2+)](i), was partly inhibited by either charybdotoxin or apamin. In the majority of cells tested, caffeine induced a larger I(out) but a smaller [Ca(2+)](i) increase than muscarine. Caffeine and muscarine increased catecholamine release from voltage-clamped single cells concomitant with the transient increase of [Ca(2+)](i), and there was a positive correlation between them. These results indicate that caffeine activates Ca(2+)-dependent K(+) channels and catecholamine secretion due to the release of Ca(2+) from internal stores in voltage-clamped adrenal chromaffin cells of the guinea-pig. There seems to be a spatial difference between [Ca(2+)](i) increased by Ca(2+) release from caffeine-sensitive stores and that released from muscarine (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate)-sensitive ones.     

Ca(2+) -independent vesicular catecholamine release in PC12 cells by nanomolar concentrations of Pb(2+)

Effects of Pb(2+) on vesicular catecholamine release in intact and ionomycin-permeabilized PC12 cells were investigated using carbon fibre microelectrode amperometry. Changes in intracellular Pb(2+) and Ca(2+) were measured from indo-1 fluorescence by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Depolarization of intact cells and superfusion of permeabilized cells with saline containing > or = 100 microm Ca(2+) rapidly evokes quantal catecholamine release. Superfusion with up to 10 microm Pb(2+) -containing saline evokes release of similar catecholamine quanta after a concentration-dependent delay. Thresholds to induce exocytosis within 30 min of exposure are between 1 and 10 microm Pb(2+) in intact cells and between 10 and 30 nm Pb(2+) in permeabilized cells. Additional inhibition of exocytosis occurs in permeabilized cells exposed to 10 microm Pb(2+). Using membrane-impermeable and -permeable chelators it is demonstrated that intracellular Ca(2+) is not required for Pb(2+) -induced exocytosis. In indo- 1-loaded cells Pb(2+) reduces the fluorescence intensity after a concentration-dependent delay, whereas the fluorescence ratio, indicating intracellular Ca(2+) concentration, remains unchanged. The delay to detect an increase in free intracellular Pb(2+) (> or = 30 nm) is much longer than the delay to Pb(2+) -induced exocytosis, indicating that cytoplasmic components buffer Pb(2+) with high affinity. It is concluded that Pb(2+) acts as a high-affinity substitute for Ca(2+) to trigger essential steps leading to vesicular catecholamine release, which occurs when only approximately 20% of the intracellular high-affinity binding capacity ( approximately 2 attomol/cell) is saturated with Pb(2+).     

L-type calcium channels in adrenal chromaffin cells: role in pace-making and secretion

Voltage-gated L-type (Cav1.2 and Cav1.3) channels are widely expressed in cardiovascular tissues and represent the critical drug-target for the treatment of several cardiovascular diseases. The two isoforms are also abundantly expressed in neuronal and neuroendocrine tissues. In the brain, Cav1.2 and Cav1.3 channels control synaptic plasticity, somatic activity, neuronal differentiation and brain aging. In neuroendocrine cells, they are involved in the genesis of action potential generation, bursting activity and hormone secretion. Recent studies have shown that Cav1.2 and Cav1.3 are also expressed in chromaffin cells but their functional role has not yet been identified despite that L-type channels possess interesting characteristics, which confer them an important role in the control of catecholamine secretion during action potentials stimulation. In intact rat adrenal glands L-type channels are responsible for adrenaline and noradrenaline release following splanchnic nerve stimulation or nicotinic receptor activation. L-type channels can be either up- or down-modulated by membrane autoreceptors following distinct second messenger pathways. L-type channels are tightly coupled to BK channels and activate at relatively low-voltages. In this way they contribute to the action potential hyperpolarization and to the pace-maker current controlling action potential firings. L-type channels are shown also to regulate the fast secretion of the immediate readily releasable pool of vesicles with the same Ca(2+)-efficiency of other voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. In mouse adrenal slices, repeated action potential-like stimulations drive L-type channels to a state of enhanced stimulus-secretion efficiency regulated by beta-adrenergic receptors. Here we will review all these novel findings and discuss the possible implication for a specific role of L-type channels in the control of chromaffin cells activity.     

CaV1.3 as pacemaker channels in adrenal chromaffin cells: specific role on exo- and endocytosis?

Voltage-gated L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) are expressed in adrenal chromaffin cells. Besides shaping the action potential (AP), LTCCs are involved in the excitation-secretion coupling controlling catecholamine release and in Ca (2+) -dependent vesicle retrieval. Of the two LTCCs expressed in chromaffin cells (CaV1.2 and CaV1.3), CaV1.3 possesses the prerequisites for pacemaking spontaneously firing cells: low-threshold, steep voltage-dependence of activation and slow inactivation. By using CaV1 .3 (-/-) KO mice and the AP-clamp it has been possible to resolve the time course of CaV1.3 pacemaker currents, which is similar to that regulating substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons. In mouse chromaffin cells CaV1.3 is coupled to fast-inactivating BK channels within membrane nanodomains and controls AP repolarization. The ability to carry subthreshold Ca (2+) currents and activate BK channels confers to CaV1.3 the unique feature of driving Ca (2+) loading during long interspike intervals and, possibly, to control the Ca (2+) -dependent exocytosis and endocytosis processes that regulate catecholamine secretion and vesicle recycling.     

Imaging the activity and localization of single voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy

The patch-clamp technique has enabled functional studies of single ion channels, but suffers limitations including lack of spatial information and inability to independently monitor currents from more than one channel. Here, we describe the use of total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy as an alternative, noninvasive approach to optically monitor the activity and localization of multiple Ca(2+)-permeable channels in the plasma membrane. Images of near-membrane Ca(2+) signals were obtained from >100 N-type channels expressed within restricted areas (80 x 80 micro m) of Xenopus oocytes, thereby permitting simultaneous resolution of their gating kinetics, voltage dependence, and localization. Moreover, this technique provided information inaccessible by electrophysiological means, demonstrating that N-type channels are immobile in the membrane, show a patchy distribution, and display diverse gating kinetics even among closely adjacent channels. Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy holds great promise for single-channel recording of diverse voltage- and ligand-gated Ca(2+)-permeable channels in the membrane of neurons and other isolated or cultured cells, and has potential for high-throughput functional analysis of single channels.     

Spatial organization of Ca(2+) entry and exocytosis in mouse pancreatic beta-cells

Secretion from single pancreatic beta-cells was imaged using a novel technique in which Zn(2+), costored in secretory granules with insulin, was detected by confocal fluorescence microscopy as it was released from the cells. Using this technique, it was observed that secretion from beta-cells was limited to an active region that comprised approximately 50% of the cell perimeter. Using ratiometric imaging with indo-1, localized increases in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) evoked by membrane depolarization were also observed. Using sequential measurements of secretion and [Ca(2+)](i) at single cells, colocalization of exocytotic release sites and Ca(2+) entry was observed when cells were stimulated by glucose or K(+). Treatment of cells with the Ca(2+) ionophore 4-Br-A23187 induced large Ca(2+) influx around the entire cell circumference. Despite the nonlocalized increase in [Ca(2+)](i), secretion evoked by 4-Br-A23187 was still localized to the same region as that evoked by secretagogues such as glucose. It is concluded that Ca(2+) channels activated by depolarization are localized to specific membrane domains where exocytotic release also occurs; however, localized secretion is not exclusively regulated by localized increases in [Ca(2+)](i), but instead involves spatial localization of other components of the exocytotic machinery.     

Neurotransmitter release from bovine adrenal chromaffin cells is modulated by capacitative Ca(2+)entry driven by depleted internal Ca(2+)stores

Two potential mechanisms by which the intracellular Ca(2 stores might modulate catecholamine release from bovine adrenal chromaffin cells were investigated: (i) that the cytosolic Ca(2+)transient caused by Ca(2+)release from the intracellular stores recruits additional chromaffin granules to a readily releasable pool that results in augmented catecholamine release when this is subsequently evoked, and (ii) that the Ca(2+)influx that follows depletion of intracellular stores (i.e. store-operated Ca(2+)entry) triggers release per se thereby augmenting evoked catecholamine release. When histamine or caffeine were applied in Ca(2+)-free perfusion media, a transient elevation of intracellular free Ca(2+)occurred owing to mobilization of Ca(2+)from the stores. When Ca(2+)was later readmitted to the perfusing fluid there followed a prompt and maintained rise in intracellular Ca(2+)concentrations of magnitude related to the degree of store mobilization. In parallel experiments, increased catecholamine secretion was measured under the conditions when Ca(2+)influx following store-mobilization occurred. Furthermore, the size of the catecholamine release increment correlated with the degree of Ca(2+)influx. Store-operated Ca(2+)entry evoked by mobilization with histamine and/or caffeine did not augment nicotine-evoked secretion per se; that is, it augmented evoked catecholamine release only to the extent that it increased basal catecholamine release. The nicotine-evoked catecholamine release was sensitive to cytosolic BAPTA, which, at the concentration used (50 microM BAPTA-AM), reduced release by approximately 25%. However, the increment in basal catecholamine release which followed Ca(2+)influx triggered by Ca(2+)store mobilization was not reduced by intracellular BAPTA. This finding is inconsistent with the hypothesis that the elevated cytosolic Ca(2+)from store mobilization recruits additional vesicles of catecholamine to the sub-plasmalemmal release sites to augment subsequently evoked secretion. This position is supported by the observation that histamine (10 microM) in Ca(2+)-free medium caused a pronounced elevation of cytosolic free Ca(2+), but this caused no greater catecholamine release when Ca(2+)was re-introduced than did prior exposure to Ca(2+)-free medium alone, which caused no elevation of cytosolic free Ca(2+). It is concluded that intracellular Ca(2+)stores can modulate secretion of catecholamines from bovine chromaffin cells by permitting Ca(2+)influx through a store-operated entry pathway. The results do not support the notion that the Ca(2+)released from intracellular stores plays a significant role in the recruitment of vesicles into the ready-release pool under the experimental conditions reported here.     

Interaction of SK(Ca) channels and L-type Ca(2+) channels in catecholamine secretion in the rat adrenal gland

We elucidated the interaction of small-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK(Ca)) channels and L-type Ca(2+) channels in muscarinic receptor-mediated control of catecholamine secretion in the isolated perfused rat adrenal gland. The muscarinic agonist methacholine (10-300 microM) produced concentration-dependent increases in adrenal output of epinephrine and norepinephrine. The SK(Ca) channel blocker apamin (1 microM) enhanced the methacholine-induced catecholamine responses. The facilitatory effect of apamin on the methacholine-induced catecholamine responses was not observed during treatment with the L-type Ca(2+) channel blocker nifedipine (3 microM) or Ca(2+)-free solution. Nifedipine did not affect the methacholine-induced catecholamine responses, but it inhibited the responses during treatment with apamin. The L-type Ca(2+) channel activator Bay k 8644 (1 microM) enhanced the methacholine-induced catecholamine responses, whereas the enhancement of the methacholine-induced epinephrine and norepinephrine responses were prevented and attenuated by apamin, respectively. These results suggest that SK(Ca) channels are activated by muscarinic receptor stimulation, which inhibits the opening of L-type Ca(2+) channels and thereby attenuates adrenal catecholamine secretion.     

Homogeneous Ca2+ stores in rat adrenal chromaffin cells

The localization and function of Ca(2+) stores in isolated chromaffin cells of rat adrenal medulla were investigated using confocal laser microscopy and amperometry. Binding sites for BODIPY-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP(3)), -ryanodine (Ry), and -thapsigargin (Thap) were both perinuclear and at the cell periphery. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which was identified by ER Tracker dye, took up fluorescent Ry and IP(3), and the majority of BODIPY-Ry-binding area was bound by fluorescent IP(3). Under Ca(2+)-free conditions, the amount of caffeine-induced catecholamine secretion was 33% of that of muscarine-induced secretion, but muscarine induced little or no secretion after exposure to caffeine. Muscarine-induced Ca(2+) increases, as observed with fluo-3, lasted for a few tens of seconds under Ca(2+)-free conditions, whereas a caffeine-induced Ca(2+) transient diminished rapidly with a half decay time of 3s and this spike-like Ca(2+) transient was then followed by a sustained increase with a low level. These results indicate that IP(3) receptors and Ry receptors (RyRs) are present in common ER Ca(2+) storage and the lower potency of caffeine for secretion may be due to a rapid decrease in RyR channel activity to a low level.     

Control of electrical activity in central neurons by modulating the gating of small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels

In most central neurons, action potentials are followed by an afterhyperpolarization (AHP) that controls firing pattern and excitability. The medium and slow components of the AHP have been ascribed to the activation of small conductance Ca(2+)-activated potassium (SK) channels. Cloned SK channels are heteromeric complexes of SK alpha-subunits and calmodulin. The channels are activated by Ca(2+) binding to calmodulin that induces conformational changes resulting in channel opening, and channel deactivation is the reverse process brought about by dissociation of Ca(2+) from calmodulin. Here we show that SK channel gating is effectively modulated by 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (EBIO). Application of EBIO to cloned SK channels shifts the Ca(2+) concentration-response relation into the lower nanomolar range and slows channel deactivation by almost 10-fold. In hippocampal CA1 neurons, EBIO increased both the medium and slow AHP, strongly reducing electrical activity. Moreover, EBIO suppressed the hyperexcitability induced by low Mg(2+) in cultured cortical neurons. These results underscore the importance of SK channels for shaping the electrical response patterns of central neurons and suggest that modulating SK channel gating is a potent mechanism for controlling excitability in the central nervous system.