Localization of dopamine D2 receptor in rat spinal cord identified with immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization

In the present study the distribution of dopamine D2 receptors in rat spinal cord was determined by means of immunocytochemistry using an anti-peptide antibody, directed against the putative third intracellular loop of the D2 receptor and in situ hybridization (ISH) using a [35S]UTP labelled anti-sense riboprobe. With the immunocytochemical technique, labelling was confined to neuronal cell bodies and their proximal dendrites. Strongest labelling was present in the parasympathetic area of the sacral cord and in two sexually dimorphic motor nuclei of the lumbosacral cord, the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus and the dorsolateral nucleus. Moderately labelled cells were present in the intermediolateral cell column, the area around the central canal and lamina I of the dorsal horn. Weak labelling was present in the lateral spinal nucleus and laminae VII and VIII of the ventral horn. Except for the two sexually dimorphic motornuclei of the lumbosacral cord labelled motoneurons were not encountered. With the ISH technique radioactive labelling was present in many neurons, indicating that they contained D2 receptor mRNA. The distribution of these neurons was very similar to the distribution obtained with immunocytochemistry, but with ISH additional labelled cells were detected in laminae III and IV of the dorsal horn, which were never labelled with immunocytochemistry. The present study shows that the De receptor is expressed in specific areas of the rat spinal cord. This distribution provides anatomical support for the involvement of D2 receptors in modulating nociceptive transmission and autonomic control. Our data further indicate that D2 receptors are not directly involved in modulating motor functions with the exception, possibly, of some sexual motor functions

Temperature control of local magnetic anisotropy in multiferroic CoFe/BaTiO3

This paper reports on the temperature evolution of local elastic interactions between ferromagnetic CoFe films and ferroelectric BaTiO3 substrates. Polarization microscopy measurements indicate that growth-induced stripe domains in the CoFe films are preserved and strengthened during cooling and heating through the structural phase transitions of BaTiO3. Moreover, rotation of the magnetic easy axes at the tertragonal-to-orthorhombic transition (T = 278 K) and at T  ≈  380 K simultaneously switches the local magnetization of both uniaxial domains by 90° . Irreversible changes in the ferromagnetic domain pattern are induced when the room-temperature ferroelectric domain structure is altered after temperature cycling.Peer reviewe

Steering effect on the shape of islands for homoepitaxial growth of Cu on Cu(100)

The steering effect on the growth of islands is investigated by combining molecular dynamics (MD) and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. Dynamics of depositing atoms and kinetics of atoms on a substrate are realized by MD and KMC, respectively. The reported experimental results on the asymmetric island growth [van Dijken {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 82}, 4038 (1999).] is well reproduced. A salient phenomenon, the reversal of the asymmetry, is found as the island size increases, and attributed to the asymmetric flux on the lower terrace of island.Comment: 5 figur

Field Tuning of Ferromagnetic Domain Walls on Elastically Coupled Ferroelectric Domain Boundaries

We report on the evolution of ferromagnetic domain walls during magnetization reversal in elastically coupled ferromagnetic-ferroelectric heterostructures. Using optical polarization microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, we demonstrate that the spin rotation and width of ferromagnetic domain walls can be accurately controlled by the strength of the applied magnetic field if the ferromagnetic walls are pinned onto 90 degrees ferroelectric domain boundaries. Moreover, reversible switching between magnetically charged and uncharged domain walls is initiated by magnetic field rotation. Switching between both wall types reverses the wall chirality and abruptly changes the width of the ferromagnetic domain walls by up to 1000%.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

The Dopaminergic Innervation Of The Brain Stem And Spinal Cord: An Anatomical Study on the Distribution of the Neurotransmitter Dopamine and Its D2 Receptor

Until the first half of the 19th century, the anatomy of the nervous system was studied mainly by means of macroscopic methods, like dissection, while microscopy was hampered by the lack of adequate staining techniques. However, when reliable fixation and staining techniques (like the Weigert and Golgi stains and the silver impregnation technique for degenerating fibers) became available, the knowledge of the nervous system rapidly increased. Since then a multitude of new research methods employed by an ever increasing number of scientists involved in studying the nervous system, have led to a rapid progress in our knowledge and - to some extent - our understanding of the nervous system. The classical anatomical studies and especially the findings of Ramon y Cajal (1909), the great advocate of the neuron theory, have laid the foundation of our present knowledge of the nervous system. Cytoarchitectonic studies of this period, made a big impact on neuroscience and served as the basis of the nomenclature of the central nervous system as it is still used today. Data on the chemical identity and the specific function of (groups of) nerve cells became available more recently. Often the data complemented, but sometimes it conflicted with, the cytoarchitecture based subdivisions of the brain. This induced the introduction of alternative nomenclatures, not based on cytoarchitecture, but on pharmacological or functional characteristics. This thesis, which describes an anatomical study of the dopamine innervation of the brain stem and spinal cord and one of the receptors involved, i.e. of a chemically identified system characterized by containing the transmitter dopamine, reflects some of these great changes, which transformed classical neuroanatomy into a dynamic, functional science. In this chapter the subject will be introduced by a short description of the anatomy of the spinal cord and the brainstem, followed by a description of the chemical anatomy of the nervous system, with the main emphasis on the doparninergic system and its receptors. Subsequently, we will provide insight into the scope of this thesis

Carbonic anhydrases CA1 and CA4 function in atmospheric CO2-modulated disease resistance

Main conclusion Carbonic anhydrases CA1 and CA4 attenuate plant immunity and can contribute to altered disease resistance levels in response to changing atmospheric CO2 conditions. Abstract β-Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) play an important role in CO2 metabolism and plant development, but have also been implicated in plant immunity. Here we show that the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and application of the microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) flg22 repress CA1 and CA4 gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using the CA double-mutant ca1ca4, we provide evidence that CA1 and CA4 play an attenuating role in pathogen- and flg22-triggered immune responses. In line with this, ca1ca4 plants exhibited enhanced resistance against P. syringae, which was accompanied by an increased expression of the defense-related genes FRK1 and ICS1. Under low atmospheric CO2 conditions (150 ppm), when CA activity is typically low, the levels of CA1 transcription and resistance to P. syringae in wild-type Col-0 were similar to those observed in ca1ca4. However, under ambient (400 ppm) and elevated (800 ppm) atmospheric CO2 conditions, CA1 transcription was enhanced and resistance to P. syringae reduced. Together, these results suggest that CA1 and CA4 attenuate plant immunity and that differential CA gene expression in response to changing atmospheric CO2 conditions contribute to altered disease resistance levels