José A. Armengol

Cellular and Functional Recovery of Parkinsonian Rats after Intrastriatal Transplantation of Carotid Body Cell Aggregates

We have tested the suitability of chromaffin-like carotid body glomus cells for dopamine cell replacement in Parkinsonian rats. Intrastriatal grafting of cell aggregates resulted in almost optimal abolishment of motor asymmetries and deficits of sensorimotor orientation. Recovery of transplanted animals was apparent 10 days after surgery and progressed throughout the 3 months of the study. The behavioral effects were correlated with the long survival of glomus cells in the host brain. In host tissue, glomus cells were organized into glomerulus-like structures and retained the ability to secrete dopamine. Several weeks after transplantation, dopaminergic fibers emerged from the graft, reinnervating the striatal gray matter. The special durability of grafted glomus cells in the conditions of brain parenchyma could be related to their sensitivity to hypoxia, which is known to induce cell growth, excitability, and dopamine synthesis. This work should stimulate research on the clinical applicability of carotid body autotransplants in Parkinsons disease.

Chapter 29 Involvement of cerebellar cortex and nuclei in the genesis and control of unconditioned and conditioned eyelid motor responses

The eyelid motor system of the cat was used here for the study of the kinetic properties of reflex and conditioned lid movements, and of the role played by the cerebellum in the acquisition and/or performance of both types of motor responses. Spontaneous blinks, eyelid reflex responses, eye-guided lid movements and conditioned lid responses were recorded in alert cats in simultaneity with unitary and field electrical activity of cerebellar cortex and nuclear zones related to the eyelid motor system. Results indicate that nuclear unitary activity does not precede unconditioned or conditioned lid responses, but that cerebellar nuclei are directly involved in the performance of the late components of reflex lid movements and in the acquisition of conditioned lid responses.

Macrophage Inflammatory Protein‐1β (MIP‐1β) Produced Endogenously in Brain During E. coli Fever in Rats

Macrophage inflammatory protein‐1 (MIP‐1) evokes an intense fever, independent of a prostaglandin mechanism, and is now thought to play an important role in the defence response to bacterial pyrogens. The purpose of this study was 2‐fold: (i) to determine whether the potent doublet of this cytokine, MIP‐1β, is actually produced in the brain in response to a pyrogenic dose of a lipopolysaccharide of Escherichia coli and (ii) to determine the anatomical site of synthesis of this cytokine in the brain. Following the intense fever produced by intraperitoneal administration of lipopolysaccharide in the unrestrained rat, MIP‐1β immunoreactivity was identified post mortem in two regions of the brain implicated in fever: the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT) and the anterior hypothalamic, preoptic area (AH/POA). Microinjection of goat anti‐mouse MIP‐1β antibody (anti‐MIP‐1β) directly into the AH/POA markedly suppressed fever in rats in response to lipopolysaccharide. Further, anti‐MIP‐1β administered 180 min after the injection of lipopolysaccharide acted as an antipyretic and reversed the fever induced by the endotoxin. Anti‐MIP‐1β or control immunoglobulin G antibody microinjected into the hypothalamus immediately before the intraperitoneal injection of the control saline did not alter the temperature of the rats. Taken together, the present results demonstrate that MIP‐1β is produced in the brain in response to a bacterial endotoxin. These observations, in the light of earlier data on fever induced by MIP‐1β, further support the hypothesis that endogenously synthesized MIP‐1β acts as an intermediary factor in the evocation of fever by acting on the thermosensitive cells of the brain.

Left Unilateral Inferior Pedunculotomy Prevents Neuronal Death During Postnatal Development of the Remaining Left Inferior Olivary Complex in the Rat.

Neuronal death in the inferior olivary complex (IOC) was studied in control and unilaterally pedunculotomized newborn rats, from postnatal day 1 (P1) to P30, in order to test whether the approximately two‐fold increase in available specific targets (i.e. Purkinje cells) that is theoretically provided by sectioning one inferior cerebellar peduncle to the developing climbing fibres of the remaining IOC could prevent the loss of inferior olivary neurons taking place during the first 2 weeks of postnatal life in the rat. Numerical estimation of the number of inferior olivary neurons in control and experimental rats showed that (i) in pedunculotomized rats, the number of inferior olivary neurons of the remaining inferior olivary complex was always greater than that encountered in control rats, (ii) the consistent decrease in the number of inferior olivary neurons observed in control animals between P2 and P8 was absent in cell counts of the pedunculotomized rats, and (iii) the increase in olivary cell number following the phase of cell decrease was also absent in pedunculotomized rats. It is concluded that the increase of available Purkinje cells during early postnatal development of the olivocerebellar projection prevents neuronal death in the remaining inferior olivary complex following pedunculotomy.

Developmental study of axon formation in the horizontal neurons of the retina of the chick embryo

SummaryAmong the types of horizontal cells of the avian retina, one has been described that has an axon terminating, in a typical structure. The present study analyses the histogenesis of this axon whose initial outgrowth occurs on day 14 of incubation (HH-40). The axon terminal is first detectable, towards day 15 of incubation (HH-41), in the form of a varicose thickening possessing short filopodia. The formation of the axon and the growth of the axon terminal is coincident with a retraction of the perikaryal process. The axon usually originates from one of the pricipal dendrites and in these stages shows short and fine filopodia throughout its length. From day 16 onwards (synaptic) spines may be distinguished, both in the dendritic field and on the axon terminal. The growth of the axon, in the phase when the axon terminal still has not formed, may exhibit deflections and deviations in its course, the possible cause and mechanism of which are discussed.

Antibodies to macrophage inflammatory protein-1β in preoptic area of rats fail to suppress PGE2 hyperthermia

This study determined whether macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta (MIP-1beta) plays a role in the hyperthermia caused by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) given intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) in the rat. In these experiments, anti-murine MIP-1beta antibody (anti-MIP-1beta) was micro-injected in the anterior hypothalamic, preoptic area (AH/POA) just before i.c.v. PGE2. The results showed that anti-MIP-1beta failed to alter the PGE2 hyperthermia. However, immunocytochemical studies revealed MIP-1beta immunoreactivity detectable in both the organum vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT) and AH/POA in the febrile rat. These data thus demonstrate that MIP-1beta is sequestered in diencephalic structures underlying thermoregulation even though it is not involved in PGE2 hyperthermia. This dissociation supports the viewpoint that at least two distinct systems exist in the brain which underlie a febrile response: MIP-1beta underlies one component whereas PGE2 comprises the other.

Photoreceptor nuclei outside of the limiting membrane in the chick retina

The present work describes the presence of some photoreceptor nuclei in the embryonic and adult chick retina which are situated outside of the external limiting membrane. We also discuss their possible degenerative character.

The Study of Passive Membrane Properties and Morphology Reveals Neuronal Differences Along the Sagittal Axis of the Ventral Periaqueductal Grey Matter

The membrane properties of the neurons located in the ventral part of the periaqueductal grey (PAG) of the guinea‐pig were studied using an in vitro slice preparation. Cells had low values of resting membrane potential (−53.3 ± 1.3 mV, mean ± standard error), high input resistance (195.5 ± 16.2 MΩ) and moderate values of membrane time constant (12.6 ± 0.7 ms). The last two parameters changed as recordings were made along the sagittal axis, higher values corresponding to the more rostral cells. Three main neuronal types—fusiform, triangular and stellate—were found in the ventral PAG using intracellular injection of Lucifer yellow. A study of the cell number and cell density was carried out in coronal and sagittal sections of the ventral PAG. This analysis showed a clear gradient of size in this region arising from the gradual disappearance of large (17 to 40 μm) neurons in the caudorostral direction. The neuronal density also increased in this direction. Therefore, some electrotonic and morphological parameters differ along the sagittal axis. These findings suggest a larger neuronal heterogeneity of the caudal part of the PAG, and might contribute to a functional segregation of this region.