Biomedical subjects

S E MacPhedran

Publications and source records attributed to S E MacPhedran.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Depolarization stimulates initial calcitonin gene-related peptide expression by embryonic sensory neurons in vitro.

The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is expressed by one-third of adult rat lumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, many of which mediate pain sensation or cause vasodilation. The factors that regulate the developmental expression of CGRP are poorly understood. Embryonic DRG neurons initially lack CGRP. When these neurons were stimulated in culture by serum or persistent 50 mM KCl application, the same percentage of CGRP-immunoreactive (CGRP-IR) neurons developed in vitro as was seen in the adult DRG in vivo. The addition of the L-type calcium channel blockers, 5 microM nifedipine or 10 microM verapamil, dramatically decreased the proportion of CGRP-IR neurons that developed, although the N-type calcium channel blocker, 2.5 microM omega-conotoxin, was less effective. By contrast, the sodium channel blocker 1 microM tetrodotoxin had no effect on CGRP expression after depolarization. Fura-2 ratiometric imaging demonstrated that mean intracellular free calcium levels increased from 70 to 135 nM with chronic depolarization, and the addition of nifedipine inhibited that increase. Only a subpopulation of neurons had elevated calcium concentrations during chronic depolarization, and they were correlated with CGRP expression. Key signal transduction pathways were tested pharmacologically for their role in CGRP expression after depolarization; the addition of the CaM kinase inhibitor KN-62 reduced the proportion of CGRP-IR neurons to basal levels. By contrast, protein kinase A and protein kinase C were not implicated in the depolarization-induced CGRP increases. These data suggest that depolarization and the subsequent Ca2+-based signal transduction mechanisms play important roles in the de novo expression of CGRP by specific embryonic DRG neurons.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

The generation of neuronal heterogeneity in a rat sensory ganglion.

Adult sensory neurons differ chemically, morphologically, and functionally, but the factors that generate their diversity remain unclear. For example, neuropeptides are generally found in small neurons, whereas abundant neurofilament is common in large neurons. Neurons containing the neuropeptides calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) or substance P were quantified using immunohistochemistry in rat lumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG) at times before and after sensory neurons contact central and peripheral targets in vivo. No neurons in the newly formed DRG expressed neuropeptide or neuropeptide mRNA, but neuropeptides were detectable about the time that axons connect with peripheral targets. To determine the requirement for target in neuropeptide regulation, embryonic DRG neurons were isolated at times before central and peripheral connections had formed, placed in culture, and immunocytochemically assayed for CGRP and substance P. Cultured neurons expressed neuropeptides with a time course and in proportions similar to those in vivo. Thus, some neurons in the embryonic DRG seem to be intrinsically specified to later express CGRP and substance P. The percentage of CGRP-immunoreactive neurons was not changed by cell density, non-neuronal cells, neurotrophins in addition to nerve growth factor (NGF), or antibody inactivation of neurotrophin-3 in the presence of NGF. To test the role of extrinsic cues on CGRP expression, DRG neurons were co-cultured with potential target tissues. Co-culture with a rat epidermal or smooth muscle cell line increased the proportion of CGRP-containing neurons, whereas primary skeletal muscle and 3T3 cells had no effects. Thus, multiple appropriate sensory neuron phenotypes arise in a regulated fashion in cultured neurons isolated before target connections have formed, and some candidate target tissues can modulate that intrinsic expression pattern.

3T3 Cells↗

PubMed1995

Multiple mechanisms regulate sympathetic neuronal phenotype.

Adult rat sympathetic neurons can possess specific neuropeptides utilized as cotransmitters along with norepinephrine, but the factors that regulate their expression remain unknown. 60% of adult rat superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons express neuropeptide Y (NPY) in vivo. To determine whether the restricted expression was an intrinsic property of sympathetic ganglia, we examined if embryonic sympathetic precursors gave rise to NPY immunoreactive (-IR) neurons in vitro. After one week in culture, 60% of neurons derived from the E14.5 rat SCG were NPY-IR. Thus, ganglia isolated before peripheral target contact or preganglionic innervation were capable of regulating NPY expression both in the number of neurons with NPY and in the developmental timing of NPY expression. To determine if the restricted expression of NPY was a reflection of neuroblasts committed to an NPY fate, SCG precursors were labeled with a replication incompetent retrovirus carrying lacZ, and NPY expression in lacZ-labeled clones examined after one week. Two thirds of neuronal clones obtained were uniformly NPY-IR; that is, all neurons in a clone either possessed or lacked NPY. One-third of the neuronal clones were mixed and contained both neurons with and without NPY. We provide a novel demonstration that both lineage and environmental cues contribute to neuropeptide phenotype.

Animals↗