Group of Restorative Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.
Laboratory of Sequencing, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Sep 22;23(19):11133. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911133.
Spasticity impacts the quality of life of patients suffering spinal cord injury and impedes the recovery of locomotion. At the cellular level, spasticity is considered to be primarily caused by the hyperexcitability of spinal α-motoneurons (MNs) within the spinal stretch reflex circuit. Here, we hypothesized that after a complete spinal cord transection in rats, fast adaptive molecular responses of lumbar MNs develop in return for the loss of inputs. We assumed that early loss of glutamatergic afferents changes the expression of glutamatergic AMPA and NMDA receptor subunits, which may be the forerunners of the developing spasticity of hindlimb muscles. To better understand its molecular underpinnings, concomitant expression of GABA and Glycinergic receptors and serotoninergic and noradrenergic receptors, which regulate the persistent inward currents crucial for sustained discharges in MNs, were examined together with voltage-gated ion channels and cation-chloride cotransporters. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we showed in the tracer-identified MNs innervating extensor and flexor muscles of the ankle joint multiple increases in transcripts coding for AMPAR and 5-HTR subunits, along with a profound decrease in GABAR, GlyR subunits, and KCC2. Our study demonstrated that both MNs groups similarly adapt to a more excitable state, which may increase the occurrence of extensor and flexor muscle spasms.
痉挛严重影响脊髓损伤患者的生活质量,并阻碍运动功能的恢复。在细胞水平上,痉挛被认为主要是由脊髓伸展反射回路中脊髓α运动神经元(MNs)的过度兴奋引起的。在这里,我们假设在大鼠完全脊髓横断后,腰椎 MNs 会发生快速适应性分子反应,以弥补输入的丧失。我们假设,谷氨酸能传入纤维的早期丧失会改变谷氨酸能 AMPA 和 NMDA 受体亚基的表达,这可能是后肢肌肉痉挛发展的前兆。为了更好地理解其分子基础,同时检查了调节 MNs 持续放电至关重要的持续内向电流的 GABA 和甘氨酸能受体以及 5-羟色胺能和去甲肾上腺素能受体的伴随表达,以及电压门控离子通道和阳离子-氯离子共转运体。使用定量实时 PCR,我们在标记鉴定的 MNs 中显示,支配踝关节伸肌和屈肌的 MNs 中编码 AMPAR 和 5-HTR 亚基的转录物多次增加,同时 GABAR、GlyR 亚基和 KCC2 显著减少。我们的研究表明,两组 MNs 都以类似的方式适应更兴奋的状态,这可能会增加伸肌和屈肌痉挛的发生。