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Kainate-induced endocytosis in retinal amacrine cells.
Journal article

Kainate-induced endocytosis in retinal amacrine cells.

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  • 2003-09-02
Published in:
  • The Journal of comparative neurology. - 2003
Amacrine Cells
Animals
Cell Count
Chick Embryo
Cycloheximide
DNA Fragmentation
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Endocytosis
Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
In Situ Nick-End Labeling
Kainic Acid
Microscopy, Electron
Protein Synthesis Inhibitors
English Endocytosis is enhanced in some cases of neuronal death. We report for the first time that intraocular injections, in chick embryos, of excitotoxic doses of kainate induce strong endocytosis in retinal amacrine cells destined to die and that even subtoxic doses can induce some degree of endocytosis. That the uptake was due to endocytosis rather than passive diffusion through the plasma membrane was shown ultrastructurally. The endocytosis was demonstrated by using three unrelated tracers--horseradish peroxidase, microperoxidase, and 4.4-kDa fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled dextran--suggesting that it does not depend on the binding of the tracers to a particular receptor. However, it appears to be surprisingly sensitive to the size of the ligand, because a heavier (42-kDa) FITC-dextran was not endocytosed. The induction of endocytosis by kainate can occur even when protein synthesis is blocked. These results indicate that toxic or near-toxic doses of kainate induce endocytosis, raising the question of whether this is mechanistically implicated in causing or preventing excitotoxic neuronal death.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/180142
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