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Transient cerebral ischemia causes an inhomogeneous pattern of cell death in the brain. We investigated mechanisms, which may underlie the greater susceptibility of hippocampal CA1 vs. CA3 pyramidal cells to ischemic insult. Using an in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model of ischemia, we found that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) responses were enhanced in the more susceptible CA1 pyramidal cells and transiently depressed in the resistant CA3 pyramidal cells. The long-lasting potentiation of NMDA responses in CA1 cells was associated with delayed cell death and was prevented by blocking tyrosine kinase-dependent up-regulation of NMDA receptor function. In CA3 cells, the energy deprivation-induced transient depression of NMDA responses was converted to potentiation by blocking protein phosphatase signalling. These results suggest that energy deprivation differentially shifts the intracellular equilibrium between the tyrosine kinase and phosphatase activities that modulate NMDA responses in CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cells. Therapeutic modulation of tyrosine phosphorylation may thus prove beneficial in mitigating ischemia-induced neuronal death in vulnerable brain areas.

The morphological and functional consequences of epileptic activity were investigated by applying the convulsants bicuculline and/or picrotoxin to mature rat hippocampal slice cultures. After 3 days, some cells in all hippocampal subfields showed signs of degeneration, including swollen somata, vacuolation, and dendritic deformities, whereas others displayed only a massive reduction in the number of their dendritic spines. Intracellular recordings from CA3 pyramidal cells revealed a decrease in the amplitude of evoked excitatory synaptic potentials. y-Aminobutyric acid-releasing interneurons and inhibitory synaptic potentials were unaffected. Seven days after withdrawal of convulsants, remaining cells possessed a normal number of dendritic spines, thus demonstrating a considerable capacity for recovery. The pathological changes induced by convulsants are similar to those found in the hippocampi of human epileptics, suggesting that they are a consequence, rather than a cause, of epilepsy.Temporal lobe epilepsy and status epilepticus are associated with a characteristic pattern of cell damage in the hippocampus. There is usually a prominent loss of pyramidal and/or granule cells (1, 2). In addition, numerous deformities are observed in surviving neurons, including swollen and "beaded" dendrites, as well as a complete or partial loss of dendritic spines, as revealed in 4). Whether this neuropathology is the primary cause of the seizure disorder or rather a consequence of epileptic seizures resulting from some other etiology is not yet resolved. We have attempted to distinguish between these two possibilities by examining the effects of epileptic activity of known origin-namely, that induced by application of convulsant drugs-on neurons in hippocampal slice cultures maintained in vitro.

Expression of neurotrophins (NTs) and their receptors is elevated in the adult CNS under several neuropathological conditions. We have investigated the anatomical and electrophysiological consequences of chronic NT-3 or NT-4/5 treatment on established organotypic hippocampal slice cultures maintained in vitro for > 14 days. Both NT-3 and NT-4/5 increased spontaneous, action potential-dependent excitatory synaptic activity (sEPSCs), but only NT-3 increased inhibitory synaptic activity (sIPSCs) in CA3 pyramidal cells. Both NTs strongly promoted spontaneous synaptic bursting activity. Spontaneous bursts of EPSCs were observed after either NT treatment but only NT-3-treated cultures exhibited an increase in spontaneous bursts of IPSCs. In addition, sIPSC bursts were eliminated by blocking glutamatergic excitation. The frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents, but not miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents, was also increased by both NT-3 and NT-4/5. Furthermore, NT-3 and NT-4/5 induced an up-regulation of the growth-associated protein GAP-43, suggesting that neurotrophins may be able to induce axonal reorganization in established neuronal networks. CA1 pyramidal cells exhibited slight alterations in dendritic branching after NT-4/5, but not NT-3 treatment. We conclude that chronic treatment with NT-3 or NT-4/5 can affect an established hippocampal network by elevating spontaneous inhibitory and excitatory synaptic activity and inducing coordinated pre- and postsynaptic structural changes.

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