Browsing by Author "Diep, Chi Que"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Novel role of integrin ligands in neuromodulation
    (2004) Diep, Chi Que; Bulloch, Andrew G. M.; Wildering, Willem C.
    Integrins, a family of cell adhesion receptors, and their ligands, the extracellular matrix proteins, have been implicated as neuromodulators in the adult CNS. Previous studies from our laboratory on neurons isolated from the CNS of the gastropod snail Lymnaea stagnalis show that integrin peptides increase HVA Ca2+ concentrations and other active intrinsic membrane properties. The current study extends this line of investigation to the intact CNS. Extracellular electrophysiological recording from the trunk of one of the nerves (right internal parietal or RIP nerve) originating from the Lymnaea CNS shows that integrin peptide with the consensus integrin binding motif RDG increases the electrical discharge of some projecting neurons. Further investigations, involving the intracellular recording from 2 synaptic partners that have axonal projections in the RIP nerve, provide evidence that in the Lymnaea CNS integrins play a role in synaptic modulation since they modulate the kinetics of the postsynaptic potentials through synaptic remodeling.