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J D Clarke

Publications and source records attributed to J D Clarke.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Segmental repetition of neuronal phenotype sets in the chick embryo hindbrain.

The neurons within the segmented hindbrain of the early chick embryo have been mapped with the neuronal tracers HRP and fluorescent lysinated dextran. We have categorised neurons according to their axonal pathways and have then compared rhombomeres with respect to the number and class of neurons present. The results indicate that most rhombomeres are similar in that they contain the same set of basic neuronal types but differ in that particular neuronal types are more abundant in some rhombomeres than others. The data support the concept that the hindbrain develops according to 'variations on a segmental theme' rather than 'each segment is unique'. Many of the cell types occupy distinct mediolateral domains that are probably established by both the differential migration of some neuronal classes and the spatial segregation of distinct precursors. The caudal rhombomeres 7 and 8 are exceptional in that they do not have the full set of basic neuronal types and also contain two additional medial cell types that are not present rostrally. The mechanisms that may generate the regional diversity apparent in the more mature hindbrain are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

A study of the expression of laminin in the spinal cord of the frog during development and regeneration.

In the present experiments, we have used an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody to laminin to determine the time course of expression of laminin in the central nervous system (CNS) of Rana temporaria tadpoles during normal development and during restoration of the dorsal columns of the spinal cord. Immunoblotting analysis indicated that in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of adult frogs the antibody recognized proteins of molecular weights 350-400 and 205-220 kDa, corresponding to the A and B chains respectively of mammalian laminin. Immunohistochemistry with our antibody suggested that laminin was absent from the tadpole spinal cord, and did not appear even in the basal lamina of the blood vessels within the spinal cord until after metamorphosis. Furthermore, there was no evidence of laminin expression in the dorsal columns after hemisection of the spinal cord. However, throughout development laminin was present in basal lamina outside the CNS, in particular in the pial membranes, and in the basal lamina of blood vessels and sheath cells in the dorsal and ventral roots. Electron microscopy showed that the blood vessels of CNS capillaries had basal laminae throughout development that was morphologically indistinguishable from that seen in peripheral vessels.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Continuous growth of the motor system in the axolotl.

During growth of the axolotl, motor neurons, and muscle fibres are added to the motor system. By double labelling neurons with tritiated thymidine and retrogradely transported HRP, we show that some motor neurons are born at postembryonic stages. Further analysis of motor neurons with the aid of HRP reveals this population of newly born cells relatively frequently in small (5-7 cm long) axolotls, but only rarely in large (7-13 cm long) axolotls. Evidence is presented that suggests that these immature cells are in the process of migrating from close to the ependyma out to the ventral horn. HRP transport also reveals growth cones of advancing axons within spinal nerves in animals up to 6 cm in length. Cell counts by light and electron microscopic methods show that muscle fibres are generated throughout larval life in the iliotibialis, a typical limb muscle. This analysis provides data consistent with the notion that new muscle fibres are added from a localised growth zone situated at the superficial edge of the muscle. These results are discussed in terms of the correlation between continuous growth of the motor system and the ability of the axolotl to functionally repair lesions to the peripheral nervous system.

Ambystoma↗
PubMed1991

Neuroanatomical and functional analysis of neural tube formation in notochordless Xenopus embryos; laterality of the ventral spinal cord is lost.

Notochordless Xenopus embryos were produced by u.v. irradiation of the uncleaved fertilized egg. The spinal cords were examined using intermediate filament staining for glial cells, retrograde HRP staining for neuronal morphology and an anti-glycinergic antibody to reveal commissural cells and axons. The floorplate cells of the normal cord appear to be absent and their position along the ventral midline of the cord is occupied by motor neurones, Kolmer-Agduhr cells, radial glial cells and a ventrally placed marginal zone containing the longitudinal axons. Motor neurone number is reduced to 15% of control values, and the sensory extramedullary cell number is increased twentyfold. Commissural axons are still able to cross the ventral cord but do so at abnormal angles and some commissural axons continue to grow circumferentially up the contralateral side of the cord rather than turning to grow longitudinally. Extracellular electrophysiological recordings from motor axons reveal that the normal alternation of locomotor activity on the left and right side of the embryo is lost in notochordless animals. These results suggest that the notochord and/or the normal floor plate structure are important for the development of the laterality of spinal cord connections and may influence motor neurone proliferation or differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Retinoic acid causes abnormal development and segmental patterning of the anterior hindbrain in Xenopus embryos.

Retinoic acid is a very potent teratogen and has also been implicated as an endogenous developmental signalling molecule in vertebrate embryos. One of the regions of the embryo reliably affected by exogenously applied RA is the hindbrain. In this paper, we describe in detail the hindbrain of Xenopus laevis embryos briefly treated with various levels of RA at gastrula stages. Such treatments lead to development of embryos with loss of anterior structures. In addition, RA has a general effect on rhombomere morphology and specific effects on the development of the anterior rhombomeres. This effect is demonstrated using neurofilament antibodies, HRP staining and in situ hybridisation using a probe for expression of the Xenopus Krox-20 gene. Anatomically it is evident that the development of the hindbrain normally anterior to the otocyst (rhombomeres 1-4) is abnormal following RA treatment. Sensory and motor axons of cranial nerves V and VII form a single root and the peripheral paths of V and VII and IX and X are also abnormal, as is the more anterior location of the otocyst. These anatomical changes are accompanied by changes in the pattern of expression for the gene XKrox-20, which normally expresses in rhombomeres 3 and 5, but is found in a single band in the anterior hindbrain of treated embryos which standardly fail to generate the normal external segmental appearance. The results are discussed in terms of both the teratogenic and possible endogenous roles of RA during normal development of the central nervous system. We conclude that low doses of RA applied during gastrulation have specific effects on the anterior Xenopus hindbrain which appear to be evolutionarily conserved in the light of similar recent findings in zebrafish.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Heterogeneity in spinal radial glia demonstrated by intermediate filament expression and HRP labelling.

Considerable evidence indicates that radial glial cells play an active role in guiding growing neurites during development of the vertebrate CNS. In this paper we describe subpopulations of radial glial in the spinal cord of the axolotl. Amphibians maintain radial glia throughout life, and subpopulations are described using anatomical criteria following filling of individual cells with horseradish peroxidase and immunocytochemical staining with a range of intermediate filament antibodies. Radial glial cells in specific regions of the spinal cord stain with a range of antibodies specific to human keratins 8 and 18, and to glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP). Some of these antibodies show selective localized to specific regions of individual glial cell processes. Immunoblotting analysis indicates that two keratins are present in the axolotl CNS corresponding to the two earliest embryonic keratins of vertebrates, keratin 8 and 18. Comparisons of molecular weight indicate that these may correspond to keratins identified in Xenopus laevis, the genes of which have been cloned. Axolotl GFAP is also identified in Western blots and may be present in two forms of differing molecular weight. These results are discussed in terms of the likely role of radial glial cells, and comparisons are drawn between the keratin and GFAP types seen in the axolotl spinal cord and of those in other vertebrate groups.

Ambystoma↗
PubMed1990

Alpha 2-adrenergic receptors regulate Na(+)-H+ exchange via a cAMP-dependent mechanism.

The mechanism by which alpha 2-adrenergic receptors regulate Na(+)-H+ exchange activity in opossum kidney (OK) cells was studied. Because receptors linked to inhibition of adenylate cyclase, like alpha 2-receptors, also can interact with additional signaling mechanisms, we examined specifically the role of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) in the signaling pathway controlling Na(+)-H+ activity in OK cells. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), prostaglandin (PGE1), and forskolin, agents that stimulate cAMP production in these cells, inhibited the rate of amiloride-sensitive 22Na+ uptake by up to 40%. Epinephrine and UK 14304, acting through alpha 2-receptors, were able to reverse this inhibition of 22Na+ uptake to near-control levels and also attenuate PTH-, PGE1-, and forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation. Likewise, serotonin (5-HT) and SDZ21-009, acting through 5-HT1b receptors, could reverse inhibition of 22Na+ uptake and also attenuate stimulated cAMP accumulation. Neither epinephrine nor serotonin affected the rate of uninhibited 22Na+ uptake. Pertussis toxin pretreatment abolished the effects of alpha 2- and 5-HT1b receptors on both cAMP accumulation and 22Na+ uptake, suggesting that receptor-mediated inhibition of cAMP accumulation is involved in receptor modulation of Na(+)-H+ exchange activity. In contrast, epinephrine was not able to alter the inhibition of 22Na+ uptake mediated by the membrane-permeant cAMP analogues 8-bromo-cAMP and dibutyryl cAMP at any concentration of analogue that significantly inhibited 22Na+ uptake.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Regeneration of descending axons in the spinal cord of the axolotl.

Horseradish peroxidase was used to describe the positions and approximate numbers of neurones with axons that descend to the lumbar spinal cord in normal axolotls and axolotls whose spinal cord had been transected 3-23 months previously. Three to 4 months after the transection approximately 10% of the axons had grown across the cut and returned to the lumbar spinal cord whereas 23 months after the transection the number and distribution of these cells were approaching those of the controls.

Ambystoma↗
PubMed1987

Pathfinding by dorsal column axons in the spinal cord of the frog tadpole.

Sensory fibres from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) enter the spinal cord and run within a clearly defined ipsilateral pathway, the dorsal column, which lies in the dorsal funiculus. We have examined the characteristics of this pathway as a defined substrate for dorsal column axons in Rana temporaria tadpoles by rotating the thoracic spinal cord through 180 degrees from dorsal to ventral. Using HRP as a neuronal tracer we establish that many dorsal column axons from the hindlimb locate the ipsilateral or contralateral dorsal column pathway in the rotated cord. Other axons locate and grow caudally down the contralateral dorsal column returning to the lumbar region. Axons of the dorsal column never take an inappropriate pathway except at the transection sites where they negotiate abnormal routes to reach the contralateral or ipsilateral dorsal columns in normally positioned or rotated cord. The results demonstrate that the dorsal columns act as highly specific pathways for axons from DRG neurones but the axons' interactions with the pathway do not control the craniocaudal or left-right options for growth.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Stage-dependent restoration of sensory dorsal columns following spinal cord transection in anuran tadpoles.

In frogs sensory axons from the lumbar dorsal roots ascend in the dorsal column of the spinal cord to terminate in the medulla and cerebellum. The response of these axons to complete transection of the thoracic spinal cord has been analysed in Rana temporaria tadpoles at different stages of development. The presence and position of dorsal column axons were assessed by using the anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase or by electrophysiological methods. Before developmental stage VIII, dorsal column axons can grow across the transection and reach their normal areas of termination in the brainstem. Axons that do cross the transection follow their normal pathways. From stage VIII onwards this capacity for growth is largely lost. These results are discussed in terms of the relation between neurogenesis, axon growth and axonal regeneration.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1986

Persistent meal-associated rhythms in SCN-lesioned rats.

An experiment was conducted to determine whether meal-associated rhythms could be demonstrated to persist in SCN-lesioned rats. A previously used paradigm in which periods of deprivation were alternated with ad lib food availability was used. Evidence for persistent wheel-running and drinking rhythms was observed in SCN-lesioned rats. It was concluded that meal-associated rhythms are associated with an endogenous oscillator distinct from the SCN and that it may not entirely subservient to the SCN-based oscillator in intact rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Sensory physiology, anatomy and immunohistochemistry of Rohon-Beard neurones in embryos of Xenopus laevis.

Rohon-Beard neurones show substance P-like immunoactivity in their somas and in their centrally projecting axons. Peripherally, the morphology of their free nerve endings within the trunk skin has been shown using horseradish peroxidase staining. The excitation of Rohon-Beard neurones by natural and electrical stimulation of the skin has been examined using intracellular micro-electrodes in the late embryo of Xenopus laevis. Rohon-Beard cells are sensitive to transient, local indentation of the trunk skin, responding with one or a few impulses. They adapt rapidly to repeated stimulation. They can also be excited by a brief current pulse to the skin. They are not sensitive to slow indentation of the skin, nor are they excited by epithelial action potentials. The responses to skin stimulation are not abolished by a Ringer solution containing 12 mM-Mg2+ and only 0.5 mM-Ca2+. Intracellularly evoked action potentials in single Rohon-Beard cells are sometimes sufficient to evoke sustained episodes of fictive swimming. The results indicate that Rohon-Beard cells are responsible for detecting light touch stimuli to the embryo's body and for initiating swimming in response to this stimulus.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Interneurones in the Xenopus embryo spinal cord: sensory excitation and activity during swimming.

The dorsolateral spinal cord of embryonic Xenopus laevis has previously been shown to contain two anatomical classes of interneurones with dendrites in the dorsal tract where they could be contacted by the central axons of Rohon-Beard cells (Roberts & Clarke, 1982). The activity of these neurones within the dorsolateral spinal cord has been examined using intracellular micro-electrodes. Following electrical stimulation of Rohon-Beard neurites within the ipsilateral skin, dorsolateral neurones receive a short-latency, compound, excitatory post-synaptic potential (e.p.s.p.). The amplitude of the e.p.s.p. depends upon the number of Rohon-Beard cells stimulated. The e.p.s.p. consists of early and later components. The early components may result from monosynaptic connexions from Rohon-Beard cells, the later components from some unidentified interposed neurones. During episodes of fictive swimming the dorsolateral neurones are inhibited by rhythmic inhibitory post-synaptic potentials. Following Rohon-Beard neurite stimulation, neurones in the contralateral spinal cord receive e.p.s.p.s. These contralateral e.p.s.p.s are probably one of the post-synaptic effects of one of the dorsolateral neurone classes. The results suggest that the dorsolateral neurones are responsible for amplifying and distributing the primary afferent signals of Rohon-Beard cells, and may be involved in the initiation of swimming and reflex movements.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Activity of commissural interneurons in spinal cord of Xenopus embryos.

Horseradish peroxidase- (HRP) filled microelectrodes have been used to examine the anatomy and physiology of "commissural interneurons," a morphologically defined class of spinal cord interneuron in Xenopus laevis embryos. Commissural interneurons have unipolar cell bodies in the dorsal half of the spinal cord. Their dendrites lie in the mid to ventral parts of the lateral tracts and their axons cross the cord ventrally, T branch, and ascend and descend on the opposite side of the cord. Recordings were made from animals immobilized in tubocurarine and responding to natural stimulation with three patterns of fictive motor activity. During episodes of fictive swimming, commissural interneurons are phasically excited to fire 1 spike/cycle in phase with motor discharge on the same side and receive a midcycle inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) in phase with motor discharge on the opposite side. Rhythmic activity is superimposed on a background depolarization. During periods of synchrony, phasic excitatory input doubles in frequency so that cells fire with half the swimming cycle period. The background depolarization is generally stronger than during swimming. During periods of fictive struggling, evoked by electrical stimulation of the skin, commissural interneurons fire a burst of spikes per cycle, cells being relatively hyperpolarized when motoneurons on the opposite side are active. In response to ipsilateral skin stimulation, some cells receive an IPSP at a latency of 12-20 ms. This precedes the onset of fictive locomotion. We discuss how anatomy and activity of commissural interneurons is suitable for a reciprocal inhibitory role.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Evidence for a separate meal-associated oscillator in the rat.

Three experiments were conducted to explore the relationship between food availability and the wheel running activity rhythms of intact rats. In two experiments re-entrainment when meal times were changed was studied. The rats showed an increase in activity immediately prior to a regular feeding time and this increase was more rapid when rats had been fed at that time in an earlier condition. Some evidence of transients at a former meal time was observed when the meal time was shifted to later in the day, but not when the meal time was shifted to earlier in the day. This led to the hypothesis that ad lib feeding masks rather than abolishes meal-entrained activity. In a third experiment, therefore, rats were entrained to a daily meal under a light-dark (LD) cycle, then placed in constant dark (DD) on ad lib food with occasional periods of deprivation. A burst of activity associated with the former meal time occurred during the deprivation period, but not during ad lib periods; it returned during subsequent deprivation. It is concluded that meal feeding entrains a separate oscillator with a period different from the oscillator entrained by the LD cycle.

Animals↗