The neuronal control the mesothoracic flexor tibiae muscle of the locust

1. The anatomy, innervation and physiological properties of the mesothoracic flexor tibiae muscle were investigated. The muscle was found to have three functionally separate parts; the proximal, middle and distal flexors. Each part receives some axons which are common with the other parts and some which innervate exclusively this region of the muscle. By recording at the same time from the nerve branches and muscle fibres of the three parts of the flexor muscle the total number of axons was found to be 16 and their innervation pattern on the muscle was established. These axons can be distinguished as six fasts, three intermediate, three slows, two inhibitors and two DUM cells. 2. The tension/length curve for passive and active tension was plotted indicating a peak active tension increment at a femur-tibia angle of 9

Criticality in the relaxation phase of a spontaneously contracting atria isolated from a Frog's heart

The generation of the spontaneous contraction was investigated by the atria of a frog's heart isolated in a physiological solution. The exact dynamics at the critical point was determined analytically for a large class of critical systems introducing the so-called critical maps (CM). The time series describing the relaxation intervals of a spontaneous contracting cardiac tissue possesses critical properties analogous to a thermal system at a transition point. The critical character of the normal working heart characterized by the presence of long range correlations and fluctuations at many different time scales was indicated

Assessing the axonal translocation of CeO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles in the sciatic nerve fibers of the frog: an ex vivo electrophysiological study

Georgia Kastrinaki,1,* Christos Samsouris,2,* Efstratios K Kosmidis,3 Eleni Papaioannou,1 Athanasios G Konstandopoulos,1,4 George Theophilidis2 1Aerosol and Particle Technology Laboratory (APTL), CERTH/CPERI, Thessaloniki, Greece; 2Laboratory of Animal Physiology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 3Laboratory of Physiology, Department of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; 4Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: The axonal translocation of two commonly used nanoparticles in medicine, namely CeO2 and SiO2, is investigated. The study was conducted on frog sciatic nerve fibers in an ex vivo preparation. Nanoparticles were applied at the proximal end of the excised nerve. A nerve stimulation protocol was followed for over 35 hours. Nerve vitality curve comparison between control and exposed nerves showed that CeO2 has no neurotoxic effect at the concentrations tested. After exposure, specimens were fixed and then screen scanned every 1 mm along their length for nanoparticle presence by means of Fourier transform infrared microscopy. We demonstrated that both nanoparticles translocate within the nerve by formation of narrow bands in the Fourier transform infrared spectrum. For the CeO2, we also demonstrated that the translocation depends on both axonal integrity and electrical activity. The speed of translocation for the two species was estimated in the range of 0.45–0.58 mm/h, close to slow axonal transportation rate. Transmission electron microscopy provided direct evidence for the presence of SiO2 in the treated nerves. Keywords: CeO2, SiO2, FTIR, nanoparticles, ex vivo electrophysiology, frog sciatic nerve, translocatio

In vivo and in vitro neurotoxic action of plasma ultrafiltrate from uraemic patients

BACKGROUND: In order to investigate the aetiology of uraemic neuropathy, we evaluated the neurotoxic activity of plasma from uraemic patients. To this end we prepared a concentrate (1:1000) of 2-60 kDa MW compounds from paired filtration dialysis ultrafiltrate and evaluated its activity on peripheral nerve conduction in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: The in vivo neurotoxicity was tested on rat sciatic nerve by intraneural injection of the uraemic concentrate, followed, 1 to 6 days later, by electrophysiological assessment of motor response and maximum conduction velocity. In vitro experiments were performed on isolated frog sciatic nerve in the presence of uraemic concentrate, and the neurotoxicity was evaluated from the rate of the decrease in the amplitude of the evoked maximal action potential. RESULTS: In the in vivo experiments, the sciatic nerves injected with the uraemic concentrate showed a decrease in maximum conduction velocity and a progressive impairment in evoked motor response. In the in vitro experiments uraemic concentrate induced a dose-dependent neurotoxic effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the presence in plasma of uraemic patients of a compound of 2-60 kDa MW with neurotoxic activity

The Bite of the Honeybee: 2-Heptanone Secreted from Honeybee Mandibles during a Bite Acts as a Local Anaesthetic in Insects and Mammals

Honeybees secrete 2-heptanone (2-H) from their mandibular glands when they bite. Researchers have identified several possible functions: 2-H could act as an alarm pheromone to recruit guards and soldiers, it could act as a chemical marker, or it could have some other function. The actual role of 2-H in honeybee behaviour remains unresolved. In this study, we show that 2-H acts as an anaesthetic in small arthropods, such as wax moth larva (WML) and Varroa mites, which are paralysed after a honeybee bite. We demonstrated that honeybee mandibles can penetrate the cuticle of WML, introducing less than one nanolitre of 2-H into the WML open circulatory system and causing instantaneous anaesthetization that lasts for a few minutes. The first indication that 2-H acts as a local anaesthetic was that its effect on larval response, inhibition and recovery is very similar to that of lidocaine. We compared the inhibitory effects of 2-H and lidocaine on voltage-gated sodium channels. Although both compounds blocked the hNav1.6 and hNav1.2 channels, lidocaine was slightly more effective, 2.82 times, on hNav.6. In contrast, when the two compounds were tested using an ex vivo preparation-the isolated rat sciatic nerve-the function of the two compounds was so similar that we were able to definitively classify 2-H as a local anaesthetic. Using the same method, we showed that 2-H has the fastest inhibitory effect of all alkyl-ketones tested, including the isomers 3- and 4-heptanone. This suggests that natural selection may have favoured 2-H over other, similar compounds because of the associated fitness advantages it confers. Our results reveal a previously unknown role of 2-H in honeybee defensive behaviour and due to its minor neurotoxicity show potential for developing a new local anaesthetic from a natural product, which could be used in human and veterinary medicine. © 2012 Papachristoforou et al

Evaluation of the local anaesthetic activity of 3-aminobenzo[d]isothiazole derivatives using the rat sciatic nerve model

On the basis of computer prediction of biological activity by PASS and toxicity by DEREK, the most promising 32-alkylaminoacyl derivatives of 3-aminobenzo[d]isothiazole were selected for possible local anaesthetic action. This action was evaluated using an in vitro preparation of the isolated sciatic nerve of the rat and compared with lidocaine which was used as a reference compound. QSAR studies showed that the polarizability, polarity and molecular shape of molecules have a positive influence on their local anaesthetic activity, while contributions of aromatic CH and singly bonded nitrogen are negative. Since the estimated PASS probabilities to find local anaesthetic activity in the most active compounds are less than 50%, these compounds may be considered to be possible NCEs