TY - JOUR A1 - Geis, Christian A1 - Weishaupt, Andreas A1 - Grünewald, Benedikt A1 - Wultsch, Thomas A1 - Reif, Andreas A1 - Gerlach, Manfred A1 - Dirkx, Ron A1 - Solimena, Michele A1 - Toyka, Klaus V A1 - Folli, Franco A1 - Perani, Daniela A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Sommer, Claudia T1 - Human Stiff-Person Syndrome IgG Induces Anxious Behavior in Rats JF - Plos One N2 - Background: Anxiety is a heterogeneous behavioral domain playing a role in a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases. While anxiety is the cardinal symptom in disorders such as panic disorder, co-morbid anxious behavior can occur in a variety of diseases. Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a CNS disorder characterized by increased muscle tone and prominent agoraphobia and anxiety. Most patients have high-titer antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) 65. The pathogenic role of these autoantibodies is unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: We re-investigated a 53 year old woman with SPS and profound anxiety for GABA-A receptor binding in the amygdala with (11) C-flumazenil PET scan and studied the potential pathogenic role of purified IgG from her plasma filtrates containing high-titer antibodies against GAD 65. We passively transferred the IgG fraction intrathecally into rats and analyzed the effects using behavioral and in vivo electrophysiological methods. In cell culture, we measured the effect of patient IgG on GABA release from hippocampal neurons. Repetitive intrathecal application of purified patient IgG in rats resulted in an anxious phenotype resembling the core symptoms of the patient. Patient IgG selectively bound to rat amygdala, hippocampus, and frontal cortical areas. In cultured rat hippocampal neurons, patient IgG inhibited GABA release. In line with these experimental results, the GABA-A receptor binding potential was reduced in the patient's amygdala/hippocampus complex. No motor abnormalities were found in recipient rats. Conclusion/Significance: The observations in rats after passive transfer lead us to propose that anxiety-like behavior can be induced in rats by passive transfer of IgG from a SPS patient positive for anti-GAD 65 antibodies. Anxiety, in this case, thus may be an antibody-mediated phenomenon with consecutive disturbance of GABAergic signaling in the amygdala region. KW - Glutamic-acid decarboxylase anxiety KW - spinal-cord-injury KW - presynaptic inhibition KW - 65-kda isoform KW - fear memory KW - antibodies KW - disorder KW - neurons KW - anxiety KW - autoantibodies Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140506 VL - 6 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Geis, Christian A1 - Weishaupt, Andreas A1 - Grünewald, Benedikt A1 - Wultsch, Thomas A1 - Reif, Andreas A1 - Gerlach, Manfred A1 - Dirkx, Ron A1 - Solimena, Michele A1 - Perani, Daniela A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Toyka, Klaus V. A1 - Folli, Franco A1 - Sommer, Claudia T1 - Human Stiff-Person Syndrome IgG Induces Anxious Behavior in Rats N2 - Background: Anxiety is a heterogeneous behavioral domain playing a role in a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases. While anxiety is the cardinal symptom in disorders such as panic disorder, co-morbid anxious behavior can occur in a variety of diseases. Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a CNS disorder characterized by increased muscle tone and prominent agoraphobia and anxiety. Most patients have high-titer antibodies against glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) 65. The pathogenic role of these autoantibodies is unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: We re-investigated a 53 year old woman with SPS and profound anxiety for GABA-A receptor binding in the amygdala with (11)C-flumazenil PET scan and studied the potential pathogenic role of purified IgG from her plasma filtrates containing high-titer antibodies against GAD 65. We passively transferred the IgG fraction intrathecally into rats and analyzed the effects using behavioral and in vivo electrophysiological methods. In cell culture, we measured the effect of patient IgG on GABA release from hippocampal neurons. Repetitive intrathecal application of purified patient IgG in rats resulted in an anxious phenotype resembling the core symptoms of the patient. Patient IgG selectively bound to rat amygdala, hippocampus, and frontal cortical areas. In cultured rat hippocampal neurons, patient IgG inhibited GABA release. In line with these experimental results, the GABA-A receptor binding potential was reduced in the patient’s amygdala/hippocampus complex. No motor abnormalities were found in recipient rats. Conclusion/Significance: The observations in rats after passive transfer lead us to propose that anxiety-like behavior can be induced in rats by passive transfer of IgG from a SPS patient positive for anti-GAD 65 antibodies. Anxiety, in this case, thus may be an antibody-mediated phenomenon with consecutive disturbance of GABAergic signaling in the amygdala region. KW - Medizin Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-74757 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ahmad, Ruhel A1 - Wolber, Wanja A1 - Eckardt, Sigrid A1 - Koch, Philipp A1 - Schmitt, Jessica A1 - Semechkin, Ruslan A1 - Geis, Christian A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Brüstle, Oliver A1 - McLaughlin, John K. A1 - Sirén, Anna-Leena A1 - Müller, Albrecht M. T1 - Functional Neuronal Cells Generated by Human Parthenogenetic Stem Cells JF - PLoS One N2 - Parent of origin imprints on the genome have been implicated in the regulation of neural cell type differentiation. The ability of human parthenogenetic (PG) embryonic stem cells (hpESCs) to undergo neural lineage and cell type-specific differentiation is undefined. We determined the potential of hpESCs to differentiate into various neural subtypes. Concurrently, we examined DNA methylation and expression status of imprinted genes. Under culture conditions promoting neural differentiation, hpESC-derived neural stem cells (hpNSCs) gave rise to glia and neuron-like cells that expressed subtype-specific markers and generated action potentials. Analysis of imprinting in hpESCs and in hpNSCs revealed that maternal-specific gene expression patterns and imprinting marks were generally maintained in PG cells upon differentiation. Our results demonstrate that despite the lack of a paternal genome, hpESCs generate proliferating NSCs that are capable of differentiation into physiologically functional neuron-like cells and maintain allele-specific expression of imprinted genes. Thus, hpESCs can serve as a model to study the role of maternal and paternal genomes in neural development and to better understand imprinting-associated brain diseases. KW - methylation KW - derivation KW - blastocysts KW - pluripotent KW - differentiation KW - lines KW - brain development KW - in-vitro KW - mice KW - specification Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130268 VL - 7 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sirén, Anna-Leena A1 - Stetter, Christian A1 - Hirschberg, Markus A1 - Nieswandt, Bernhard A1 - Ernestus, Ralf-Ingo A1 - Heckmann, Manfred T1 - An experimental protocol for in vivo imaging of neuronal structural plasticity with 2-photon microscopy in mice JF - Experimental & Translational Stroke Medicine N2 - Introduction Structural plasticity with synapse formation and elimination is a key component of memory capacity and may be critical for functional recovery after brain injury. Here we describe in detail two surgical techniques to create a cranial window in mice and show crucial points in the procedure for long-term repeated in vivo imaging of synaptic structural plasticity in the mouse neocortex. Methods Transgenic Thy1-YFP(H) mice expressing yellow-fluorescent protein (YFP) in layer-5 pyramidal neurons were prepared under anesthesia for in vivo imaging of dendritic spines in the parietal cortex either with an open-skull glass or thinned skull window. After a recovery period of 14 days, imaging sessions of 45–60 min in duration were started under fluothane anesthesia. To reduce respiration-induced movement artifacts, the skull was glued to a stainless steel plate fixed to metal base. The animals were set under a two-photon microscope with multifocal scanhead splitter (TriMScope, LaVision BioTec) and the Ti-sapphire laser was tuned to the optimal excitation wavelength for YFP (890 nm). Images were acquired by using a 20×, 0.95 NA, water-immersion objective (Olympus) in imaging depth of 100–200 μm from the pial surface. Two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional image stacks containing dendritic segments of interest were saved for further analysis. At the end of the last imaging session, the mice were decapitated and the brains removed for histological analysis. Results Repeated in vivo imaging of dendritic spines of the layer-5 pyramidal neurons was successful using both open-skull glass and thinned skull windows. Both window techniques were associated with low phototoxicity after repeated sessions of imaging. Conclusions Repeated imaging of dendritic spines in vivo allows monitoring of long-term structural dynamics of synapses. When carefully controlled for influence of repeated anesthesia and phototoxicity, the method will be suitable to study changes in synaptic structural plasticity after brain injury. KW - 2-photon microscopy KW - Fluorescence KW - In vivo imaging KW - Neurons KW - Cranial window KW - Mouse model Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96908 UR - http://www.etsmjournal.com/content/5/1/9 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paul, Mila M. A1 - Pauli, Martin A1 - Ehmann, Nadine A1 - Hallermann, Stefan A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Kittel, Robert J. A1 - Heckmann, Manfred T1 - Bruchpilot and Synaptotagmin collaborate to drive rapid glutamate release and active zone differentiation JF - Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience N2 - The active zone (AZ) protein Bruchpilot (Brp) is essential for rapid glutamate release at Drosophila melanogaster neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Quantal time course and measurements of action potential-waveform suggest that presynaptic fusion mechanisms are altered in brp null mutants (brp\(^{69}\)). This could account for their increased evoked excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) delay and rise time (by about 1 ms). To test the mechanism of release protraction at brp\(^{69}\) AZs, we performed knock-down of Synaptotagmin-1 (Syt) via RNAi (syt\(^{KD}\)) in wildtype (wt), brp\(^{69}\) and rab3 null mutants (rab3\(^{rup}\)), where Brp is concentrated at a small number of AZs. At wt and rab3\(^{rup}\) synapses, syt\(^{KD}\) lowered EPSC amplitude while increasing rise time and delay, consistent with the role of Syt as a release sensor. In contrast, syt\(^{KD}\) did not alter EPSC amplitude at brp\(^{69}\) synapses, but shortened delay and rise time. In fact, following syt\(^{KD}\), these kinetic properties were strikingly similar in wt and brp\(^{69}\), which supports the notion that Syt protracts release at brp\(^{69}\) synapses. To gain insight into this surprising role of Syt at brp\(^{69}\) AZs, we analyzed the structural and functional differentiation of synaptic boutons at the NMJ. At tonic type Ib motor neurons, distal boutons contain more AZs, more Brp proteins per AZ and show elevated and accelerated glutamate release compared to proximal boutons. The functional differentiation between proximal and distal boutons is Brp-dependent and reduced after syt\(^{KD}\). Notably, syt\(^{KD}\) boutons are smaller, contain fewer Brp positive AZs and these are of similar number in proximal and distal boutons. In addition, super-resolution imaging via dSTORM revealed that syt\(^{KD}\) increases the number and alters the spatial distribution of Brp molecules at AZs, while the gradient of Brp proteins per AZ is diminished. In summary, these data demonstrate that normal structural and functional differentiation of Drosophila AZs requires concerted action of Brp and Syt. KW - neuromuscular junction KW - Bruchpilot KW - synaptic delay KW - dSTORM KW - synaptotagmin KW - presynaptic differentiation KW - neurotransmitter release KW - active zone KW - synaptic transmission KW - fluorescent probes Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148988 VL - 9 IS - 29 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Capetian, Philipp A1 - Müller, Lorenz A1 - Volkmann, Jens A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Ergün, Süleyman A1 - Wagner, Nicole T1 - Visualizing the synaptic and cellular ultrastructure in neurons differentiated from human induced neural stem cells - an optimized protocol JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - The size of the synaptic subcomponents falls below the limits of visible light microscopy. Despite new developments in advanced microscopy techniques, the resolution of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) remains unsurpassed. The requirements of tissue preservation are very high, and human post mortem material often does not offer adequate quality. However, new reprogramming techniques that generate human neurons in vitro provide samples that can easily fulfill these requirements. The objective of this study was to identify the culture technique with the best ultrastructural preservation in combination with the best embedding and contrasting technique for visualizing neuronal elements. Two induced neural stem cell lines derived from healthy control subjects underwent differentiation either adherent on glass coverslips, embedded in a droplet of highly concentrated Matrigel, or as a compact neurosphere. Afterward, they were fixed using a combination of glutaraldehyde (GA) and paraformaldehyde (PFA) followed by three approaches (standard stain, Ruthenium red stain, high contrast en-bloc stain) using different combinations of membrane enhancing and contrasting steps before ultrathin sectioning and imaging by TEM. The compact free-floating neurospheres exhibited the best ultrastructural preservation. High-contrast en-bloc stain offered particularly sharp staining of membrane structures and the highest quality visualization of neuronal structures. In conclusion, compact neurospheres growing under free-floating conditions in combination with a high contrast en-bloc staining protocol, offer the optimal preservation and contrast with a particular focus on visualizing membrane structures as required for analyzing synaptic structures. KW - transmission electron microscopy KW - human neurons KW - induced neural stem cells KW - synapse KW - synaptic vesicles KW - high contrast Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236053 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 21 IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mrestani, Achmed A1 - Pauli, Martin A1 - Kollmannsberger, Philip A1 - Repp, Felix A1 - Kittel, Robert J. A1 - Eilers, Jens A1 - Doose, Sören A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Sirén, Anna-Leena A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Paul, Mila M. T1 - Active zone compaction correlates with presynaptic homeostatic potentiation JF - Cell Reports N2 - Neurotransmitter release is stabilized by homeostatic plasticity. Presynaptic homeostatic potentiation (PHP) operates on timescales ranging from minute- to life-long adaptations and likely involves reorganization of presynaptic active zones (AZs). At Drosophila melanogaster neuromuscular junctions, earlier work ascribed AZ enlargement by incorporating more Bruchpilot (Brp) scaffold protein a role in PHP. We use localization microscopy (direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy [dSTORM]) and hierarchical density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (HDBSCAN) to study AZ plasticity during PHP at the synaptic mesoscale. We find compaction of individual AZs in acute philanthotoxin-induced and chronic genetically induced PHP but unchanged copy numbers of AZ proteins. Compaction even occurs at the level of Brp subclusters, which move toward AZ centers, and in Rab3 interacting molecule (RIM)-binding protein (RBP) subclusters. Furthermore, correlative confocal and dSTORM imaging reveals how AZ compaction in PHP translates into apparent increases in AZ area and Brp protein content, as implied earlier. KW - active zone KW - Bruchpilot KW - RIM-binding protein KW - compaction KW - homeostasis KW - presynaptic plasticity KW - super-resolution microscopy Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265497 VL - 37 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pauli, Martin A1 - Paul, Mila M. A1 - Proppert, Sven A1 - Mrestani, Achmed A1 - Sharifi, Marzieh A1 - Repp, Felix A1 - Kürzinger, Lydia A1 - Kollmannsberger, Philip A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Sirén, Anna-Leena T1 - Targeted volumetric single-molecule localization microscopy of defined presynaptic structures in brain sections JF - Communications Biology N2 - Revealing the molecular organization of anatomically precisely defined brain regions is necessary for refined understanding of synaptic plasticity. Although three-dimensional (3D) single-molecule localization microscopy can provide the required resolution, imaging more than a few micrometers deep into tissue remains challenging. To quantify presynaptic active zones (AZ) of entire, large, conditional detonator hippocampal mossy fiber (MF) boutons with diameters as large as 10 mu m, we developed a method for targeted volumetric direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM). An optimized protocol for fast repeated axial scanning and efficient sequential labeling of the AZ scaffold Bassoon and membrane bound GFP with Alexa Fluor 647 enabled 3D-dSTORM imaging of 25 mu m thick mouse brain sections and assignment of AZs to specific neuronal substructures. Quantitative data analysis revealed large differences in Bassoon cluster size and density for distinct hippocampal regions with largest clusters in MF boutons. Pauli et al. develop targeted volumetric dSTORM in order to image large hippocampal mossy fiber boutons (MFBs) in brain slices. They can identify synaptic targets of individual MFBs and measured size and density of Bassoon clusters within individual untruncated MFBs at nanoscopic resolution. KW - mossy fiber synapses KW - CA3 pyrimidal cells KW - CA2+ channels KW - active zone KW - hippocampal KW - release KW - plasticity KW - proteins KW - platform KW - reveals Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259830 VL - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lichter, Katharina A1 - Paul, Mila Marie A1 - Pauli, Martin A1 - Schoch, Susanne A1 - Kollmannsberger, Philip A1 - Stigloher, Christian A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Sirén, Anna-Leena T1 - Ultrastructural analysis of wild-type and RIM1α knockout active zones in a large cortical synapse JF - Cell Reports N2 - Rab3A-interacting molecule (RIM) is crucial for fast Ca\(^{2+}\)-triggered synaptic vesicle (SV) release in presynaptic active zones (AZs). We investigated hippocampal giant mossy fiber bouton (MFB) AZ architecture in 3D using electron tomography of rapid cryo-immobilized acute brain slices in RIM1α\(^{−/−}\) and wild-type mice. In RIM1α\(^{−/−}\), AZs are larger with increased synaptic cleft widths and a 3-fold reduced number of tightly docked SVs (0–2 nm). The distance of tightly docked SVs to the AZ center is increased from 110 to 195 nm, and the width of their electron-dense material between outer SV membrane and AZ membrane is reduced. Furthermore, the SV pool in RIM1α\(^{−/−}\) is more heterogeneous. Thus, RIM1α, besides its role in tight SV docking, is crucial for synaptic architecture and vesicle pool organization in MFBs. KW - active zone KW - acute brain slices KW - CA3 KW - electron tomography KW - high-pressure freezing KW - hippocampal mossy fiber bouton KW - RIM1α KW - SV pool KW - synaptic ultrastructure KW - presynaptic Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300913 VL - 40 IS - 12 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dannhäuser, Sven A1 - Mrestani, Achmed A1 - Gundelach, Florian A1 - Pauli, Martin A1 - Komma, Fabian A1 - Kollmannsberger, Philip A1 - Sauer, Markus A1 - Heckmann, Manfred A1 - Paul, Mila M. T1 - Endogenous tagging of Unc-13 reveals nanoscale reorganization at active zones during presynaptic homeostatic potentiation JF - Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience N2 - Introduction Neurotransmitter release at presynaptic active zones (AZs) requires concerted protein interactions within a dense 3D nano-hemisphere. Among the complex protein meshwork the (M)unc-13 family member Unc-13 of Drosophila melanogaster is essential for docking of synaptic vesicles and transmitter release. Methods We employ minos-mediated integration cassette (MiMIC)-based gene editing using GFSTF (EGFP-FlAsH-StrepII-TEV-3xFlag) to endogenously tag all annotated Drosophila Unc-13 isoforms enabling visualization of endogenous Unc-13 expression within the central and peripheral nervous system. Results and discussion Electrophysiological characterization using two-electrode voltage clamp (TEVC) reveals that evoked and spontaneous synaptic transmission remain unaffected in unc-13\(^{GFSTF}\) 3rd instar larvae and acute presynaptic homeostatic potentiation (PHP) can be induced at control levels. Furthermore, multi-color structured-illumination shows precise co-localization of Unc-13\(^{GFSTF}\), Bruchpilot, and GluRIIA-receptor subunits within the synaptic mesoscale. Localization microscopy in combination with HDBSCAN algorithms detect Unc-13\(^{GFSTF}\) subclusters that move toward the AZ center during PHP with unaltered Unc-13\(^{GFSTF}\) protein levels. KW - active zone KW - Unc-13 KW - MiMIC KW - presynaptic homeostasis KW - nanoarchitecture KW - localization microscopy KW - STORM KW - HDBSCAN Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-299440 SN - 1662-5102 VL - 16 ER -