Andrew D. Whyment

Orexigen-sensitive NPY/AgRP pacemaker neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus

The hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC) integrates and responds to satiety and hunger signals and forms the origins of the central neural response to perturbations in energy balance. Here we show that rat ARC neurons containing neuropeptide Y (NPY) and agouti-related protein (AgRP), which are conditional pacemakers, are activated by orexigens and inhibited by the anorexigen leptin. We propose a neuron-specific signaling mechanism through which central and peripheral signals engage the central neural anabolic drive.

Eslicarbazepine and the enhancement of slow inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels: A comparison with carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine and lacosamide

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of eslicarbazepine, carbamazepine (CBZ), oxcarbazepine (OXC) and lacosamide (LCM) on the fast and slow inactivated states of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSC). The anti-epileptiform activity was evaluated in mouse isolated hippocampal slices. The anticonvulsant effects were evaluated in MES and the 6-Hz psychomotor tests. The whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used to investigate the effects of eslicarbazepine, CBZ, OXC and LCM on sodium channels endogenously expressed in N1E-115 mouse neuroblastoma cells. CBZ and eslicarbazepine exhibit similar concentration dependent suppression of epileptiform activity in hippocampal slices. In N1E-115 mouse neuroblastoma cells, at a concentration of 250 μM, the voltage dependence of the fast inactivation was not influenced by eslicarbazepine, whereas LCM, CBZ and OXC shifted the V0.5 value (mV) by -4.8, -12.0 and -16.6, respectively. Eslicarbazepine- and LCM-treated fast-inactivated channels recovered similarly to control conditions, whereas CBZ- and OXC-treated channels required longer pulses to recover. CBZ, eslicarbazepine and LCM shifted the voltage dependence of the slow inactivation (V0.5, mV) by -4.6, -31.2 and -53.3, respectively. For eslicarbazepine, LCM, CBZ and OXC, the affinity to the slow inactivated state was 5.9, 10.4, 1.7 and 1.8 times higher than to the channels in the resting state, respectively. In conclusion, eslicarbazepine did not share with CBZ and OXC the ability to alter fast inactivation of VGSC. Both eslicarbazepine and LCM reduce VGSC availability through enhancement of slow inactivation, but LCM demonstrated higher interaction with VGSC in the resting state and with fast inactivation gating.

Aβ oligomer toxicity inhibitor protects memory in models of synaptic toxicity

Amyloid‐β (Aβ) aggregation into synaptotoxic, prefibrillar oligomers is a major pathogenic event underlying the neuropathology of Alzheimers disease (AD). The pharmacological and neuroprotective properties of a novel Aβ aggregation inhibitor, SEN1269, were investigated on aggregation and cell viability and in test systems relevant to synaptic function and memory, using both synthetic Aβ1‐42 and cell‐derived Aβ oligomers.

Electrophysiological, pharmacological and molecular profile of the transient outward rectifying conductance in rat sympathetic preganglionic neurons in vitro

Transient outward rectifying conductances or A-like conductances in sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPN) are prolonged, lasting for hundreds of milliseconds to seconds and are thought to play a key role in the regulation of SPN firing frequency. Here, a multidisciplinary electrophysiological, pharmacological and molecular single-cell rt-PCR approach was used to investigate the kinetics, pharmacological profile and putative K+ channel subunits underlying the transient outward rectifying conductance expressed in SPN. SPN expressed a 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) sensitive transient outward rectification with significantly longer decay kinetics than reported for many other central neurons. The conductance and corresponding current in voltage-clamp conditions was also sensitive to the Kv4.2 and Kv4.3 blocker phrixotoxin-2 (1-10 μM) and the blocker of rapidly inactivating Kv channels, pandinotoxin-Kα (50 nM). The conductance and corresponding current was only weakly sensitive to the Kv1 channel blocker tityustoxin-Kα and insensitive to dendrotoxin I (200 nM) and the Kv3.4 channel blocker BDS-II (1 μM). Single-cell RT-PCR revealed mRNA expression for the α-subunits Kv4.1 and Kv4.3 in the majority and Kv1.5 in less than half of SPN. mRNA for accessory β-subunits was detected for Kvβ2 in all SPN with differential expression of mRNA for KChIP1, Kvβ1 and Kvβ3 and the peptidase homologue DPP6. These data together suggest that the transient outwardly rectifying conductance in SPN is mediated by members of the Kv4 subfamily (Kv4.1 and Kv4.3) in association with the β-subunit Kvβ2. Differential expression of the accessory β subunits, which may act to modulate channel density and kinetics in SPN, may underlie the prolonged and variable time-course of this conductance in these neurons.

Orally bioavailable small molecule drug protects memory in Alzheimer's disease models.

Oligomers of beta-amyloid (Aβ) are implicated in the early memory impairment seen in Alzheimers disease before to the onset of discernable neurodegeneration. Here, the capacity of a novel orally bioavailable, central nervous system-penetrating small molecule 5-aryloxypyrimidine, SEN1500, to prevent cell-derived (7PA2 [conditioned medium] CM) Aβ-induced deficits in synaptic plasticity and learned behavior was assessed. Biochemically, SEN1500 bound to Aβ monomer and oligomers, produced a reduction in thioflavin-T fluorescence, and protected a neuronal cell line and primary cortical neurons exposed to synthetic soluble oligomeric Aβ(1-42). Electrophysiologically, SEN1500 alleviated the in vitro depression of long-term potentiation induced by both synthetic Aβ(1-42) and 7PA2 CM, and alleviated the in vivo depression of long-term potentiation induced by 7PA2 CM, after systemic administration. Behaviorally, oral administration of SEN1500 significantly reduced memory-related deficits in operant responding induced after intracerebroventricular injection of 7PA2 CM. SEN1500 reduced cytotoxicity, acute synaptotoxicity, and behavioral deterioration after in vitro and in vivo exposure to synthetic Aβ and 7PA2 CM, and shows promise for development as a clinically viable disease-modifying Alzheimers disease treatment.

Activation and integration of bilateral GABA‐mediated synaptic inputs in neonatal rat sympathetic preganglionic neurones in vitro

The role of GABA receptors in synaptic transmission to neonatal rat sympathetic preganglionic neurones (SPNs) was investigated utilizing whole‐cell patch clamp recording techniques in longitudinal and transverse spinal cord slice preparations. In the presence of glutamate receptor antagonists (NBQX, 5 μm and D‐APV, 10 μm), electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral or contralateral lateral funiculi (iLF and cLF, respectively) revealed monosynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in 75% and 65% of SPNs, respectively. IPSPs were sensitive to bicuculline (10 μm) in all neurones tested and reversed polarity around −55 mV, the latter indicating mediation via chloride conductances. In three neurones IPSPs evoked by stimulation of the iLF (n= 1) or cLF (n= 2) were partly sensitive to strychnine (2 μm). The expression of postsynaptic GABAA and GABAB receptors were confirmed by the sensitivity of SPNs to agonists, GABA (2 mm), muscimol (10–100 μm) or baclofen (10–100 μm), in the presence of TTX, each of which produced membrane hyperpolarization in all SPNs tested. Muscimol‐induced responses were sensitive to bicuculline (1–10 μm) and SR95531 (10 μm) and baclofen‐induced responses were sensitive to 2‐hydroxy‐saclofen (100–200 μm) and CGP55845 (200 nm). The GABAC receptor agonist CACA (200 μm) was without significant effect on SPNs. These results suggest that SPNs possess postsynaptic GABAA and GABAB receptors and that subsets of SPNs receive bilateral GABAergic inputs which activate GABAA receptors, coupled to a chloride conductance. At resting or holding potentials close to threshold either single or bursts (10–100 Hz) of IPSPs gave rise to a rebound excitation and action potential firing at the termination of the burst. This effect was mimicked by injection of small (10–20 pA) rectangular‐wave current pulses, which revealed a time‐dependent, Cs+‐sensitive inward rectification and rebound excitation at the termination of the response to current injection. Synaptic activation of a rebound excitation mediated by a time‐dependent inward rectification expressed intrinsically by SPNs may provide a novel mechanism enabling SPNs to be entrained to rhythms driven from the brainstem or higher centres.

Hippocampal 5-HT7 receptors signal phosphorylation of the GluA1 subunit to facilitate AMPA receptor mediated-neurotransmission in vitro and in vivo.

The 5‐HT7 receptor is a GPCR that is the target of a broad range of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs. Various studies have demonstrated an ability of the 5‐HT7 receptor to modulate glutamatergic neurotransmission and cognitive processes although the potential impact upon AMPA receptors has not been investigated directly. The purposes of the present study were to investigate a direct modulation of the GluA1 AMPA receptor subunit and determine how this might influence AMPA receptor function.

α7-nAChR agonist enhances neural plasticity in the hippocampus via a GABAergic circuit.

Agonists of the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) have entered clinical trials as procognitive agents for treating schizophrenia and Alzheimers disease. The most advanced compounds are orthosteric agonists, which occupy the ligand binding site. At the molecular level, agonist activation of α7-nAChR is reasonably well understood. However, the consequences of activating α7-nAChRs on neural circuits underlying cognition remain elusive. Here we report that an α7-nAChR agonist (FRM-17848) enhances long-term potentiation (LTP) in rat septo-hippocampal slices far below the cellular EC50 but at a concentration that coincides with multiple functional outcome measures as we reported in Stoiljkovic M, Leventhal L, Chen A, Chen T, Driscoll R, Flood D, Hodgdon H, Hurst R, Nagy D, Piser T, Tang C, Townsend M, Tu Z, Bertrand D, Koenig G, Hajós M. Biochem Pharmacol 97: 576-589, 2015. In this same concentration range, we observed a significant increase in spontaneous γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibitory postsynaptic currents and a moderate suppression of excitability in whole cell recordings from rat CA1 pyramidal neurons. This modulation of GABAergic activity is necessary for the LTP-enhancing effects of FRM-17848, since inhibiting GABAA α5-subunit-containing receptors fully reversed the effects of the α7-nAChR agonist. These data suggest that α7-nAChR agonists may increase synaptic plasticity in hippocampal slices, at least in part, through a circuit-level enhancement of a specific subtype of GABAergic receptor.

In Vivo Electrophysiological Recording Techniques for the Study of Neuropathic Pain in Rodent Models

Neuropathic pain develops following nerve injury, and is a chronic pain syndrome that can persist long after repair of a wound or removal of the neurological insult. This condition remains poorly treated, not least because of a lack of mechanism‐based therapeutics. Clinically, neuropathic pain is characterized by three major symptoms: thermal or mechanical allodynia (pain sensation in response to previously non‐noxious stimuli); hyperalgesia (enhanced pain sensation to noxious stimulation); and spontaneous, ongoing pain. These clinical symptoms can be modeled in rodent neuropathic pain models using behavioral and electrophysiological readouts. This unit describes techniques designed to record pathophysiological electrical activity associated with neuropathic pain at the level of the periphery, in single fibers of primary sensory neurons, and from wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. These techniques can be employed in both naïve animals and in animal models of neuropathy to investigate fundamental mechanisms contributing to the neuropathic pain state and the site, mode, and mechanism of action of putative analgesics. Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol. 66:11.15.1‐11.15.26.