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Dimitri M Kullmann

Publications and source records attributed to Dimitri M Kullmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Presynaptic fluctuations and release-independent depression.

Although vesicle depletion contributes to short-term depression, several studies have reported that the release probability can be transiently depressed even if an action potential fails to evoke release. Here we argue that stochastic fluctuation in the release machinery can give rise to apparent release-independent depression as a result of sampling bias. The relationship between this apparent depression and the interstimulus interval provides a window on the kinetics of state transitions of the release apparatus.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2006

Episodic ataxia type 1 mutations in the KCNA1 gene impair the fast inactivation properties of the human potassium channels Kv1.4-1.1/Kvbeta1.1 and Kv1.4-1.1/Kvbeta1.2.

Episodic ataxia type 1 (EA1) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder characterized by constant muscle rippling movements (myokymia) and episodic attacks of ataxia. Several heterozygous point mutations have been found in the coding sequence of the voltage-gated potassium channel gene KCNA1 (hKv1.1), which alter the delayed-rectifier function of the channel. Shaker-like channels of different cell types may be formed by unique hetero-oligomeric complexes comprising Kv1.1, Kv1.4 and Kvbeta1.x subunits. Here we show that the human Kvbeta1.1 and Kvbeta1.2 subunits modulated the functional properties of tandemly linked Kv1.4-1.1 wild-type channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes by (i) increasing the rate and amount of N-type inactivation, (ii) slowing the recovery rate from inactivation, (iii) accelerating the cumulative inactivation of the channel and (iv) negatively shifting the voltage dependence of inactivation. To date, the role of the human Kv1.4-1.1, Kv1.4-1.1/Kvbeta1.1 and Kv1.4-1.1/Kvbeta1.2 channels in the aetiopathogenesis of EA1 has not been investigated. Here we also show that the EA1 mutations E325D, V404I and V408A, which line the ion-conducting pore, and I177N, which resides within the S1 segment, alter the fast inactivation and repriming properties of the channels by decreasing both the rate and degree of N-type inactivation and by accelerating the recovery from fast inactivation. Furthermore, the E325D, V404I and I177N mutations shifted the voltage dependence of the steady-state inactivation to more positive potentials. The results demonstrate that the human Kvbeta1.1 and Kvbeta1.2 subunits regulate the proportion of wild-type Kv1.4-1.1 channels that are available to open. Furthermore, EA1 mutations alter heteromeric channel availability which probably modifies the integration properties and firing patterns of neurones controlling cognitive processes and body movements.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2005

Epileptogenesis is associated with enhanced glutamatergic transmission in the perforant path.

The perforant path provides the main excitatory input into the hippocampus and has been proposed to play a critical role in the generation of temporal lobe seizures. It has been hypothesized that changes in glutamatergic transmission in this pathway promote the epileptogenic process and seizure generation. We therefore asked whether epileptogenesis is associated with enhanced glutamatergic transmission from the perforant path to dentate granule cells. We used a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy in which spontaneous seizures occur after an episode of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were obtained from dentate granule cells in hippocampal slices from control and epileptic animals 3 wk after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus. The paired pulse ratio of perforant path-evoked AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) was reduced in tissue obtained from epileptic rats. This is consistent with an increase in release probability. N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated EPSCs were also prolonged. This prolongation could not be accounted for by decreased activity of glutamate transporters or by a change in NMDA receptor subunit composition in dentate granule cells, implying a change in NMDA receptor kinetics. This change in NMDA receptor kinetics was associated with the emergence of significant synaptic cross-talk, detected as a use-dependent block of receptors activated by medial perforant path synapses after lateral perforant path stimulation in MK-801. Enhanced glutamatergic transmission and the emergence of cross-talk among perforant path-dentate granule cell synapses may contribute to lowering seizure threshold.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Multiple and plastic receptors mediate tonic GABAA receptor currents in the hippocampus.

Persistent activation of GABAA receptors by extracellular GABA (tonic inhibition) plays a critical role in signal processing and network excitability in the brain. In hippocampal principal cells, tonic inhibition has been reported to be mediated by alpha5-subunit-containing GABAA receptors (alpha5GABAARs). Pharmacological or genetic disruption of these receptors improves cognitive performance, suggesting that tonic inhibition has an adverse effect on information processing. Here, we show that alpha5GABAARs contribute to tonic currents in pyramidal cells only when ambient GABA concentrations increase (as may occur during increased brain activity). At low ambient GABA concentrations, activation of delta-subunit-containing GABAA receptors predominates. In epileptic tissue, alpha5GABAARs are downregulated and no longer contribute to tonic currents under conditions of raised extracellular GABA concentrations. Under these conditions, however, the tonic current is greater in pyramidal cells from epileptic tissue than in pyramidal cells from nonepileptic tissue, implying substitution of alpha5GABAARs by other GABAA receptor subtypes. These results reveal multiple components of tonic GABAA receptor-mediated conductance that are activated by low GABA concentrations. The relative contribution of these components changes after the induction of epilepsy, implying an adaptive plasticity of the tonic current in the presence of spontaneous seizures.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Presynaptic, extrasynaptic and axonal GABAA receptors in the CNS: where and why?

Although GABA(A) receptors are widely distributed at inhibitory synapses on dendrites and cell bodies of neurons, they also occur in other places, in particular at synapses made on axons and in extrasynaptic membranes. This review summarises some of the evidence that presynaptic receptors modulate transmission not only at primary afferents in the spinal cord, but also at a variety of sites in the brain, including hippocampal mossy fibres. These receptors modulate transmitter release via several different mechanisms. Another form of unconventional GABA(A) receptor-mediated signalling is the mediation of a tonic conductance, seen in granule cells of the cerebellum and dentate gyrus and also in hippocampal interneurons. Tonic signalling appears to be mediated by extrasynaptic receptors. The adaptive significance of this form of signalling remains poorly understood.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2005

Hebbian LTP in feed-forward inhibitory interneurons and the temporal fidelity of input discrimination.

Cortical information processing requires a delicate balance of excitatory and inhibitory signaling. How is this balance preserved during hippocampal memory encoding, which involves NMDA receptor-dependent long term potentiation (LTP)? This form of LTP occurs at synapses between pyramidal neurons but has not been detected in feed-forward inhibitory interneurons. We show that paired pre- and postsynaptic activity evokes pathway-specific LTP in half of rat stratum radiatum interneurons if cytoplasmic integrity is preserved. LTP occurs in aspiny feed-forward interneurons and propagates to pyramidal neurons as an enhancement of disynaptic inhibition. We also show that when LTP is restricted to synapses on pyramidal neurons, the temporal fidelity of synaptic integration and action potential generation in pyramidal cells is compromised. However, when LTP also occurs at synapses on feed-forward interneurons, temporal fidelity is preserved. We propose that Hebbian LTP at synapses driving disynaptic inhibition is necessary to maintain information processing without degradation during memory encoding.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Dysfunction of the brain calcium channel CaV2.1 in absence epilepsy and episodic ataxia.

The molecular basis of idiopathic generalized epilepsy remains poorly understood. Absence epilepsy with 3 Hz spike-wave EEG is one of the most common human epilepsies, and is associated with significant morbidity. Several spontaneously occurring genetic mouse models of absence epilepsy are caused by dysfunction of the P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channel CaV2.1. Such mice exhibit a primary generalized spike-wave EEG, with frequencies in the range of 5-7 Hz, often associated with ataxia, evidence of cerebellar degeneration and abnormal posturing. Previously, we identified a single case of severe primary generalized epilepsy with ataxia associated with CaV2.1 dysfunction, suggesting a possible link between this channel and human absence epilepsy. We now report a family in which absence epilepsy segregates in an autosomal dominant fashion through three generations. Five members exhibit a combination of absence epilepsy (with 3 Hz spike-wave) and cerebellar ataxia. In patients with the absence epilepsy/ataxia phenotype, genetic marker analysis was consistent with linkage to the CACNA1A gene on chromosome 19, which encodes the main pore-forming alpha1A subunit of CaV2.1 channels (CaV2.1alpha1). DNA sequence analysis identified a novel point mutation resulting in a radical amino acid substitution (E147K) in CaV2.1alpha1, which segregated with the epilepsy/ataxia phenotype. Functional expression studies using human CACNA1A cDNA demonstrated that the E147K mutation results in impairment of calcium channel function. Impaired function of the brain calcium channel CaV2.1 may have a central role in the pathogenesis of certain cases of primary generalized epilepsy, particularly when associated with ataxia, which may be wrongly ascribed to anticonvulsant medication.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

NR2B-containing receptors mediate cross talk among hippocampal synapses.

Under some conditions, synaptically released glutamate can exert long-range actions in the cortical microcircuitry. To what extent glutamate spillover leads to direct cross talk among individual synapses remains unclear. We recorded NMDAR-mediated EPSCs in acute hippocampal slices at 35 degrees C by stimulating two independent pathways that converge on the same CA1 pyramidal cell. Activation of a conditioning pathway in the presence of the use-dependent blocker dizocilpine maleate (MK801) resulted in partial NMDA receptor (NMDAR) blockade in the other, silent pathway. This was accompanied by an increase in the rise time of the EPSCs in the conditioning (although not the silent) pathway, implying an increase in diffusional distance from release site to NMDARs. We estimated that up to approximately 30% of NMDARs contributing to EPSCs were activated by glutamate released from multiple synaptic sources; however, NMDAR-mediated synaptic cross talk was undetectable when NR2B subunit-containing receptors were blocked (but could be rescued by blocking glutamate uptake). We propose that NR2B-containing NMDARs can detect glutamate arising from multiple synapses, whereas NR2A-containing NMDARs only normally mediate direct synaptic transmission. These NMDAR isoforms thus play complementary roles in sensing global and local glutamate signals, respectively.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed2004

Heterogeneity and specificity of presynaptic Ca2+ current modulation by mGluRs at individual hippocampal synapses.

GABA release from axonal boutons formed by cortical interneurons shows target cell-dependent sensitivity to group III metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonists, as well as variable dependence on presynaptic Ca2+ influx via N- and P-type channels. How Ca2+ channels interact with heterogeneous mGluR modulation to determine information flow in the synaptic circuitry is not known. Here we combine electrophysiology with two-photon microscopy to analyze Ca2+ influx at individual axonal varicosities of hippocampal interneurons. Action potentials triggered Ca2+ influx at individual varicosities, principally (>80%) via N- and P-type channels. Although Ca2+ influx at some varicosities was almost entirely mediated by N-type channels, P-type channels only contributed up to 60% of the action potential-evoked Ca2+ transient. At a subset of synapses activation of group III mGluRs depressed GABA release, and decreased Ca2+ influx via N-type channels (in contrast to an action on P-type channels reported at auditory brainstem calyceal synapses). The identity of the dominant channel subtype mediating Ca2+ influx tended to be conserved at varicosities supplied by the same axon. In contrast, neighboring varicosities often showed heterogeneous sensitivity to group III mGluR activation. Glutamatergic modulation of GABA release from individual synapses thus depends on the co-occurrence of presynaptic N-type Ca2+ channels and the target cell-dependent expression of group III mGluRs.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Tonically active GABA A receptors: modulating gain and maintaining the tone.

GABAA receptors not only respond to the local release of GABA from presynaptic terminals, but can also mediate a persistent 'tonic current'. This reflects the activation of high-affinity GABAA receptors by ambient GABA concentrations. Tonic GABAA-receptor-mediated signalling occurs in different brain regions, shows cell-type-specific differences in magnitude and pharmacology, and changes during brain development. Some clues to the adaptive significance of this phenomenon are beginning to emerge: in cerebellar granule cells, it alters the gain of transmission of rate-coded sensory information; in the hippocampus, it acts in a cell-type-specific manner to regulate the excitability of the network. Because tonic conductances can be modulated by changes in GABA release and uptake, and by modulators of high-affinity GABAA receptors including neurosteroids, this phenomenon provides a potentially important new window onto neuronal information processing and pathological states such as epilepsy.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2003

Plasticity of GABA(B) receptor-mediated heterosynaptic interactions at mossy fibers after status epilepticus.

Several neurotransmitters, including GABA acting at presynaptic GABA(B) receptors, modulate glutamate release at synapses between hippocampal mossy fibers and CA3 pyramidal neurons. This phenomenon gates excitation of the hippocampus and may therefore prevent limbic seizure propagation. Here we report that status epilepticus, triggered by either perforant path stimulation or pilocarpine administration, was followed 24 hr later by a loss of GABA(B) receptor-mediated heterosynaptic depression among populations of mossy fibers. This was accompanied by a decrease in the sensitivity of mossy fiber transmission to the exogenous GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen. Autoradiography revealed a reduction in GABA(B) receptor binding in the stratum lucidum after status epilepticus. Failure of GABA(B) receptor-mediated modulation of mossy fiber transmission at mossy fibers may contribute to the development of spontaneous seizures after status epilepticus.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Endogenous zinc inhibits GABA(A) receptors in a hippocampal pathway.

Depending on their subunit composition, GABA(A) receptors can be highly sensitive to Zn(2+). Although a pathological role for Zn(2+)-mediated inhibition of GABA(A) receptors has been postulated, no direct evidence exists that endogenous Zn(2+) can modulate GABAergic signaling in the brain. A possible explanation is that Zn(2+) is mainly localized to a subset of glutamatergic synapses. Hippocampal mossy fibers are unusual in that they are glutamatergic but have also been reported to contain GABA and Zn(2+). Here, we show, using combined Timm's method and post-embedding immunogold, that the same mossy fiber varicosities can contain both GABA and Zn(2+). Chelating Zn(2+) with either calcium-saturated EDTA or N,N,N',N'-tetrakis (2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine had no effect on stratum-radiatum-evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs), but enhanced IPSCs evoked by stimuli designed to recruit dentate granule cells. We also show that IPSCs recorded in CA3 pyramidal neurons in acute hippocampal slices are depressed by exogenous Zn(2+). This depression was of similar amplitude whether the IPSCs were evoked by stimulation in s. radiatum (to recruit local interneurons) or in the s. granulosum of the dentate gyrus (to recruit mossy fibers). These results show for the first time that GABAergic IPSCs can be modulated by endogenous Zn(2+) and are consistent with GABA release at Zn(2+)-containing mossy fiber synapses.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

GABAA receptors at hippocampal mossy fibers.

Presynaptic GABAA receptors modulate synaptic transmission in several areas of the CNS but are not known to have this action in the cerebral cortex. We report that GABAA receptor activation reduces hippocampal mossy fibers excitability but has the opposite effect when intracellular Cl- is experimentally elevated. Synaptically released GABA mimics the effect of exogenous agonists. GABAA receptors modulating axonal excitability are tonically active in the absence of evoked GABA release or exogenous agonist application. Presynaptic action potential-dependent Ca2+ transients in individual mossy fiber varicosities exhibit a biphasic dependence on membrane potential and are altered by GABAA receptors. Antibodies against the alpha2 subunit of GABAA receptors stain mossy fibers. Axonal GABAA receptors thus play a potentially important role in tonic and activity-dependent heterosynaptic modulation of information flow to the hippocampus.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Silent synapses: what are they telling us about long-term potentiation?

At several cortical synapses glutamate release events can be mediated exclusively by NMDA receptors, with no detectable contribution from AMPA receptors. This observation was originally made by comparing the trial-to-trial variability of the two components of synaptic signals evoked in hippocampal neurons, and was subsequently confirmed by recording apparently pure NMDA receptor-mediated EPSCs with stimulation of small numbers of axons. It has come to be known as the 'silent synapse' phenomenon, and is widely assumed to be caused by the absence of functional AMPA receptors, which can, however, be recruited into the postsynaptic density by long-term potentiation (LTP) induction. Thus, it provides an important impetus for relating AMPA receptor trafficking mechanisms to the expression of LTP, a theme that is taken up elsewhere in this issue. This article draws attention to several findings that call for caution in identifying silent synapses exclusively with synapses without AMPA receptors. In addition, it attempts to identify several missing pieces of evidence that are required to show that unsilencing of such synapses is entirely accounted for by insertion of AMPA receptors into the postsynaptic density. Some aspects of the early stages of LTP expression remain open to alternative explanations.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

GABA uptake regulates cortical excitability via cell type-specific tonic inhibition.

GABA(A) receptors can mediate both 'phasic' synaptic inhibition and a persistent 'tonic' form of signaling. We show that, in the presence of intact GABA uptake, guinea pig hippocampal interneurons, but not pyramidal cells, express a tonic GABA(A) receptor-mediated conductance. This conductance was pharmacologically distinct from spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs). Inhibiting GABA uptake resulted in the expression of a comparable GABA(A) receptor-mediated tonic conductance in pyramidal cells. Reducing the tonic conductance in interneurons enhanced their excitability and the inhibitory drive to pyramidal cells. These results point to a role for cell type-dependent tonic inhibition in regulating cortical excitability.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

GABA and GABAA receptors at hippocampal mossy fibre synapses.

Anatomical and electrophysiological evidence has raised the possibility that corelease of GABA and glutamate occurs at hippocampal mossy fibre synapses which, however, lack the vesicular GABA transporter VGAT. Here, we apply immunogold cytochemistry to show that GABA, like glutamate, has a close spatial relation to synaptic vesicles in rat mossy fibre terminals, implying that a mechanism exists to package GABA in synaptic vesicles. We also show that GABAA and AMPA receptors are colocalized at mossy fibre synapses. The expression of GABA and GABAA receptors is, however, weaker than in inhibitory synapses. Electrical stimuli that recruit mossy fibres evoke monosynaptic GABAA receptor-mediated signals in post-synaptic targets that show marked frequency-dependent facilitation and sensitivity to group II metabotropic receptors, two features that are characteristic of mossy fibre transmission. These results provide further evidence for GABA and glutamate cotransmission at mossy fibre synapses, although paired pre- and post-synaptic recordings will be required to determine the role of GABA at this unusual synapse.

Animals↗