Effect of GABAergic blockade on light responses of frog retinal ganglion cells

The effect of GABAergic blockade by picrotoxin on ganglion cells (GC) activity was investigated in perfused dark adapted eyecups of frog (Rana ridibunda). PT had diverse effects on the light responses of GC in contrast to its uniform potentiating effect on the amplitude of the ERG b- and d-wave. In some (n=32) of PT-sensitive ON-OFF GC the ON and OFF responses were changed in a similar manner (both responses were potentiated or both were inhibited), but in the other (n=10) the both responses were changed in a different manner. PT influenced differentially the activity of OFF GC (n=17) as well. It not only potentiated or inhibited their light responses, but changed also the temporal characteristics of the responses. Some tonic cells became phasic ones and in some phasic cells a late component appeared under the influence of PT. In some cases (n=4) the GABAergic blockade changed the apparent cell's type, because of appearance of a new type of response (ON or OFF) non-existing before the blockade. Our results indicate that the GABAergic interneurons are involved in different networks in the inner plexiform layer of frog retina.     

A Retinal Ganglion Cell Neurotrophic Factor Purified from the Superior Colliculus

Dissociated neonatal rat retinal ganglion cells can be maintained by the addition of an extract from the neonatal superior colliculus. This extract can support 95% of ganglion cells over 24 h in culture; in addition it promotes the expression of neurites from these cells. This report describes the purification of a neurotrophic factor from the superior colliculus which supports the survival of 80% of retinal ganglion cells over 24 h in vitro. The purification procedure involves a combination of dye-ligand, anion-exchange, and molecular sieve chromatography. The purified neurotrophic factor has a Stokes radius of approximately 200 A using molecular sieve chromatography in the presence of a chaotropic agent. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the purified factor indicates that it is a glycoprotein that migrates with a molecular mass greater than 400 kDa. Further characterization of this high-molecular-mass glycoprotein by enzymatic digestion demonstrated that it is a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan. This factor is clearly distinguishable from other neurotrophic factors that have an effect on retinal ganglion cells such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and fibroblast growth factor. The chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan from the neonatal superior colliculus is the first proteoglycan to be identified as a neurotrophic factor.     

川芎嗪对蟾蜍交感神经节细胞膜嘌呤受体介导反应的调制作用

采用细胞外微电极技术,记录离体灌流的蟾蜍椎旁交感神经节细胞膜电位,观察川芎嗪对嘌呤受体介导反应的调制作用。三磷酸腺苷（３００μｍｏｌ／Ｌ）可引起神经节细胞膜去极化（ｎ＝６２）、超极化反应（ｎ＝２７）以及去极化之后伴随超极化过程的双相反应（ｎ＝９）。Ｐ２受体拮抗剂台盼蓝（５００μｍｏｌ／Ｌ）可抑制三磷酸腺苷的去极化反应（ｎ＝８）;Ｐ１受体拮抗剂氨茶碱（２００μｍｏｌ／Ｌ）可抑制三磷酸腺苷的超极化反应（ｎ＝７）。滴加川芎嗪（１～５ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ）,神经节细胞膜未出现明显的电位变化。外源性环－磷酸腺苷（２５０μｍｏｌ／Ｌ）可模拟三磷酸腺苷的超极化反应（ｎ＝９）。川芎嗪（３ｍｍｏｌ／Ｌ）可抑制三磷酸腺苷的去极化反应,使其幅值减少５３９±９５％（ｎ＝１４,Ｐ＜００１）,并能加强三磷酸腺苷所致超极化反应,使其幅值增大１０５４±２４５％（ｎ＝１２,Ｐ＜００１）。在同一标本上,川芎嗪使环一磷酸腺苷的超极化反应加强（ｎ＝４）。此外,川芎嗪可抑制三磷酸腺苷引起的双相反应中的去极相,而增大其后的超极相（ｎ＝３）。     

Technique du ganglion sentinelle dans le cancer de la prostate

Urological interest of sentinel lymph node procedure in prostate cancer, and methods, both are presented in conformity with the presentation of action concertée en medecine nucléaire (ACOMEN).     

Regeneration of Cholinesterases in the Stellate and Normal and Denervated Superior Cervical Ganglia of the Cat Following Inactivation by Sarin

Abstract: Experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that ganglionic butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) is derived from acetylcholinesterase (AChE). At 5 to 8 days following preganglionic denervation of the right superior cervical ganglion (SCG), cats were given sarin, 2.0 μmol/kg, i.v. At intervals of 1 h and 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, and 22 days later, they were killed, and the AChE and BuChE contents of both SCG and both stellate ganglia (StG) were assayed. The regeneration of AChE in the normal ganglia occurred in two phases: an initial rapid phase, to 25-40% of control activity in 1 day, and a slow phase, to approximately 70% of control activity in 22 days. BuChE reached approximately 85% of control activity in normal SCG and StG at 22 days. In the denervated SCG, AChE activity reached a maximum of approximately 17% of normal at 1 day, the value prior to the administration of sarin, and did not increase appreciably above this subsequently. BuChE activity in the denervated SCG reached approximately 50% of normal ganglia at 22 days. At each interval, its activity approached 55% of that of the contralateral normal SCG, the value found in the denervated SCG prior to the administration of sarin. Hence, the regeneration of BuChE appears to be independent of the presence of AChE in the neuropil. The origin of ganglionic BuChE remains obscure.     

Étude de faisabilité du ganglion sentinelle dans le cancer de la prostate par cœlioscopie : premiers résultats

Objectives

The standard lymphadenectomy is currently a challenge in the management of prostate cancer. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the performance of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) by laparoscopy in patients with localized prostate cancer, candidates for local treatment.

Patients and methods

Patients were injected transrectal ultrasound-guided with 0.3 mL/100MBq 99^mTc-Sulfur rhenium colloid in each prostatic lobe, the day before surgery. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed after 2 hours. The detection was realized intraoperatively with a laparoscopic probe (Gamma Sup Clerad^®) followed by extensive dissection. Counts of SLN were performed in vivo and confirmed ex vivo. The histological analysis was performed by HPS staining and followed by immunochemistry if SLN was free.

Results

Seventy patients with carcinoma of the prostate at intermediate or high risk of lymph node metastases (D’Amico), PSA median 9.5 ng/mL [6–130], were included in the study. The lymphoscintigraphic detection rate was 94.2% (66/70) and intraoperative of 97.0% (68/70). Fourteen patients had lymph node metastases, six only in SLN. The false negative rate was 2/14 (14.0%). The internal iliac region is the first metastatic site (40.9%). Limited or standard lymph node dissection would have ignored respectively 72.7% and 59.0% of lymph node metastases.

Conclusion

The laparoscopy is adapted to a broad identification of SLN and targeted dissection of these lymph nodes significantly limits the risk of surgical extended dissection while maintaining the accuracy of the information.     

Differential expression of sodium channel β subunits in dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons

The small-diameter (<25 μm) and large-diameter (>30 μm) sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) express distinct combinations of tetrodotoxin sensitive and tetrodotoxin-resistant Na(+) channels that underlie the unique electrical properties of these neurons. In vivo, these Na(+) channels are formed as complexes of pore-forming α and auxiliary β subunits. The goal of this study was to investigate the expression of β subunits in DRG sensory neurons. Quantitative single-cell RT-PCR revealed that β subunit mRNA is differentially expressed in small (β(2) and β(3)) and large (β(1) and β(2)) DRG neurons. This raises the possibility that β subunit availability and Na(+) channel composition and functional regulation may differ in these subpopulations of sensory neurons. To further explore these possibilities, we quantitatively compared the mRNA expression of the β subunit with that of Na(v)1.7, a TTX-sensitive Na(+) channel widely expressed in both small and large DRG neurons. Na(v)1.7 and β subunit mRNAs were significantly correlated in small (β(2) and β(3)) and large (β(1) and β(2)) DRG neurons, indicating that these subunits are coexpressed in the same populations. Co-immunoprecipitation and immunocytochemistry indicated that Na(v)1.7 formed stable complexes with the β(1)-β(3) subunits in vivo and that Na(v)1.7 and β(3) co-localized within the plasma membranes of small DRG neurons. Heterologous expression studies showed that β(3) induced a hyperpolarizing shift in Na(v)1.7 activation, whereas β(1) produced a depolarizing shift in inactivation and faster recovery. The data indicate that β(3) and β(1) subunits are preferentially expressed in small and large DRG neurons, respectively, and that these auxiliary subunits differentially regulate the gating properties of Na(v)1.7 channels.     

Visual influences on primate encephalization

Primates differ from most other mammals in having relatively large brains. As a result, numerous comparative studies have attempted to identify the selective variables influencing primate encephalization. However, none have examined the effect of the total amount of visual input on relative brain size. According to Jerison's principle of proper mass, functional areas of the brain devoted primarily to processing visual information should exhibit increases in size when the amount of visual input to those areas increases. As a result, the total amount of visual input to the brain could exert a large influence on encephalization because visual areas comprise a large proportion of total brain mass in primates. The goal of this analysis is to test the expectation of a direct relationship between visual input and encephalization using optic foramen size and optic nerve size as proxies for total visual input. Data were collected for a large comparative sample of primates and carnivorans, and three primary analyses were undertaken. First, the relationship between relative proxies for visual input and relative endocranial volume were examined using partial correlations and phylogenetic comparative methods. Second, to examine the generality of the results derived for extant primates, a parallel series of partial correlation and comparative analyses were undertaken using data for carnivorans. Third, data for various Eocene and Oligocene primates were compared with those for living primates in order to determine whether the fossil taxa demonstrate a similar relationship between relative brain size and visual input. All three analyses confirm the expectations of proper mass and favor the conclusion that the amount of visual input has been a major influence on the evolution of relative brain size in both primates and carnivorans. Furthermore, this study suggests that differences in visual input may partly explain (1) the high encephalization of primates relative to the primitive eutherian condition, (2) the high encephalization of extant anthropoids relative to other primates, and (3) the very low encephalization of Eocene adapiforms.     

Über die Ultrastruktur des „Nervus opticus“ und des Ganglion opticum I von Daphnia pulex

Zusammenfassung Die Opticusfasern (Neuriten der Rezeptorzellen) und das Ganglion opticum I von Daphnia pulex wurden elektronenmikroskopisch untersucht. Die 8 Neuriten jeweils eines Ommatidiums werden in einem Bündel zusammengefaßt, in dem die Neuriten nur unvollständig von einem Gliafortsatz umhüllt sind, das Bündel jedoch vollständig von einer Basalmembran bedeckt ist. Die Neuriten weisen quervernetzte Mikrotubuli auf. In der Peripherie des Ganglion opticum liegen große und kleine unipolare Nervenzellen, deren Fortsätze ins zentrale Neuropil ziehen, wo sie u.a. synaptische Kontakte mit den Neuriten bilden. Es werden 3 Formen von Synapsen beschrieben: 1. eine bisher nicht beschriebene Synapsenform, 2. Synapsen von gewöhnlichem Typ und 3. Ribbon Synapsen. Die peripher gelegenen Gliazellen umhüllen die Nervenzellen und senden lamelläre Fortsätze in das Neuropil, wo sie sich den benachbarten Zellelementen derart anpassen, daß der extrazelluläre Raum zu einem System von Interzellularfugen eingeengt wird. Außer den beschriebenen Zellformen kommen weniger häufig neurosekretorische Nervenzellen vor, deren Fortsätze an der Ganglionoberfläche nur von Basalmembranen bedeckt sind. Ferner sind selten multipolare Ganglienzellen zu finden.

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On the ultrastructure of the optic nerve and the ganglion opticum I of Daphnia pulex

Summary Optical fibres (neurites of receptor cells) and ganglion opticum I of Daphnia pulex were studied electron microscopically. The 8 neurites of each ommatidium are bundled by a complete wrapping of basement membrane, while each neurite is incompletely enveloped by a glial process. The neurites contain transversally interconnected microtubules. Processes of large and small unipolar nerve cells situated at the periphery of the ganglion reach the central neuropile, where they establish synaptic contacts, f.i., with optical fibres. 3 types of synapses occur: 1. one type of synapse which has not yet been described, 2. synapses of the usual type, 3. ribbon synapses. Glial cells situated peripherally in the ganglion envelope the nerve cells. Their lamellar processes projecting into the neuropile adapt their surfaces to all neighboring elements so that the extracellular space is reduced to a labyrinth of narrow intercellular clefts. The number of multipolar ganglion cells and neurosecretory elements is relatively small. The processes of neurosecretory cells contact the surface of the ganglion where they are covered by a basement membrane.