Intrinsic Signals (intrinsic + signal)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Molecular-feature domains with posterodorsal,anteroventral polarity in the symmetrical sensory maps of the mouse olfactory bulb: mapping of odourant-induced Zif268 expression

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 10 2002
Koichiro Inaki
Abstract Individual glomeruli in the mammalian olfactory bulb presumably represent a single type of odourant receptor. Thus, the glomerular sheet provides odourant receptor maps at the surface of the olfactory bulb. To understand the basic spatial organization of the olfactory sensory maps, we first compared the spatial distribution of odourant-induced responses measured by the optical imaging of intrinsic signals with that detected immunohistochemically by expressions of Zif268, one of the immediate early gene products in juxtaglomerular cells. In the dorsal surface of the bulb, we detected a clear correlation in the spatial pattern between these responses. In addition, the molecular-feature domains and their polarities (spatial shifts of responses with an increase in carbon chain length) that were defined by the optical imaging method could be also detected by the Zif268 mapping method. We then mapped the Zif268 signals over the entire olfactory bulb using a homologous series of fatty acids and aliphatic alcohols as stimulus odourants. We superimposed the Zif268 signals onto the standard unrolled map with the help of cell adhesion molecule compartments. Each odourant typically elicited two pairs of clusters of dense Zif268 signals. The results showed that molecular-feature domains and their polarities were arranged symmetrically at stereotypical positions in a mirror-image fashion between the lateral and the medial sensory maps. The polarity of each domain was roughly in parallel with the posterodorsal,anteroventral axis that was defined by the cell adhesion molecule compartments. These results suggest that the molecular-feature domain with its fixed polarity is one of the basic structural units in the spatial organization of the odourant receptor maps in the olfactory bulb. [source]


Apoptosis: a basic biological phenomenon with wide-ranging implications in human disease

JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2005
B. FADEEL
Abstract. Apoptosis is a highly regulated process of cell deletion and plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis in the adult organism. Numerous studies in recent years have revealed that apoptosis is a constitutive suicide programme expressed in most, if not all cells, and can be triggered by a variety of extrinsic and intrinsic signals. Many human diseases can be attributed directly or indirectly to a derangement of apoptosis, resulting in either cell accumulation, in which cell eradication or cell turnover is impaired, or cell loss, in which the apoptotic programme is inadvertently triggered. In addition, defective macrophage engulfment and degradation of cell corpses may also contribute to a dysregulation of tissue homeostasis. An increased understanding of the signalling pathways that govern the execution of apoptosis and the subsequent clearance of dying cells may thus yield novel targets for therapeutic intervention in a wide range of human maladies. [source]


Haematopoietic stem cell niche in Drosophila

BIOESSAYS, Issue 8 2007
Ute Koch
Development and homeostasis of the haematopoietic system is dependent upon stem cells that have the unique ability to both self-renew and to differentiate in all cell lineages of the blood. The crucial decision between haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and differentiation must be tightly controlled. Ultimately, this choice is regulated by the integration of intrinsic signals together with extrinsic cues provided by an exclusive microenvironment, the so-called haematopoietic niche. Although the haematopoietic system of vertebrates has been studied extensively for many decades, the specification of the HSC niche and its signals involved are poorly understood. Much of our current knowledge of how niches regulate long-term maintenance of stem cells is derived from studies on Drosophila germ cells. Now, two recently published studies by Mandal et al.1 and Krezmien et al.2 describe the Drosophila haematopoietic niche and signal transduction pathways that are involved in the maintenance of haematopoietic precursors. Both reports emphasize several features that are important for controlling stem cell behavior and show parallels to both the vertebrate haematopoietic niche as well as the Drosophila germline stem cell niches in ovary and testis. The findings of both papers shed new light on the specific interactions between haematopoietic progenitors and their microenvironment. BioEssays 29:713,716, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


2126: Retinal and cortical functions in adult mice lacking cannabinoid receptors

ACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2010
C CASANOVA
Purpose Cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) has been localized in the adult retina of rodents. It is expressed in cones, horizontal, bipolar, some amacrine and ganglion cells. The expression of the cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R) mRNA in the retina of adult rats was also reported. The goal of the present study was to investigate the functional roles of CB1R and CB2R in the retina by comparing retinal electrophysiological responses and cortical optical signals in normal and genetically modified mice. Methods Experiments were conducted on four different groups of C57BL/6 mice: CB1R wild type (WT), CB1R knockout (KO), CB2R WT and KO. Scotopic electroretinograms (ERG) luminance-response functions and photopic ERGs were recorded. In a subset of CB1 groups, intrinsic signals acquired by optical brain imaging were used to determine spatial frequency, contrast sensitivity and retinotopic maps in the visual cortex. Results The CB1R KO retina showed a stronger photopic response. No differences were observed for scotopic responses. For the CB2R groups, the scotopic b-wave response was stronger in the KO mice. No differences could be seen between visual cortices maps with respect to SF and contrast sensitivity. Retinotopic maps differed only along the azimuth. Significant differences were observed between hemodynamic response functions. Conclusion These results indicate that CB receptors can play a regulatory effect on the neurovascular coupling at the retinal and cortical levels and on the functional organization of the mice visual cortex along the azimuth Axis.(NSERC) [source]


Optimal stimulus size maps in the primary visual cortex revealed by optical imaging in cats

ACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2007
C CASANOVA
Purpose: It is well known that the responses of cells in the primary visual cortex depend on stimulus size. While the stimulus-size dependency has been well documented at the cellular level, nothing is known about its consequences on global functional maps. Methods: Optical imaging of intrinsic signals in the primary visual cortex was carried out in anesthetized cats. Stimuli consisted of 0.75 to 0.1 cycles per degree square-wave gratings drifting in 8 directions at 2 to 4 Hz and were presented monocularly. Responses were obtained for different stimulus diameters (3 to 50 deg, and a full screen condition). Results: The minimal visual stimulation necessary to activate areas 17 and 18 was around 3 and 6 deg. in diameter respectively. The activation area of cortex (10-30 mm2) was dependent of the eccentricity (0 to 30 deg). The pixelwise measure of the signal magnitude in this area showed a modular organisation uncorrelated with the orientation map and stable in time: Half of the pixels had a maximum activation for the full screen stimulation (full field facilitation) and the other half attained their maximum for diameters about 15 and 30 deg of diameter in area 17 and 18 respectively (full field suppression). The suppression by the full screen stimulation was around 30% in both areas. Conclusions: Thus, the maximum activation revealed by optical imaging necessitates the stimulation of a much larger spatial area than that observed with single cells. This difference is likely due to the fact that this method reflects in- and out going signals and reveals activity of adjacent neurons being part of intra-cortical and thalamo-cortical circuits. Supp: NSERC and CIHR. [source]