BS42018 L5+6 Flashcards
what are two endocrine hormones that markedly influence hippocampal synaptic plasticity?
leptin and insulin
where is leptin made and secreted?
white adipose tissue (white fat cells in periphery)
what does leptin do?
It regulates food intake and body weight and so therefore regulates energy homeostasis via its actions in the hypothalamus.
how does leptin work?
by binding to the leptin receptor which is a product of the diabetes (db) gene
how many splice variants does leptin have?
6- Ob-Ra: Ob-Rf
describe leptin receptor signal transduction (6)
- Leptin binds to the receptor which causes phosphorylation of the intracellular tyrosine residues
- this allows association with JAK2 and JAK2 activation allows the subsequent signalling pathways downstream to be activated.
- Activation of STAT signalling molecules allows for gene transcriptional changes to occur.
- IRS proteins which are insulin receptor sub proteins then activate PI3- Kinase
- this then causes changes in channel function and gene transcriptional changes as well.
- There is also activation in the Ras/MAPK pathway.
where are leptin receptors expressed in the CNS?
specific hypothalamic nuclei (ARC, VMH, DMN)
High levels of Ob-Rb mRNA/protein are expressed where?
in the cerebellum, hippocampus, brain stem and amygdala
how does leptin get into the brain?
- saturable transportation
- CSF
- released locally in CNS as mRNA peptide
how do you locate leptin receptors?
immunocytochemical approach
how does immunocytochemical approaches work? (4)
Using specific antibodies that are targeted against particular receptor sites.
- Take hippocampal neurons and fix and permeabilise them.
- The antibody can now gain access to the neuron.
- You can then visualise where this is localised using a secondary antibody with a fluorescent tag.
- Then use a confocal microscope to give indication of where the receptors are localised.
leptin receptors colocalised with what?
NMDA receptors
how would you isolate excitatory transmission?
to look at dual component EPSPs you would block GABA-ergic transmission by bath applying picrotoxin. You’d have caesium ions in the patch pipette which will dialyse into the neurons and block GABAbRs.
what does leptin do to hippocampal synaptic plasticity?
facilitates it
how does leptin facilitate hippocampal synaptic plasticity?
enhances NMDA-induced Ca2+ influx
how does leptin modulate NMDAR function and how was this shown?
Using blocking agents they have identified that both activation of MAPK and PI3-kinase signalling contribute to the facilitation of NMDA responses by leptin receptor activation
(blocking agents= LY294002 or wortmannin (PI3-K), PD98059 or U0126 (MAPK))
which NMDAR subunit dictates biophysics and pharmacology?
NR2
where are NR2a and NR2b receptors expressed?
NR2a- synaptically
NR2b- extrasynaptically
how does leptin enhance maximal currents to NMDA responses?
leptin has somehow changed the density of NMDARs expressed at the membrane. it suggests that leptin has the ability to upregulate or promote receptor trafficking to the membrane.
how would you check if any trafficking events have occurred in leptin signalling?
immunocytochemistry approach
what does leptin do to NMDAR surface expression?
increases it
what does leptin do in adult hippocampal tissue?
causes enhancement of synaptic transmission but doesn’t wash out. It causes a leptin induced novel form of LTP that is long lasting.
what regions of AMPARs determine the trafficking properties?
specific c-terminal regions
what does leptin do to GLuA1 surface expression?
increases it