Effects of α2-Adrenergic Agonists and Antagonists on Photoreceptor Membrane Currents

Type B photoreceptors of the nudibranch mollusc Hermissenda crassicornis receive excitatory synaptic potentials (EPSPs) whose frequency is controlled by potential changes of a neighboring cell known as the S optic ganglion cell which is thought to be electrically coupled to the presynaptic source of these EPSPs, the E optic ganglion cell. The frequency of the EPSPs increases when a conditioned stimulus (light) is paired with an unconditioned stimulus (rotation) during acquisition of a Pavlovian conditioned response. The results of the present study are consistent with an adrenergic origin for these EPSPs. Noradrenergic agonists (greater than 100 microM), norepinephrine and clonidine, only slightly depolarize the type B cell but clearly prolong its depolarizing response to light. Serotonin, by contrast, causes hyperpolarization of the type B cell's resting potential as well as after a light step. Clonidine reduces voltage-dependent outward K+ currents (IA, an early current, ICa2+-K+, a late Ca2+-dependent current) that control the type B cell's excitability (and thus its light response and membrane potential). These effects of clonidine are reduced or blocked by the alpha 2-receptor antagonist, yohimbine (0.5 microM), but not the alpha 1-blocker, prazosin. The same yohimbine concentration also blocked depolarizing synaptic excitation of the type B cell in response to depolarization of a simultaneously impaled S optic ganglion cell. Histochemical techniques (both the glyoxylic acid method of de la Torre and Surgeon and the formaldehyde-induced fluorescence or Falck-Hillarp method) demonstrated the presence of a biogenic amine(s) within a single neuron in each optic ganglion as well as three or four cells within the vicinity of previously identified visual interneurons. No serotonergic neurons were found within the optic ganglion or in proximity to visual interneurons. A clonidine-like synaptic effect on type B cells, therefore, could amplify conditioning-specific changes of membrane currents by increasing type B depolarization and possibly, as well, by elevating intracellular second messengers.     

Accelerating the convergence of the back-propagation method

The utility of the back-propagation method in establishing suitable weights in a distributed adaptive network has been demonstrated repeatedly. Unfortunately, in many applications, the number of iterations required before convergence can be large. Modifications to the back-propagation algorithm described by Rumelhart et al. (1986) can greatly accelerate convergence. The modifications consist of three changes:1) instead of updating the network weights after each pattern is presented to the network, the network is updated only after the entire repertoire of patterns to be learned has been presented to the network, at which time the algebraic sums of all the weight changes are applied:2) instead of keeping , the learning rate (i.e., the multiplier on the step size) constant, it is varied dynamically so that the algorithm utilizes a near-optimum , as determined by the local optimization topography; and3) the momentum factor is set to zero when, as signified by a failure of a step to reduce the total error, the information inherent in prior steps is more likely to be misleading than beneficial. Only after the network takes a useful step, i.e., one that reduces the total error, does again assume a non-zero value. Considering the selection of weights in neural nets as a problem in classical nonlinear optimization theory, the rationale for algorithms seeking only those weights that produce the globally minimum error is reviewed and rejected.     

Sequential modification of membrane currents with classical conditioning

Pavlovian conditioning of the nudibranch mollusc Hermissenda crassicornis was previously shown to produce long-lasting reduction of two K+ currents measured across the Type B photoreceptor soma membrane (Alkon et al., 1982a; Alkon et al., 1985). Pavlovian conditioning of the rabbit was also shown to be followed by persistent K+ current reduction (Disterhoft et al., 1986). Here we report the first evidence that Ca2+ currents can also be modified by conditioning. The amplitude of the currents rather than their voltage-dependence remains reduced at least 1-2 d after conditioning (but not control procedures). Conditioning-induced changes of both K+ and Ca2+ currents increased as a function of training, the Ca2+ currents only changing substantially with greater than or equal to 250 trials. The later changes of the Ca2+ current may function to limit the magnitude of excitability increases due to associative learning.     

Ca2+/Diacylglycerol-Activated, Phospholipid-Dependent Protein Kinase in the Hermissenda CNS

In mammalian systems, Ca2+/diacylglycerol-activated phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (C-kinase) appears to play an important role in regulating physiological responses that outlast the transient rise in cytosolic Ca2+. Electrophysiological experiments in neurons of the nudibranch mollusc, Hermissenda crassicornis, have suggested a role for C-kinase in the long-lasting reductions in early and late K+ currents that have been observed following associative learning. Accordingly, we have investigated the catalytic properties of C-kinase in Hermissenda CNS. Following homogenization in Ca2+-free buffer, C-kinase can be separated from Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase by centrifugation; C-kinase activity is found in the supernatant whereas essentially all of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase is found in the membrane fraction. Addition of Ca2+, phosphatidylserine, and diacylglycerol to the cytosol results in phosphorylation of at least eight endogenous proteins. The Hermissenda CNS C-kinase can also phosphorylate lysine-rich histone, a substrate for mammalian C-kinase. The molluscan enzyme exhibits phospholipid specificity in that phosphatidylserine is much more effective than phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidic acid. Addition of diacylglycerol, in the presence of Ca2+ and phosphatidylserine, increases the activity of the C-kinase. The percentage of activation by diacylglycerol is larger at lower Ca2+ concentrations. Enzyme activity is inhibited by trifluoperazine and polymixin B sulfate. These studies indicate that the Hermissenda C-kinase is catalytically similar to mammalian C-kinase.     

Calcium activates and inactivates a photoreceptor soma potassium current.

Light-induced currents were measured with a two-microelectrode voltage clamp of type B photoreceptor somata, which had been isolated by axotomy from all synaptic interactions as well as from all membranes capable of generating impulse activity. In artificial seawater (ASW), light elicited a transient early inward current, INa+, which depended on Na+o and had a linear current-voltage relation and an extrapolated reversal potential of 30-40 mV (absolute). In 0-Na+ ASW, light elicited a transient short-latency outward current that dependent on K+o, increased exponentially with more positive voltages (greater than or equal to -40 mV), and reversed at -70 to -75 mV. This outward current was not blocked by Ca++ channel blockers (e.g., Cd++, Co++) or substitution of Ba++o, for Ca++o, but was reduced by iontophoretic injection of EGTA. In both ASW and 0-Na+ ASW, light also elicited a delayed, apparently inward current, which was associated with a decreased conductance, depended on K+o, increased exponentially with more positive voltages (greater than or equal to -40 mV), reversed at the equilibrium potential for K+ flux in elevated K+o was eliminated by substitution of Ba++o for Ca++o, and was greatly reduced by Cd++o or Co++o. Thus, light elicited an early Ca++-dependent K+ current, IC, and a prolonged decrease of IC. Iontophoretic injection of Ca++ through a third microelectrode caused prolonged reduction of both IC and the light-induced decrease of IC, but did not alter ICa++ or the current-voltage relation of IC. Ruthenium red (1 microM) in the external medium caused a prolongation of the light-induced decrease of IC. Iontophoretic injection of EGTA often eliminated the light-induced IC decrease while decreasing peak IC (during depolarizing steps to -5 or 0 mV) by less than one-half. EGTA injection, on the average, did not affect steady state IC but reduced the light-induced decrease of steady state IC to approximately one-third of its original magnitude. The prolonged IC decrease, elicited by dim light in the absence of light-induced IC or INa+, was more completely eliminated by EGTA injection. It was concluded that light, in addition to inducing a transient inward Na+ current, causes both a transient increase and a prolonged decrease of IC via elevation of Ca++i.     

Voltage-dependent calcium and calcium-activated potassium currents of a molluscan photoreceptor

Two-microelectrode voltage clamp studies were performed on the somata of Hermissenda Type B photoreceptors that had been isolated by axotomy from all synaptic interaction as well as any impulse-generating (i.e., active) membrane. In the presence of 2-10 mM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and 100 mM tetraethylammonium ion (TEA), which eliminated two previously described voltage-dependent potassium currents (IA and the delayed rectifier), a voltage-dependent outward current was apparent in the steady state responses to command voltage steps more positive than -40 mV (absolute). This current increased with increasing external Ca++. The magnitude of the outward current decreased and an inward current became apparent following EGTA injection. Substitution of external Ba++ for Ca++ also made the inward current more apparent. This inward current, which was almost eliminated after being exposed for approximately 5 min to a solution in which external Ca++ was replaced with Cd++, was maximally activated at approximately 0 mV. Elevation of external potassium allowed the calcium (ICa++) and calcium-dependent K+ (IC) currents to be substantially separated. Command pulses to 0 mV elicited maximal ICa++ but no IC because no K+ currents flowed at their new reversal potential (0 mV) in 300 mM K+. At a holding potential of -60 mV, which was now more negative than the potassium equilibrium potential, EK+, in 300 mM K+, IC appeared as an inward tail current after positive command steps. The voltage dependence of ICa++ was demonstrated with positive steps in 100 mM Ba++, 4-AP, and TEA. Other data indicated that in 10 mM Ca++, IC underwent pronounced and prolonged inactivation whereas ICa++ did not. When the photoreceptor was stimulated with a light step (with the membrane potential held at -60 mV), there was also a prolonged inactivation of IC. In elevated external Ca++, ICa++ also showed similar inactivation. These data suggest that IC may undergo prolonged inactivation due to a direct effect of elevated intracellular Ca++, as was previously shown for a voltage-dependent potassium current, IA. These results are discussed in relation to the production of training-induced changes of membrane currents on retention days of associative learning.     

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), Interferon-γ, and Interleukin-6 but Not TNF-β Induce Differentiation of Neuroblastoma Cells: The Role of Nitric Oxide

Abstract: Tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-7), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), but not TNF-β, can induce the in vitro differentiation of the neuroblastoma cell line N103 in a dose-dependent manner. Differentiation of N103 was accompanied by the arrest of cell growth and neurite formation. The induction of neuroblastoma cell differentiation by TNF-α and IFN-γ can be specifically inhibited by a nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor, l -N^G-monomethylarginine. In contrast, the differentiation of N103 cells by IL-6 was not affected by l -N^G-monomethylarginine. These results indicate that TNF-α and IFN-γ, but not IL-6, induce the differentiation of neuroblastoma cells via NO. This is confirmed by the finding that the culture super- natants of N103 cells induced by TNF-α and IFN-γ, but not that by IL-6, contained high levels of NO₂⁻, the production of which was inhibited by l - N ^G-monomethylarginine. Furthermore, the differentiation of N103 cells can be induced directly in a dose-dependent manner by the addition of nitroprusside, a generator of NO, into the culture medium. These data therefore indicate that NO may be an important mediator in the induction of neuronal cell differentiation by certain cytokines such as TNF-α and IFN-γ and that neuronal cells, in addition to the macrophagelike brain cells, can be induced by immunological stimuli to produce large quantities of NO.     

Reconstruction of ionic currents in a molluscan photoreceptor.

Two-microelectrode voltage-clamp measurements were made to determine the kinetics and voltage dependence of ionic currents across the soma membrane of the Hermissenda type B photoreceptor. The voltage-dependent outward potassium currents, IA and ICa(2+)-K+, the inward voltage-dependent calcium current, ICa2+ and the light-induced current, IIgt, were then described with Hodgkin-Huxley-type equations. The fast-activating and inactivating potassium current, IA, was described by the equation; IA(t) = gA(max)(ma infinity[1-exp(-t/tau ma)])3 x (ha infinity [1-exp(-t/tau ha)] + exp(-t/tau ha)) (Vm-EK), where the parameters ma infinity, ha infinity, tau ma, and tau ha are functions of membrane potential, Vm, and ma infinity and ha infinity are steady-state activation and inactivation parameters. Similarly, the calcium-dependent outward potassium current, ICa(2+)-K+, was described by the equation, ICa(2+)-K+ (t) = gc(max)(mc infinity(VC)(1-exp[-t/tau mc (VC)]))pc (hc infinity(VC) [1-exp(-t/tau hc)] + exp(-t/tau hc(VC)])pc(VC-EK). In high external potassium, ICa(2+)-K+ could be measured in approximate isolation from other currents as a voltage-dependent inward tail current following a depolarizing command pulse from a holding potential of -60 mV. A voltage-dependent inward calcium current across the type B soma membrane, ICa2+, activated rapidly, showed little inactivation, and was described by the equation: ICa2+ = gCa(max) [1 + exp](-Vm-5)/7]-1 (Vm-ECa), where gCa(max) was 0.5 microS. The light-induced current with both fast and slow phases was described by: IIgt(t) = IIgt1 + IIgt2 + IIgt3, IIgti = gIgti [1-exp(- ton/tau mi)] exp(-ton/tau hi)(Vm-EIgti) (i = 1, 2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Different ionic conductances are modulated during the late receptor potential and the prolonged depolarizing afterpotential in Hermissenda type A photoreceptors

Wavelength-dependent, bistable phenomena were found in the receptor potential of Hermissenda crassicornis type A photoreceptors. Short exposure to blue light induced a prolonged depolarizing afterpotential (PDA) following the cessation of the light stimulus. Stronger adaptation to blue light, as caused by prolonged exposure and/or high intensity stimulation, effected a reduction in the early depolarizing transient of the late receptor potential (LRP) as elicited by subsequent stimuli. Vast separation of LRP emergence and PDA emergence could be obtained in photoreceptors in which a strong cancellation of the LRP was accomplished but a PDA still emerged after cessation of the light stimulus. Short exposure to yellow light cancelled the PDA, and stronger adaptation restored the LRP (opposite effect to blue light). The initial depolarizing part of the LRP had earlier been demonstrated to be mediated by the lightdependent increase of an inward conductance. In contrast, in this study the PDA was found to be accompanied by the reduction of an outward conductance, most likely a K⁺ conductance. A bistable photopigment system is thought to control the bistable receptor potential phenomenology by regulating the different membrane conductances during the LRP and the PDA.Abbreviations LRP late receptor potential - PDA prolonged depolarizing afterpotential - PHA prolonged hyperpolarizing afterpotential