Transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) is a multifunctional cytokine that orchestrates key events of development, disease and repair in the central nervous system (CNS). To investigate the effects of chronically producing TGF-β1 on synaptic structure and synaptic transmission, I performed immunohistochemistry and immunoblot of brain tissues from transgenic mice (TGF-β1 mice) that over-express active form of TGF-β1 from astrocytes in the CNS. Immunohistochemical assays showed that synaptophysin increased in the CA3 subfield whereas calbindin-D28K decreased in the mossy fibres. Immunoblot analysis revealed that several α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit proteins were up-regulated in the hippocampus of TGF-β1 mice. To examine the direct effect of TGF-β1 alone on glutamatergic synaptic activity, cultured hippocampal neurons were treated with or without TGF-β1. Electrophysiological recordings displayed that TGF-β1 significantly increased the amplitude of glutamate-evoked current (p<0.05). Taken together, these data suggest that TGF-β1 modulates hippocampal glutamatergic synaptic protein expression and regulates synaptic transmission.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/24239 |
| Date | 05 April 2010 |
| Creators | Bae, James Jangho |
| Contributors | Lu, Wei-Yang |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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