Membrane properties of ameboid microglial cells in the corpus callosum slice from early postnatal mice

Microglial cells in culture are distinct from neurons, macroglial cells, and macrophages of tissues other than brain with respect to their membrane current pattern. To assess these cells in the intact tissue, we have applied the patch-clamp technique to study membrane currents in microglial cells from acute, whole brain slices of 6-9-d-old mice in an area of microglial cell invasion, the cingulum. As strategies to identify microglial cells prior to or after recording, we used binding and incorporation of Dil-acetylated low-density lipoproteins, binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate-coupled IgG via microglial Fc-receptors, and ultrastructural characterization. As observed previously for cultured microglial cells, depolarizing voltage steps activate only minute if any membrane currents, while hyperpolarizing voltage steps induced large inward currents. These currents exhibited properties of the inwardly rectifying K+ channel in that the reversal potential depended on the transmembrane K+ gradient, inactivation time constants decreased with hyperpolarization, and the current was blocked by tetraethylammonium (50 mM). This study represents the first attempt to assess microglial cells in situ using electrophysiological methods. It opens the possibility to address questions related to the function of microglial cells in the intact CNS

Extracellular ATP activates a cation conductance and a K+ conductance in cultured microglial cells from mouse brain

Microglial cells have important functions during regenerative processes after brain injury. It is well established that they rapidly respond to damage to the brain tissue. Stages of activation are associated with changes of cellular properties such as proliferation rate or expression of surface antigens. Yet, nothing is known about signal substances leading to the rapid changes of membrane properties, which may be required to initiate the transition from one cell stage into another. From our present study, using the patch-clamp technique, we report that cultured microglial cells obtained from mouse or rat brain respond to extracellularly applied ATP with the activation of a cation conductance. Additionally, in the majority of cells an outwardly directed K+ conductance was activated with some delay. Since ADP, AMP, and adenosine (in descending order) were less potent or ineffective in inducing the cation conductance, the involvement of a P2 purinergic receptor is proposed. The receptor activation is accompanied by an increase of cytosolic Ca2+ as determined by a fura-2-based Ca(2+)-imaging system. This ATP receptor could enable microglial cells to respond to transmitter release from nerve endings with ATP as a transmitter or cotransmitter or to the death of cells with resulting leakage of ATP

Some aspects of anelastic and microplastic creep of pure Al and two Al-alloys

Anelastic creep of pure Al, commercial Al-Cu and a binary Al-Cu alloy has been measured at room temperature by means of a high resolution laser interferometer. The irreversible component of the deformation was also quantified from measurements of the anelastic creep recovery. The dependence of the deformation-time curves on thermal treatment and cold work is analyzed. The mechanisms responsible for the room temperature anelastic creep are discussed. Materials loaded below their elastic limit can present either a pure anelastic behavior (commercial Al-Cu) or additional viscoelastic creep (pure Al, high purity Al-Cu). For commercial Al-Cu, the presence of an irreversible deformation appears to be mainly related to the state of the surface. A viscoelastic after effect has been measured for this alloy after a Cu-electroplating treatment. As a typical result for room temperature creep, the irreversible deformation depends logarithmically on load time

A Study of the Room Temperature Anelastic Creep of Cu-Be

The future nanotechnology requires materials which are dimensionally and elastically stable within the nm-domain. Because of their elastic stability, Cu-Be alloys are often used for the fabrication of elastic force sensors (spring elements). Anelastic and viscous creep limit the precision of such sensors. Therefore we have studied the anelastic and viscoelastic relaxations of Cu-Be using laser heterodyne interferometery. This method allows to measure flexural displacements as small as 0.1 nm. Our measurements revealed that the anelastic creep of Cu-Be is influenced by the microstructure of the bulk sample as well as the surface condition. The observed influence of the surface on the anelastic creep suggests that the surface dislocation density controls the anelastic relaxation