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Entorhinal cortex lesion or intrahippocampal colchicine injection increases peripheral type benzodiazepine binding sites in rat hippocampus.

The peripheral type benzodiazepine binding site (PTBBS) has been proposed to be a good marker for reactive glial cells following brain insults. In the present study, homogenate binding of 3H-Ro5-4864 and quantitative autoradiography of 3H-PK-11195 binding (two ligands for the PTBBS) were used to assess the distribution, time-course and extent of reactive gliosis in the hippocampus following deafferentation by unilateral entorhinal cortex lesion or neuronal death produced by intrahippocampal colchicine injection. Intrahippocampal colchicine injections produced a 3-fold increase in 3H-Ro5-4864 binding in the dentate gyrus within 2 days. This effect was doubled in animals pretreated with the lysosomal inhibitor chloroquine. Quantitative autoradiography of 3H-PK-11195 binding 1 or 2 weeks after colchicine injection indicated that the increase in binding was restricted to the dorsal hippocampus both rostrally and caudally and was present in the dentate gyrus and CA1. Following a unilateral electrolytic lesion of the entorhinal cortex, the binding of 3H-Ro5-4864 to homogenates of the dentate gyrus was doubled 18 h after the lesion, reached a maximum at 4 days post-lesion, and returned to control values by 2 months after the lesion. A transient increase in binding was also observed 2 and 4 days post-lesion in the dentate gyrus contralateral to the lesion side. Autoradiography of 3H-PK-11195 binding indicated that the increase in PTBBS following entorhinal cortex lesion was restricted to the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Transgenic mice expressing the human presenilin 1 gene demonstrate enhanced hippocampal reorganization following entorhinal cortex lesions.

We have examined the effects of the presence of the mutated human presenilin 1 gene (M146L; hps1*) on lesion-induced sprouting in the hippocampus of the mouse (C57/CBA). The entorhinal cortex was unilaterally lesioned with ibotenic acid in adult, male mice. Four weeks later the subsequent axonal sprouting in the dentate gyrus was analysed, by measuring the density of the synaptophysin immunocytochemical staining in the termination area of the entorhinal cortex axons. The data demonstrate that mice expressing either the human presenilin 1 gene (hps1) or the hps1* gene display a significantly increased density of immunocytochemical staining for synaptophysin, indicative of axonal sprouting, compared to the control mice. No (or a very small) sprouting response is observed in mice expressing the normal mouse ps1 gene. Taken together, these data indicate that the presence of a human ps1 gene, normal or with an Alzheimer's disease mutation, leads to enhanced plasticity in the mouse brain.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

Prenatal methotrexate exposure delays onset of low Mg(2+)-induced epileptiform discharges in the entorhinal cortex.

We determined the effects of prenatal exposure to DNA synthesis inhibitor methotrexate (MTX) on: (a) the susceptibility to low Mg(2+)-induced epileptiform activity in deep layers (IV-V) of medial entorhinal cortex in vitro; and (b) neuronal counts in this area. Low Mg(2+)-induced discharges developed significantly later in slices from prenatally MTX-exposed rats than in control slices. Neuronal counts were increased in the layer V of medial entorhinal cortex of prenatally MTX-exposed rats. Results indicate that: (a) MTX-induced prenatal brain DNA impairment is antiepileptogenic; and (b) simple increases in neuronal numbers may not be associated with epileptogenic effects.

Animals↗

Synchronous potentials and elevations in [K+]o in the adult rat entorhinal cortex maintained in vitro.

Extracellular field-potential recordings and measurements of the extracellular concentration of potassium ([K+]o) were made in layers II and III of the adult rat entorhinal cortex in a slice preparation. Two types of spontaneous, synchronous potentials were induced by the convulsant drug 4-aminopyridine (4AP, 50 microM). The first type was seen in all slices (n = 19) and consisted of a negative-going field potential that lasted 0.5-3.5 s and occurred at rates of 0.013-0.13 Hz. This event was accompanied by an elevation in [K+]o that attained peak values of 4.0-7.6 mM. The second type was reminiscent of ictal epileptiform discharges and was recorded in 6 of 19 slices; it lasted 21-190 s, recurred at 0.001-0.003 Hz and was associated with [K+]o increases that had peak values of 14-17 mM. Whenever such an ictal discharge occurred, it was closely preceded and thus appeared to be initiated by the first type of field potential. Perfusion with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist (+/-)-3-(2-carboxy-piperazine-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonate (CPP; 10 microM) abolished the ictal discharge (n = 4). This pharmacological procedure did not abolish the negative-going potentials that continued to occur during further application of the non-NMDA antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX; 10 microM; n = 4). These glutamatergic-independent potentials were, however, blocked by the GABBAA-receptor antagonist bicuculline methiodide (10 microM, n= 3). Thus, as in hippocampus, 4AP can induce in the entorhinal cortex a synchronous GABA-mediated potential that is resistant to excitatory amino acid antagonists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

4-Aminopyridine↗

Effects of postoperative housing conditions on functional recovery in rats with lesions of the hippocampus, subiculum, or entorhinal cortex.

In order to study the effects of differential housing conditions on recovery from damage to different components of the hippocampal formation, 85 rats received bilateral lesions of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, or subiculum or sham surgery and then were housed for 30 days in either an enriched environment or an impoverished environment. Rats were subsequently tested on a battery of tasks for assessing locomotor activity in their home cage, reactivity to novelty, spatial working and reference memory in the Morris water maze, and learning in the Hebb-Williams maze. Rats with the hippocampus removed showed impairments in most of the tasks we used (home-cage and novelty-induced locomotor activity, water maze, and Hebb-Williams maze). Most of the deficits induced by lesions to the entorhinal cortex were similar to those induced by the removal of the hippocampus. Some differences appear to be among the deficits induced by the lesions of these structures when assessing the home-cage locomotor activity, the reactions to novelty, and one aspect of the Hebb-Williams maze learning. Lesions to the subiculum induced only an impairment in the probe trial of the water-maze task. Confirming and extending previous findings in rats with various (but nonexcitotoxic) lesions of the hippocampus, an enriched environment had a beneficial effect on several of the deficits observed in the tasks we used. Further, only the rats with hippocampal lesions benefitted from having been housed in the enriched environment. However, their facilitated recovery was not observed in all tasks. After damage to different components of the hippocampal formation, the beneficial effects induced by the enriched housing conditions were shown to be both lesion-locus- and task-dependent.

Animals↗

Electrophysiological connections between the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex in patients with complex partial seizures.

The electrophysiological properties of the neural pathways between the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex were studied intraoperatively in 31 patients undergoing anterior temporal lobectomy for medically intractable complex partial seizures. The hippocampus, removed en bloc, was studied histologically and the pathology was correlated with the electrophysiological findings. In 29 of the patients, entorhinal stimulation evoked a characteristic positive-negative potential in the hippocampus. The entorhinal-evoked hippocampal response closely resembled, or was identical to, the spontaneously occurring hippocampal interictal spike discharge. In patients with Ammon's horn sclerosis in whom there was a major loss of neurons in the hippocampal subfields CA1, CA3, and CA4, the evoked responses were of simple morphology and long latency (mean 21.9 msec to the peak of the first potential). In patients with a ganglioglioma in whom the hippocampus was histologically normal, the evoked responses were of greater complexity and shorter latency (mean 11.8 msec). Stimulation at a single entorhinal site evoked similar waveforms at different hippocampal recording sites. Conversely, stimulation at different entorhinal sites evoked similar responses at a single hippocampal recording site. Stimulation of the hippocampus evoked a potential in the entorhinal cortex and, in some instances, in the amygdala, insula, and lateral temporal cortex. These connections may produce a positive feedback loop that favors seizure generation.

Amygdala↗

Hyperexcitability, interneurons, and loss of GABAergic synapses in entorhinal cortex in a model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common type of epilepsy in adults, and its pathophysiology remains unclear. Layer II stellate cells of the entorhinal cortex, which are hyperexcitable in animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy, provide the predominant synaptic input to the hippocampal dentate gyrus. Previous studies have ascribed the hyperexcitability of layer II stellate cells to GABAergic interneurons becoming "dormant" after disconnection from their excitatory synaptic inputs, which has been reported to occur during preferential loss of layer III pyramidal cells. We used whole-cell recording from slices of entorhinal cortex in pilocarpine-treated epileptic rats to test the dormant interneuron hypothesis. Hyperexcitability appeared as multiple action potentials and prolonged depolarizations evoked in layer II stellate cells of epileptic rats but not controls. However, blockade of glutamatergic synaptic transmission caused similar percentage reductions in the frequency of spontaneous IPSCs in layer II stellate cells of control and epileptic rats, suggesting similar levels of excitatory synaptic input to GABAergic interneurons. Direct recordings and biocytin labeling revealed two major types of interneurons in layer III whose excitatory synaptic drive in epileptic animals was undiminished. Interneurons in layer III did not appear to be dormant; therefore, we tested whether loss of GABAergic synapses might underlie hyperexcitability of layer II stellate cells. Stereological evidence of fewer GABAergic interneurons, fewer gephyrin-immunoreactive punctae, and reduced frequency of spontaneous IPSCs and miniature IPSCs (recorded in tetrodotoxin) confirmed that layer II stellate cell hyperexcitability is attributable, at least in part, to reduced inhibitory synaptic input.

Action Potentials↗

Differential interaction between 5-HT3 receptors and GABAergic neurons inhibiting acetylcholine release in rat entorhinal cortex slices.

The 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, ondansetron, MDL 72222 and granisetron (0.01-1 microM), produced a concentration-dependent increase of K+-evoked [3H]ACh efflux in slices from rat entorhinal cortex preloaded with [3H]choline. Bicuculline and flumazenil, antagonists at different sites of the GABAA receptor, also enhanced [3H]ACh efflux. While the ACh releasing effect of ondansetron was markedly potentiated, in a TTX-sensitive manner, by bicuculline, the effects of MDL 72222 and granisetron were not significantly modified. A qualitatively identical interaction was found by using flumazenil, a GABAA antagonist at the benzodiazepine recognition site, in combination with the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. The potentiation by the GABAA antagonists of [3H]ACh efflux was also observed in a superfusion medium deficient in Cl-. The nonspecific K+-channel blockers TEA and Ba2+ also increased K+-evoked [3H]ACh efflux in this preparation but the releasing effect was not modified by bicuculline. The results support the functional interaction of ondansetron with GABAergic interneurons in the rat entorhinal cortex, GABA-independent mechanisms may however be involved in the regulation of cortical cholinergic function by other 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.

Acetylcholine↗

G-protein alpha-subunit levels in hippocampus and entorhinal cortex of brains staged for Alzheimer's disease neurofibrillary and amyloid pathologies.

G-protein alpha-subunits (Galphao, Galphai, Galphas, Galphaq) and adenylyl cyclase (AC) I and II isoforms were quantified in hippocampus and entorhinal cortex from 22 cases staged for Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathologies according to Braak and Braak. Hippocampal Galphai levels declined significantly with neurofibrillary staging, whereas AC I levels in this region increased. Significant amyloid stage-related reductions of Galphai were seen in both the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. The hippocampus also showed a significant reduction of Galphao with amyloid staging. It is concluded that levels of inhibitory G-protein subunits Galphao, and in particular Galphai, decrease in parallel to the extent of AD pathology.

Adolescent↗

Modulation of stress-induced dopamine release by excitotoxic damage of the entorhinal cortex in the rat.

In the sham-operated rats, exposure to either footshock or psychological stress induced similar biphasic alterations of dopamine (DA) release (an initial increase followed by a decrease below baseline levels) in the amygdala 4 weeks after the surgery. On the other hand, the left entorhinal cortex lesions abolished the late decrement phase of DA release below baseline levels. These results suggest that entorhinal cortex lesions modulate stress-induced dopaminergic transmissions in the lateral amygdala.

Amygdala↗

Lesion of the rat entorhinal cortex leads to a rapid microglial reaction in the dentate gyrus. A light and electron microscopical study.

Stereotaxic lesioning of the entorhinal cortex leads to an anterograde axonal degeneration in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. As revealed by immunocytochemical and histochemical methods, lesion of the entorhinal cortex induced a proliferation of microglia and an increased expression of established microglial activation markers within the deafferented zone. Reactive microglial cells were detected as early as 24 h after the lesion. The microglial reaction showed a maximum around day 3 post-lesion and disappeared by day 8 post-lesion. Reactive microglia were strongly positive for the B4-isolectin from Griffonia simplicifolia (GSI-B4), expressed high levels of CR3 complement receptor and 5'-nucleotidase, but lacked CD4 and MHC class I and II antigens. In addition, microglial cells were identified using MUC 102, a new monoclonal antibody against rat microglia. At the ultrastructural level, reactive microglial cells were consistently seen to phagocytose degenerating terminals. Our data suggest that (1) axonal degeneration represents a sufficient stimulus for inducing microglial activation and proliferation in the deafferented dentate gyrus; (2) these activated microglial cells are characterized by immunophenotypes different from those observed in other types of CNS injury; (3) the early microglial reaction precedes the well-documented astrocyte reaction in the dentate gyrus; and (4) the timed interaction of microglia and astrocytes could be important for regulating regenerative sprouting processes in the mature CNS.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

Effects of enriched postoperative housing conditions on spatial memory deficits in rats with selective lesions of either the hippocampus, subiculum or entorhinal cortex.

Long-Evans male, adult rats received selective and bilateral lesions of either the hippocampus, subiculum or lateral entorhinal cortex, and were then housed for 30 days in either enriched or standard conditions. Rats were then tested in the eight-arm radial maze to assess spatial working memory and the strategies that were employed (i.e. pattern of arms visited). Lesions of the hippocampus induced both a working-memory impairment and a loss in the use of allocentric strategies to perform the task. Rats with lesions of the subiculum were also impaired but less than hippocampectomized rats and showed a similar pattern of arm visits as control rats. In contrast with other lesioned rats, rats with lateral entorhinal cortex lesions performed the task like control rats. Postoperative enriched housing conditions (EHC) globally enhanced performance of rats, but did not affect the strategies selected by the rats to solve the task. The beneficial effect of EHC was particularly obvious in rats with lesions of the subiculum. In enriched rats with such lesions, performance was not significantly different from that of control rats housed in standard conditions. The present results indicate that 1) the structures within the hippocampal formation are not similarly involved in spatial learning and memory processes and in the management of navigational demands of the radial maze, and 2) enriched conditions may enhance the spared spatial abilities of some lesioned rats thus promoting functional recovery.

Journal Article↗

Biophysical properties and slow voltage-dependent inactivation of a sustained sodium current in entorhinal cortex layer-II principal neurons: a whole-cell and single-channel study.

The functional and biophysical properties of a sustained, or "persistent," Na(+) current (I(NaP)) responsible for the generation of subthreshold oscillatory activity in entorhinal cortex layer-II principal neurons (the "stellate cells") were investigated with whole-cell, patch-clamp experiments. Both acutely dissociated cells and slices derived from adult rat entorhinal cortex were used. I(NaP), activated by either slow voltage ramps or long-lasting depolarizing pulses, was prominent in both isolated and, especially, in situ neurons. The analysis of the gating properties of the transient Na(+) current (I(NaT)) in the same neurons revealed that the resulting time-independent "window" current (I(NaTW)) had both amplitude and voltage dependence not compatible with those of the observed I(NaP), thus implying the existence of an alternative mechanism of persistent Na(+)-current generation. The tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na(+) currents evoked by slow voltage ramps decreased in amplitude with decreasing ramp slopes, thus suggesting that a time-dependent inactivation was taking place during ramp depolarizations. When ramps were preceded by increasingly positive, long-lasting voltage prepulses, I(NaP) was progressively, and eventually completely, inactivated. The V(1/2) of I(NaP) steady state inactivation was approximately -49 mV. The time dependence of the development of the inactivation was also studied by varying the duration of the inactivating prepulse: time constants ranging from approximately 6.8 to approximately 2.6 s, depending on the voltage level, were revealed. Moreover, the activation and inactivation properties of I(NaP) were such as to generate, within a relatively broad membrane-voltage range, a really persistent window current (I(NaPW)). Significantly, I(NaPW) was maximal at about the same voltage level at which subthreshold oscillations are expressed by the stellate cells. Indeed, at -50 mV, the I(NaPW) was shown to contribute to >80% of the persistent Na(+) current that sustains the subthreshold oscillations, whereas only the remaining part can be attributed to a classical Hodgkin-Huxley I(NaTW). Finally, the single-channel bases of I(NaP) slow inactivation and I(NaPW) generation were investigated in cell-attached experiments. Both phenomena were found to be underlain by repetitive, relatively prolonged late channel openings that appeared to undergo inactivation in a nearly irreversible manner at high depolarization levels (-10 mV), but not at more negative potentials (-40 mV).

Algorithms↗

Entorhinal cortex pre-alpha cell clusters in schizophrenia: quantitative evidence of a developmental abnormality.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies using semiquantitative or qualitative techniques demonstrated abnormalities of positioning of clusters of neurons (pre-alpha cells) in the entorhinal cortex in schizophrenia, suggesting a developmental mechanism could contribute to the illness. Recent quantitative studies of laminar thickness and laminar cell counts have been less consistent, and several failed to replicate the finding. However, none of the quantitative studies focused on the position of the pre-alpha cell clusters. METHODS: To study pre-alpha cell position in detail, we examined the entorhinal cortex in serial sections from 21 control and 19 schizophrenic brains. Cluster position relative to the gray-white matter junction and cluster size were measured. RESULTS: Quantitative assessment of 1991 clusters indicated clusters were positioned relatively closer to the gray-white matter junction in the anterior half of schizophrenic entorhinal cortices. In addition, the size of clusters in males with schizophrenia was reduced. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the model of schizophrenia as an illness in which brain development is impaired. The findings in males with schizophrenia may indicate the presence of more severe pathology, or an additional pathogenic mechanism.

Adult↗

Ibotenate injections into the pre- and parasubiculum provide partial protection against kainate-induced epileptic damage in layer III of rat entorhinal cortex.

PURPOSE: A loss of neurons in layer III of the entorhinal cortex (EC) is often observed in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and in animal models of the disorder. We hypothesized that the susceptibility of layer III of the EC to prolonged seizure activity might be mediated by excitatory afferents originating in the presubiculum. METHODS: Experiments were designed to ablate the presubiculum unilaterally by focal ibotenate injections and to evaluate the effect of this deafferentation on the vulnerability of EC layer III neurons to the chemoconvulsant kainate (injected systemically 5 days later). RESULTS: After treatment with kainate, 11 of the 15 rats preinjected with ibotenate showed clear-cut, partial neuroprotection in layer III of the EC ipsilateral to the ibotenate lesion. Serial reconstruction of the ibotenate-induced primary lesion revealed that entorhinal neurons were protected only in animals that had lesions in the pre- and parasubiculum, especially in the deep layers (IV-VI). CONCLUSIONS: The deep layers of the pre- and parasubiculum appear to control the seizure-induced damage of EC layer III. This phenomenon may be of relevance for epileptogenesis and for the pathogenesis of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Animals↗

Increased proportion of high-affinity dopamine D2 receptors in rats with excitotoxic damage of the entorhinal cortex, an animal model of schizophrenia.

Excitotoxic lesions of the left entorhinal cortex (EC) cause dopamine supersensitivity. In order to determine if these lesions selectively alter the high-affinity state of dopamine D2 receptors (D2(High)), these high-affinity states were measured by competition between dopamine and [3H]domperidone in striata from lesioned rats and sham-operated animals. The proportion of D2(High) sites was significantly elevated by 200% in the EC-lesioned rats while that of the D1(High) sites, measured by dopamine/[3H]SCH23390 competition, was unaltered. These results provide a biochemical basis for behavioral supersensitivity in rats with EC lesions.

Animals↗

Ultrastructure and immunocytochemical distribution of GABA in layer III of the rat medial entorhinal cortex following aminooxyacetic acid-induced seizures.

Layer III of the entorhinal cortex (EC) is lesioned in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). A similar neuropathology is also present in different animal models of TLE. For example, injection of the "indirect" excitotoxin aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA) into the EC of rats causes behavioral seizures and preferential loss of neurons in layer III of the medial EC. The animals also develop hyperexcitability of the EC and the hippocampal region CA1. To further explore the neuropathological changes within the EC, the ultrastructure and distribution of GABA-like immunoreactivity were assessed in layer III, 28 days after an intraentorhinal AOAA injection. At this time point, light microscopic preparations revealed that a large proportion of pyramidal (putative excitatory) neurons in layer III of the medial EC had degenerated, whereas GABA-immunoreactive neurons had survived. In immunogold-labeled ultrathin sections, the lesioned neuropil was found to contain morphologically intact GABA-containing neurons and nerve terminals. Pathologically swollen dendrites and electron-dense neuronal profiles were present in the lesioned sector as well. The majority of the electron-dense profiles was identified as degenerating dendritic spines that were closely apposed to strongly glutamate-immunopositive axon terminals. Thus, the entorhinal chemoarchitecture is dramatically altered following an episode of AOAA-induced epileptic seizures. One possible consequence of this pathology is a reduced "drive" of the surviving layer III GABA neurons, which in turn may cause hyperexcitability of the EC and the hippocampus. These findings may be of relevance for the genesis and spread of temporal lobe seizures.

Aminooxyacetic Acid↗

Interaction between superficial layers of the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus in normal and epileptic temporal lobe.

The entorhinal cortex (EC) is a major gateway for sensory information into the hippocampal formation. The information flow from layer II and III of the medial EC to the hippocampus is regulated in a frequency dependent manner. Spread of low Mg2+-induced epileptiform activity from EC to hippocampus differs in slices obtained from normal and kindled rats, and in adult versus juvenile rats. In slices from normal rats, low Mg2+-induced epileptiform activity in the EC had only moderate effects on the areas CA3 and CA1, apparently gated by powerful inhibition in the dentate gyrus. In slices from kindled rats, and from juvenile rats, there is facilitated propagation of the seizure-like events and late recurrent discharges through the EC-hippocampal slice. Temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with selective lesions in layer III of the medial EC. Such loss of layer III cells of the medial EC during epilepsy may contribute to the disturbance of frequency dependent information flow from the EC to the hippocampus, and, therefore, to the cognitive impairments associated with these disorders.

Action Potentials↗