Evidence of a Monoaminergic-Cholinergic Imbalance Related to Visual Hallucinations in Lewy Body Dementia

Senile dementia of Lewy body type is characterized clinically by a relatively acute onset of fluctuating memory loss and confusion, frequently accompanied by visual hallucinations. Neurochemical analyses of temporal cortex has revealed a distinction between hallucinating and nonhallucinating patients in both cholinergic and monaminergic transmitter activities. In contrast with the cholinergic enzyme choline acetyltransferase, which was more extensively reduced in hallucinating individuals, serotonergic S2 receptor binding and both dopamine and serotonin metabolites were significantly decreased in nonhallucinating cases. These results suggest that an imbalance between monaminergic and cholinergic transmitters is involved in hallucinogenesis in the human brain.     

α1-Adrenergic Receptor Mediates Arachidonic Acid Release in Spinal Cord Neurons Independent of Inositol Phospholipid Turnover

The alpha 1-adrenergic receptor has been shown to mediate the release of arachidonic acid in FRTL5 thyroid cells and MDCK kidney cells. In primary cultures of spinal cord cells, norepinephrine stimulated release of arachidonic acid (from neurons only) and turnover of inositol phospholipids (from neurons and glia) via alpha 1-adrenergic receptors. These two responses were dissociated by treatment with phorbol ester and pertussis toxin, which inhibited production of inositol phosphates with no appreciable effect on release of arachidonic acid. Extracellular calcium was required for release of arachidonic acid, but not for production of inositol phosphates. The calcium channel blockers nifedipine and verapamil inhibited release of arachidonic acid only. However, 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate (TMB-8), a compound that blocks intracellular calcium release, diminished production of inositol phosphates, but had little effect on release of arachidonic acid. These results suggest that alpha 1-adrenergic receptors couple to release of arachidonic acid in primary cultures of spinal cord cells by a mechanism independent of activation of phospholipase C, possibly via the activation of phospholipase A2.     

Autoradiographic Localization of Angiotensin II Receptor Binding Sites on Noradrenergic Neurons of the Locus Coeruleus of the Rat

The locus coeruleus (LC) of the rat was lesioned by microinjection of selective neurotoxins into the brainstem. 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), 3 micrograms/microliter, given unilaterally at two sites 0.6 mm apart on the rostro-caudal axis of the LC, was used to lesion catecholamine-containing neuronal elements. Ibotenic acid, 2.5 micrograms/0.5 microliters, administered similarly was used to lesion nerve cell bodies. Two weeks after administration of the neurotoxin, lesion efficacy was determined based on the norepinephrine content of the cerebral cortex ipsi- and contralateral to the lesion. 6-OHDA lesions of the LC caused a 46% reduction in ipsilateral cortical norepinephrine and a 60% reduction in specific 125I-[Sar1, Ile8]-angiotensin II (125I-SIAII) binding in the LC. Ibotenic acid lesions of the LC caused a 73% reduction in ipsilateral cortical norepinephrine and a 81% reduction in specific 125I-SIAII binding in the LC. These results indicate that AII receptor binding sites in the LC are localized on noradrenergic nerve cell bodies or their dendritic and axonal ramifications within the LC.     

Studies on the Effect of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I on Catecholamine Secretion from Chromaffin Cells

Chromaffin cells cultured in serum-free medium secreted a smaller percentage of their catecholamine stores in response to stimulation by high K+ (55 mM) than did cells cultured in serum-containing medium. Addition of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) to serum-free medium restored high K(+)-stimulated catecholamine secretion to the levels seen in serum-treated cultures. In contrast, addition of IGF-I to serum-containing medium had little effect on catecholamine secretion. These results suggest that serum contains IGF-I or another factor that maintains the secretory responsiveness of chromaffin cells. IGF-I not only enhanced high K(+)-stimulated catecholamine secretion, but also augmented secretion elicited by the nicotinic agonist dimethyl-phenylpiperazinium, the dihydropyridine agonist Bay K 8644, and Ba2+. IGF-I did not affect the dependence of catecholamine secretion on extracellular Ca2+ concentration nor did it affect the time course of secretion. Experiments using 45Ca2+ demonstrated that IGF-I treatment enhanced Ca2+ uptake into the cells. When cells were permeabilized by treatment with digitonin, Ca2(+)-dependent catecholamine secretion was slightly, but consistently, greater from IGF-I-treated cells than from untreated cells. Our results suggest that IGF-I may enhance catecholamine secretion partly by increasing Ca2+ entry into the cells and partly by affecting a step distal to Ca2+ entry.     

70-Kilodalton Heat Shock Protein Induction in Cerebellar Astrocytes and Cerebellar Granule Cells In Vitro: Comparison with Immunocytochemical Localization After Hyperthermia In Vivo

Induction of the 70-kDa heat shock protein, hsp70, was evaluated in cultured cerebellar astrocytes and granule cell neurons subjected to a hyperthermic stress, using a monoclonal antibody and an oligonucleotide probe that selectively recognize stress-inducible species of hsp70-related proteins and RNAs, respectively. Immunoblots of cultures enriched in either granule cells or astrocytes, and immunocytochemical localization studies in cocultures of these cell types, demonstrated that hsp70 induction was restricted to the astrocyte population. Amino acid incorporation experiments showed little difference in the loss and recovery of overall protein synthesis activity in these two cell types following transient hyperthermic stress. RNA blot hybridizations confirmed the preferential glial induction of hsp70. In vivo immunocytochemical studies in brains of adult rats following hyperthermia were consistent with earlier observations that suggested a primarily glial and vascular localization of the heat shock response in most brain regions, although the intense immunoreactivity in the cerebellar granule cell layer suggests that there is induction of hsp70 in these neurons under in vivo conditions. These results suggest the potential value of such defined cell cultures in identifying mechanisms responsible for differences in the heat shock response of various cell types in vitro, and in revealing factors that may account for the apparent absence of the stress response in cultured cerebellar granule cell neurons.     

Intrasynaptosomal Sequestration of [3H]Amphetamine and [3H]Methylenedioxyamphetamine: Characterization Suggests the Presence of a Factor Responsible for Maintaining Sequestration

We examined the incorporation of [3H]methylenedioxyamphetamine ([3H]MDA) and [3H]amphetamine into rat brain synaptosomes. Saturation studies, using increasing concentrations of nonradioactive ligand, revealed that [3H]-MDA interacted with two saturable sites that were sensitive to boiling of the tissue. Eadee-Scatchard plots of [3H]MDA saturation data were curvilinear; nonlinear curve-fitting analysis of these data suggested the presence of high- and low-affinity [3H]MDA sites of association: KD high = 295 nM, Bmax high = 32 pmol/mg of protein; KD low = 45 microM, Bmax low = 5.2 nmol/mg of protein. Association of [3H]MDA to the low-affinity site was dependent on the presence of isotonic sucrose in the incubation medium. The high capacities of these sites argue against a bimolecular interaction of [3H]MDA with monovalent protein binding sites. [3H]MDA incorporation was reduced under conditions that disrupt the integrity of plasma membranes, such as sonication, incubation in hypotonic media, and incubation in the presence of the detergent digitonin. These data indicate that [3H]MDA incorporation into synaptosomes may represent an internalization and sequestration phenomenon. [3H]MDA incorporation was also reduced by preincubation of the synaptosomal preparation at 37 degrees C or in hypotonic buffer at 4 degrees C, a result suggesting that this sequestration is maintained by an intrasynaptosomal component that is lost under the preincubation conditions described above. [3H]MDA incorporation was pH dependent (maximal at pH 7.5) and temperature sensitive (maximal incorporation occurred at 21 degrees C and was substantially reduced at 37 degrees C). [3H]Amphetamine was also incorporated into synaptosomes, and this incorporation was sensitive to the same physical manipulations of the tissue preparation as [3H]MDA incorporation. The synaptosomal sequestration of both [3H]MDA and [3H]amphetamine was inhibited by permeant cations, such as sodium and potassium, a result suggesting that the proposed intrasynaptosomal component that maintains the sequestration is anionic. Preliminary pharmacological profiles of [3H]MDA and [3H]amphetamine sequestration were identical. The rank order of inhibitor potencies for the incorporation of both ligands was desipramine greater than amphetamine greater than MDA greater than methylphenidate. This order of potency does not correspond to the lipophilicity of the test drugs. The synaptosomal incorporation and sequestration of [3H]MDA, [3H]methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and [3H]amphetamine described in the present report may be important in the molecular mechanism of action of monoamine release induced by the amphetamines.     

In vivo priming of helper T cells in the absence of B cell activation

This paper describes an adjuvant-free immunization regimen that results in the priming of T cells but not B cells. B10.A mice were primed s.c. with syngeneic spleen cells that had been pulsed with the peptide 81-104 derived from pigeon cytochrome c. The T cell response was measured by using a sensitive limiting dilution assay that measures lymphokine production. The precursor frequency of Ag-specific cells found in these mice was indistinguishable from the frequency found in mice primed in the footpads with 81-104 in CFA. A striking difference in antibody induction was found, however, when these two immunization regimens were compared. Mice primed with 81-104 in CFA developed significant serum antibody responses against the peptide, whereas mice primed with Ag-pulsed spleen cells produced no detectable anti-peptide antibodies. This lack of antibody did not result from detectable differences in the T cells that were primed: no differences were seen in IL-2 and IL-4 production or in the ability to provide help to B cells in vitro. In vitro stimulation with LPS suggested that the B cells were not primed by the Ag-pulsed spleen cells. The B cells were not tolerized, however, because boosting the mice with Ag in CFA resulted in the induction of an antibody response. The failure to induce an antibody response by priming with Ag-pulsed spleen cells was not caused by the site of immunization or the total amount of Ag used for priming. The critical variable may be the introduction of the Ag on the surface of an APC; in this form, B cell Ag recognition was apparently inefficient, whereas T cell Ag recognition was optimal.     

Linkage analysis of seven kindreds with the X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP) confirms that the XLP locus is near DXS42 and DXS37

Summary Analysis of seven kindreds indicates that the XLP locus exhibits 1% recombination with DXS42 (lod = 17.5) and no recombination with DXS37 (lod = 13.3).     

K+-evoked taurine efflux from cerebellar astrocytes: On the roles of Ca2+ and Na+

The ionic requirements for K⁺-evoked efflux of endogenous taurine from primary cerebellar astrocyte cultures were studied. The Ca²⁺ ionophore A23187 evoked taurine efflux in a dose-dependent fashion with a time-course identical to that of K⁺-induced efflux. The Ca²⁺-channel antagonist nifedipine had no effect upon efflux induced by 10 or 50 mM K⁺. In addition, verapamil did not antagonize 50 mM K⁺-evoked efflux except at high, non-pharmacological concentrations (>100 M), and preincubation with 2 M -conotoxin had no effect on 50 mM K⁺-evoked efflux. Similarly, preincubation with 1 mM ouabain had no effect on the amount of taurine released by K⁺ stimulation, but did accelerate the onset of efflux by 2–4 min. Although 2 M tetrodotoxin had no effect on K⁺-evoked release, replacing Na⁺ with choline abolished the taurine efflux seen in response to K⁺ stimulation. Together, these findings suggest that neuronal N- and L-type Ca²⁺- and voltage-dependent Na⁺-channels are not involved in the influx of Ca²⁺ which appears to be necessary for K⁺-evoked taurine efflux, and that in addition to Ca²⁺, extracellular Na⁺ is also required.     

Iron-induced lipid peroxidation and inhibition of dopamine synthesis in striatum synaptosomes

Crude striatum synaptosomes (P₂ fraction) from Fisher 344 female rats were incubated in the presence of ADP-chelated Fe³⁺ (0.5–50 M) and ascorbate (250 M). Intrasynaptosomal conversion of tyrosine to dopamine (DA) was measured by¹⁴CO₂ evolution froml-[1-¹⁴C]tyrosine in the absence of added cofactors and DOPA decarboxylase. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was measured as an index of lipid peroxidation. A concentration-dependent inhibition of DA synthesis by ADP-Fe³⁺/ascorbate was found with 50% inhibition occurring at 2.5 M Fe³⁺ concentration. This was accompanied by marked accumulation of MDA. Ascorbate or ADP alone did not affect DA synthesis and ADP-Fe³⁺ in the absence of exogenous ascorbate was effective only above 25 M. Exogenously added MDA did not inhibit DA synthesis. Purified synaptosomes were isolated from peroxidized and control P₂ fractions using sucrose gradients. Membrane microviscosity of the purifled synaptosomes was assessed by nitroxyl spin labels of stearic acid using electron paramagetic resonance techniques. There was a significant increase in membrane microviscosity as a result of ADP-Fe³⁺/ascorbate induced peroxidation. Maleimide nitroxide spin-label binding to protein sulhydryls was significantly modified by peroxidation of striatum synaptosomes. The weakly immobilized component of the sulhydryl spin-label (w) was drastically decreased whereas the strongly immobilized component (s) was modified less, thus leading to a marked reduction of w/s ratio. The exposure of striatum synaptosomes to the peroxidizing system resulted in a significant increase in total iron and in a 25% decrease in protein sulhydryl content. It is concluded that ironinduced damage to the DA synthetic system is mediated by alterations of the structural properties of nerve ending membranes.