Temperature dependence of neurotransmitter release in the antarctic fishPagothenia borchgrevinki

Summary The quantal contents of endplate potentials from extraocular muscles of an antarctic fishPagothenia borchgrevinki were measured over a range of temperatures. Quantal release was maximal at about 5°C but showed little dependence on temperature between –2°C and 10°C. Above 10°C quantal content declined until release ceased about 18°C. In view of the fact that the ambient temperature at which these fish live is constant at –1.9°C, the results suggest thatPagothenia borchgrevinki is only partially adapted to its environment despite 25 million years acclimatization.The authors wish to thank the staff of New Zealand's Scott Base, Antarctica, without whose cooperation the work would have been impossible. Mr J. Quinn of the Auckland University Physiology Department gave invaluable assistance with computing and electronics and the Antarctic Division of the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research provided transportation and logistic support. The project was financially supported by the New Zealand University Grants Committee and the Auckland University Research Committee. S.P. was a Senior Fellow of the N.Z. Medical Research Council.     

Limitations on visual food-location in the planktivorous antarctic fishPagothenia borchgrevinki

Summary The visual threshold for food-location in the antarctic fishPagothenia borchgrevinki, is compared with light conditions and food availability under the ice. Even under the most favourable conditions for vision,P. borchgrevinki is operating close to its visual threshold and must often depend on non-visual mechanisms of prey detection.We thank J. D. Cargill and H. S. B. Weix for technical assistance, and the staff of Scott Base for their support. Funding was provided by the New Zealand University Grants Committee, and logistic support by the Antarctic Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.     

The effect of chronic heat stress on cortisol levels in the antarctic fishPagothenia borchgrevinki

Radioimmunoassay was used to determine levels of the stress-inducible glucocorticoid, cortisol, circulating in the plasma of the extremely stenothermal Antarctic fishPagothenia borchgrevinki at rest and after heat stress. Fish sampled immediately after capture (–1.9°C) had low cortisol levels (10.4±1.4 ng ml^–1, mean±SEM) as did fish which were laboratory rested for 3 days. Sudden exposure to 5°C (48h) resulted in a peak cortisol value after 3 h (69.9±6.8 ng ml^–1) whereas exposure to 8°C (6h) resulted in a peak value after 1 h (73.5±8.0 ng ml^–1). At both temperatures levels remained significantly elevated (p<0.05) for the entire period of exposure. Increased temperature also resulted in a significant change in haemoglobin, haematocrit and mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (p<0.05). Plasma lactate was significantly elevated only after exposure to 8°C (p<0.05). Plasma cortisol levels fromP. borchgrevinki are reported here for the first time and show this cryopelagic Antarctic species to have an unusual hormonal stress profile.     

Differential signaling in presynaptic neurotransmitter release

Neuronal communication is tightly regulated by presynaptic signaling, thereby temporarily and locally secreting one or more transmitters in order to exert propagation or modulation of network activity. In the last 2 decades our insight into the molecular regulation of presynaptic transmitter vesicle traffic and fusion has exponentionally grown due to the identification of specific functional interactions between presynaptic proteins involved in these processes. In addition, a plethora of extracellular and intracellular messengers regulate neurotransmitter release, occasionally leading to short- or long-term adaptations of the synapse to altered environmental signals. Important in this respect is the ability of various nerve terminals to diverge their output by differentiation in secretion of co-localized transmitters. This divergence in presynaptic signaling may converge in the postsynaptic target neuron or spread to neighbouring cells. In this review differential presynaptic signaling mechanisms will be related to their potential divergent roles in transmitter release.Received 25 November 2004; received after revision 23 December 2004; accepted 28 December 2004 Available online 09 March 2005     

Rate-compensated synaptic events in antarctic fish: Consequences of homeoviscous cold-adaptation

Summary At ambient sub-zero temperatures, muscles from antarctic fish produce spontaneous postsynaptic currents (MEPCs) of significantly shorter duration than those of temperate fishes. Fast decay of antarctic MEPCs is a predictable consequence of the increased membrane fluidity attributable to fatty acid unsaturation in cold-adapted animals.We wish to thank the Antarctic Division of the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the staff of Scott Base, without whom this work could not have been done. The work was supported financially by grants from the New Zealand University Grants Committee and from the Auckland University Research Committee. We are also grateful to members of the United States Antarctic Research Program, in particular Dr A. L. DeVries, for advice and assistance.     

The synapsins: beyond the regulation of neurotransmitter release

The synapsins are a family of five closely related neuron-specific phosphoproteins associated with the membranes of synaptic vesicles. The synapsins have been implicated in the regulation of neurotransmitter release. They tether synaptic vesicles to actin filaments in a phosphorylation-dependent manner, controlling the number of vesicles available for release at the nerve terminus. A growing body of evidence suggests that the synapsins play a broad role during neuronal development. They participate in the formation and maintenance of synaptic contacts among central neurons. In addition, each synapsin has a specific role during the elongation of undifferentiated processes and their posterior differentiation into axons and dendrites. In this review, we focus on these novel roles of synapsins during the early stages of development. Received 26 September 2001; received after revision 8 November 2001; accepted 9 November 2001     

Depression of spontaneous and ionophore-induced neurotransmitter release bySalmonella

Summary Exposure of frog neuromuscular junctions to heat-killed, lyophilizedSalmonella typhimurium (SR 11) produces an early increase in spontaneous transmitter release followed by depression of release and blockade of the obligatory release usually induced by ionophore X537A.This study was supported by the Office of Naval Research, Biophysics Section, NR 202-160, N00014-77-C-0630. X537A was a gift of Hoffman-LaRoche. I am greatly indebted to Dr R. McCallum for preparing the Salmonella material. J.A. Kuhn provided the technical assistance.     

The blockade of the neurotransmitter release apparatus by botulinum neurotoxins

The high toxicity of the seven serotypes of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT/A to G), together with their specificity and reversibility, includes them in the list A of potential bioterrorism weapons and, at the same time, among the therapeutics of choice for a variety of human syndromes. They invade nerve terminals and cleave specifically the three proteins which form the heterotrimeric SNAP REceptors (SNARE) complex that mediates neurotransmitter release. The BoNT-induced cleavage of the SNARE proteins explains by itself the paralysing activity of the BoNTs because the truncated proteins cannot form the SNARE complex. However, in the case of BoNT/A, the most widely used toxin in therapy, additional factors come into play as it only removes a few residues from the synaptosomal associate protein of 25 kDa C-terminus and this results in a long duration of action. To explain these facts and other experimental data, we present here a model for the assembly of the neuroexocytosis apparatus in which Synaptotagmin and Complexin first assist the zippering of the SNARE complex, and then stabilize and clamp an octameric radial assembly of the SNARE complexes.     

Depression of spontaneous and ionophore-induced neurotransmitter release by Salmonella.

Exposure of frog neuromuscular junctions to heat-killed, lyophilized Salmonella typhimurium (SR 11) produces an early increase in spontaneous transmitter release followed by depression of release and blockade of the obligatory release usually induced by ionophore X537A.     

Temperature acclimation and learning in fish

Summary Control fish acclimated at 21°C learned to swim upright following the attachment of floats to their ventral surfaces, while fish acclimated at both 5°C and 33°C failed to learn the swimming skill. Fish previously acclimated at 5°C and then transferred to 21°C 48 h before the task, learnt the swimming skill better than the control fish, but fish acclimated at 33°C and transferred to 21°C failed to acquire the new skill. Acclimation temperature, therefore, significantly modifies the learning behaviour of fish.     

Role of neurotransmitter release and cyclic AMP-dependent membrane phosphorylation in low voltage myocardial automaticity

Low voltage myocardial automaticity (LVA) was investigated by pharmacological modulations of the presynaptic and postsynaptic processes. The sensitivity of LVA both to inhibitor and stimulator of neurotransmitter release suggests its involvement in LVA genesis. Moreover, LVA is blocked by the inhibition of the cyclic AMP system, supporting the participation of the c-AMP-dependent membrane phosphorylation in calcium-mediated cardiac electrogenesis.     

Role of neurotransmitter release and cyclic AMP-dependent membrane phosphorylation in low voltage myocardial automaticity

Summary Low voltage myocardial automaticity (LVA) was investigated by pharmacological modulations of the presynaptic and postsynaptic processes. The sensitivity of LVA both to inhibitor and stimulator of neutrotransmitter release suggests its involvement in LVA genesis. Moreover, LVA is blocked by the inhibition of the cyclic AMP system, supporting the participation of the c-AMP-dependent membrane phosphorylation in calcium-mediated cardiac electrogenesis.Acknowledgment. The generous gift of RM1 12330A from Prof. G. Guellen, Paris, and of tolbutamide from Prof. T. Hayakawa, Tokyo, are gratefully acknowledged.     

Protein differentiation in striated white, yellow muscles and cardiac muscles in an antarctic fish free of hemoglobin, Champsocephalus gunnari]

Antarctic hemoglobin-free fish possess, besides white and cardiac muscles, a third type of striated muscle of yellowish appearance devoid of myoglobin which corresponds to the fish red muscles. Each of these three types differs from the others by its parvalbumin composition and lactate dehydrogenase isozymic distribution.     

Temperature dependence of Naja toxin blocking effect inRana temporaria

Zusammenfassung Die Abhängigkeit der blockierenden Wirkung des Najatoxins von der Temperatur zeigt, dass es bei seiner Einwirkung auf das cholinergische System nicht zur Bildung einer Ionenbindung kommt. Die Aktivierungsenergie der blockierenden Wirkung des Najatoxins war 3.4 kcal. mol.     

Temperature dependence of ventilation and O2-extraction in the Kittiwake,Rissa tridactyla

Summary At low ambient temperature the Kittiwake,Rissa tridactyla, increased its oxygen consumption, while lung ventilation remained unchanged. A changed breathing pattern (lower frequency and higher tidal volumes) and an increase in the lung O₂-extraction was responsible for the observed decrease in the ventilatory requirement, which may be important because it reduces the respiratory heat loss during cold exposure.The study was supported by the Danish Natural Science Research Council, Gads Fond, Tipsmidlerne and Norsk Polarinstitutt.     

Temperature dependence of the deformability of Carp (Cyprinus carpio) red blood cells

Summary Measurements were made of the deformability of the red cells of carp at different temperatures and compared with previous results obtained with another teleost fish (yellowtail) and human red cells. Changes with temperature are similar to those obtained with yellowtail, but interpretation of differences in terms of mean corpuscular volume alone are insufficient to account for the variations, which seem to be mainly due to differences in cellular deformability of the cells themselves.Acknowledgment. We wish to thank Karlheinz Götz for his excellent technical assistance. Reprint requests should be addressed to G.M.H.     

Relationship between the pars intermedia and the pars nervosa in the hypophysis of an antarctic seal

Resumen La pars intermedia de la hipófisis de la foca de Weddell (Leptonychotes weddelli) presenta trabéculas que irrumpen en la Pars nervosa. En estas trabéculas epiteliales se encuentran grumos y fibras de materialGömöri positivo. Este material no fué hallado en ninguna otra región de la adenohipófisis.

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This work has been carried out at the Scientific Station Almirante Brown in Antarctica during the Antarctic year 1966. It was supported by the Instituto Antártico Argentino. Contribución del Instituto Antártico Argentino No. 120.     

The membrane domain of vacuolar H<Superscript>+</Superscript>ATPase: a crucial player in neurotransmitter exocytotic release

V-ATPases are multimeric enzymes made of two sectors, a V1 catalytic domain and a V0 membrane domain. They accumulate protons in various intracellular organelles. Acidification of synaptic vesicles by V-ATPase energizes the accumulation of neurotransmitters in these storage organelles and is therefore required for efficient synaptic transmission. In addition to this well-accepted role, functional studies have unraveled additional hidden roles of V0 in neurotransmitter exocytosis that are independent of the transport of protons. V0 interacts with SNAREs and calmodulin, and perturbing these interactions affects neurotransmitter release. Here, we discuss these data in relation with previous results obtained in reconstituted membranes and on yeast vacuole fusion. We propose that V0 could be a sensor of intra-vesicular pH that controls the exocytotic machinery, probably regulating SNARE complex assembly during the synaptic vesicle priming step, and that, during the membrane fusion step, V0 might favor lipid mixing and fusion pore stability.     

Effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine antibodies on pigment migration in the erythrophores of the fiddler crab,Uca pugilator: Further evidence for 5-hydroxytryptamine as a neurotransmitter that stimulates release of red pigment-dispersing hormone

Summary 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) antibodies inhibit red pigment dispersion in the fiddler crab,Uca pugilator. This observation supports the hypothesis that 5-HT stimulates release of red pigment-dispersing hormone.The 5-HT antibody preparation was a generous gift from Dr S. Spector, Roche Institute of Molecular Biology, Nutley, New Jersey.