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. 2019 Jan 14:12:521.
doi: 10.3389/fncel.2018.00521. eCollection 2018.

Chronic Ethanol Consumption Impairs the Tactile-Evoked Long-Term Depression at Cerebellar Molecular Layer Interneuron-Purkinje Cell Synapses in vivo in Mice

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Chronic Ethanol Consumption Impairs the Tactile-Evoked Long-Term Depression at Cerebellar Molecular Layer Interneuron-Purkinje Cell Synapses in vivo in Mice

Da-Yong Li et al. Front Cell Neurosci. .

Abstract

The cerebellum is sensitive to ethanol (EtOH) consumption. Chronic EtOH consumption impairs motor learning by modulating the cerebellar circuitry synaptic transmission and long-term plasticity. Under in vitro conditions, acute EtOH inhibits both parallel fiber (PF) and climbing fiber (CF) long-term depression (LTD). However, thus far it has not been investigated how chronic EtOH consumption affects sensory stimulation-evoked LTD at the molecular layer interneurons (MLIs) to the Purkinje cell (PC) synapses (MLI-PC LTD) in the cerebellar cortex of living animals. In this study, we investigated the effect of chronic EtOH consumption on facial stimulation-evoked MLI-PC LTD, using an electrophysiological technique as well as pharmacological methods, in urethane-anesthetized mice. Our results showed that facial stimulation induced MLI-PC LTD in the control mice, but it could not be induced in mice with chronic EtOH consumption (0.8 g/kg; 28 days). Blocking the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor activity with AM-251, prevented MLI-PC LTD in the control mice, but revealed a nitric oxide (NO)-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) of MLI-PC synaptic transmission (MLI-PC LTP) in the EtOH consumption mice. Notably, with the application of a NO donor, S-nitroso-N-Acetyl-D, L-penicillamine (SNAP) alone prevented the induction of MLI-PC LTD, but a mixture of SNAP and AM-251 revealed an MLI-PC LTP in control mice. In contrast, inhibiting NO synthase (NOS) revealed the facial stimulation-induced MLI-PC LTD in EtOH consumption mice. These results indicate that long-term EtOH consumption can impair the sensory stimulation-induced MLI-PC LTD via the activation of a NO signaling pathway in the cerebellar cortex in vivo in mice. Our results suggest that the chronic EtOH exposure causes a deficit in the cerebellar motor learning function and may be involved in the impaired MLI-PC GABAergic synaptic plasticity.

Keywords: cerebellar purkinje cell; ethanol; in vivo cell-attached recording; molecular layer interneuron; nitric oxide; plasticity; sensory stimulation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Property of facial stimulation-evoked responses in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs). (A) Under cell-attached recording conditions (current-clamp mode; I = 0 pA), superposition of five sweeps shows a cerebellar PC in response to the tactile stimulation (bar, 10 ms) in artificialcerebrospinal fluid (ACSF). (B) The superposition of five sweeps shows the PC in response to the tactile stimulation (bar, 10 ms) in the presence of gabazine (50 μM). APs denote action potentials.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Facial stimulation at 1 Hz induces molecular layer interneuron-PC long-term depression (MLI-PC) LTD in the cerebellar cortex of control mice. (A) Representative cell-attached recording traces, showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi)-evoked responses in a cerebellar PC before (Pre) and after (post) delivering 1 Hz (240 pulses) stimulation. (B) Summary of the normalized positive component (P1) amplitude under control conditions (No stimulation, open circle; n = 8 mice) and delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head; filled circles; n = 8 mice). (C) Bar graph (n = 8 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before (Pre sti.) and after (Post sti.) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation and no stimulation (No sti). (D) Summary of data (n = 8 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before (Pre sti.) and after (Post sti.) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation and no stimulation (No sti.). Note that facial stimulation at 1 Hz induced MLI-PC LTD in mouse cerebellar cortex. Data points are mean ± SEM. #P < 0.05 vs. baseline (Pre-sti.).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Facial stimulation at 1 Hz failed to induce MLI-PC LTD in ethanol (EtOH) consumption mice. (A) Representative traces showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi)-evoked responses in a PC from an EtOH consumption mouse before (left) and after delivering 1 Hz stimulation. (B) Summary of the normalized P1 amplitude under delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head; n = 8 mice). (C) Bar graph (n = 8 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. (D) Summary of data (n = 8 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. Note that air-puff stimulation at 1 Hz failed to induce MLI-PC LTD in EtOH consumption mice. Data points are mean ± SEM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Blocking cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors activity, facial stimulation failed to induce MLI-PC LTD in control mice, but induced MLI-PC long-term potentiation (LTP) in EtOH consumption mice. (A) Representative cell-attached recording traces showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi)-evoked responses in a cerebellar PC from an EtOH consumption mouse before (left) and after delivering 1 Hz (240 pulses) stimulation in the presence of a CB1 antagonist, AM251 (5 μM). (B) Summary of the normalized P1 amplitude after delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head) in control mice (black; n = 7 mice) and EtOH consumption mice (Red; n = 7). (C) Bar graph (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before (Pre EtOH) and after (Post, EtOH; Post control) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation in EtOH consumption and control mice. (D) Summary of data (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before and after delivery of 1 Hz stimulation in EtOH consumption and control mice. Note that blocking by CB1 receptor activity, facial stimulation failed to induce MLI-PC LTD in control mice, but induced MLI-PC LTP in EtOH consumption mice.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), facial stimulation induced MLI-PC LTD in EtOH consumption mice. (A) In the presence of the NOS inhibitor, representative traces showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi) evoked responses in a cerebellar PC from an EtOH consumption mouse before (Pre) and after (Post) delivering 1 Hz (240 pulses) stimulation. (B) Summary of the normalized P1 amplitude after delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head) in treatment with ACSF (blue) and the NOS inhibitor (purple; n = 7 mice). (C) Bar graph (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. (D) Summary of data (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. Note that at the inhibition of NOS, facial stimulation induced MLI-PC LTD, in EtOH consumption mice.
Figure 6
Figure 6
In the presence of NO donor, S-nitroso-N-Acetyl-D, L-penicillamine (SNAP; 100 μM), facial stimulation failed to induce MLI-PC LTD in control mice. (A) In the presence of the NO donor, representative traces showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi) evoked responses in a cerebellar PC from a control mouse before and after delivering 1 Hz stimulation. (B) Summary of the normalized P1 amplitude after delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head) in the presence of the NO donor in control mice (n = 7 mice). (C) Bar graph (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. (D) Summary of data (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. Note that in the presence of the NO donor, facial stimulation failed to induce MLI-PC LTD in control mice.
Figure 7
Figure 7
In the presence of the NO donor, SNAP (100 μM) and the CB1 receptor blocker, AM-251 (5 μM), facial stimulation induced MLI-PC LTP in control mice. (A) In the presence of SNAP and AM-251, representative traces showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi) evoked responses a cerebellar PC from a control mouse before and after delivering 1 Hz stimulation. (B) Summary of the normalized P1 amplitude after delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head) in the presence of SNAP and AM-251 in control mice (n = 6 mice). (C) Bar graph (n = 6 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. (D) Summary of data (n = 6 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before (Pre) and after (Post) delivery of 1 Hz stimulation. Note that in the presence of SNAP and AM-251, facial stimulation induced MLI-PC LTP in control mice.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Inhibition of NOS and CB1 receptor activity, facial stimulation induced neither LTD nor LTP at MLI-PC synapses in EtOH consumption mice. (A) In the presence of the NOS inhibitor and the CB1 receptor blocker, representative traces showing air-puff stimulation (10 ms, 60 psi)-evoked responses in a cerebellar PC of EtOH consumption mice before (left) and after delivering 1 Hz stimulation. (B) Summary of the normalized P1 amplitude after delivery of 1 Hz facial stimulation (arrow head) in EtOH consumption mice (n = 7 mice). (C) Bar graph (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized amplitude of P1 before and after delivery of 1 Hz stimulation in EtOH consumption mice. (D) Summary of data (n = 7 mice) showing the normalized pause of a simple spike firing before and after delivery of 1 Hz stimulation in EtOH consumption. Note that at the inhibition of NOS and CB1 receptor activity, facial stimulation failed to induce MLI-PC LTD/LTP in EtOH consumption mice.

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