title: Tumor necrosis factor alpha: activity dependent expression and promotion of cortical column sleep in rats.
abstract: Cortical surface evoked potentials (SEPs) are larger during sleep and characterize a sleep-like state in cortical columns. Since tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) may be involved in sleep regulation and is produced as a consequence of waking activity, we tested the hypothesis that direct application of TNF to the cortex will induce a sleep-like state within cortical columns and enhance SEP amplitudes. We found that microinjection of TNF onto the surface of the rat somatosensory cortex enhanced whisker stimulation-induced SEP amplitude relative to a control heat-inactivated TNF microinjection. We also determined if whisker stimulation enhanced endogenous TNF expression. TNF immunoreactivity (IR) was visualized after 2 h of deflection of a single whisker on each side. The number of TNF-IR cells increased in layers II-IV of the activated somatosensory barrel column. In two separate studies, unilateral deflection of multiple whiskers for 2 h increased the number of TNF-IR cells in layers II-V in columns that also exhibited enhanced cellular ongogene (Fos-IR). TNF-IR also colocalized with NeuN-IR suggesting that TNF expression was in neurons. Collectively these data are consistent with the hypotheses that TNF is produced in response to neural activity and in turn enhances the probability of a local sleep-like state as determined by increases in SEP amplitudes.
authors.affiliation: Department of VCAPP, Program in Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, PO Box 646520, Pullman, WA 99164-6520, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Churchill
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rector
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fix
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Krueger
mesh_terms: D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha