Tumor necrosis factor alters synaptic transmission in rat hippocampal slices.
The effects of human recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) on the synaptic transmission were studied in rat hippocampal slices by using extracellular field potential recordings. Population spikes and/or excitatory postsynaptic potentials were extracellularly recorded in hippocampus CA1 region from stratum pyramidale and stratum radiatum, respectively, and synaptic transmission was examined in the Schaffer collateral/commissural-CA1 pathway. Basal neurotransmission slightly and promptly increased in slices acutely exposed to TNF-alpha (1-100 nM). Examination of the long-term potentiation (LTP) revealed that a brief treatment with the cytokine did not influence LTP, while a long-lasting application of TNF-alpha (50 min or more) inhibited LTP in a dose-dependent way in the range of 1-100 nM. A role for TNF-alpha as a peptide of immunological significance belonging to the family of brain neuromodulators is discussed.
Tancredi
V
V
Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Universitá di Roma La Sapienza, Italy.
D'Arcangelo
G
G
Grassi
F
F
Tarroni
P
P
Palmieri
G
G
Santoni
A
A
Eusebi
F
F
D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000187:drug effects; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D011493:Protein Kinase C