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Calcium channel dynamics limit synaptic release in response to prosthetic stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms.

ABSTRACT: Extracellular electric stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms has been shown to allow preferential activation of individual types of retinal neurons by varying stimulus frequency. It is important to understand the mechanisms underlying this frequency dependence as a step toward improving methods of preferential activation. In order to elucidate these mechanisms, we implemented a morphologically realistic model of a retinal bipolar cell and measured the response to extracellular stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms. We compared the frequency response of a passive membrane model to the kinetics of voltage-gated calcium channels that mediate synaptic release. The passive electrical properties of the membrane exhibited lowpass filtering with a relatively high cutoff frequency (nominal value = 717 Hz). This cutoff frequency was dependent on intra-axonal resistance, with shorter and wider axons yielding higher cutoff frequencies. However, we found that the cutoff frequency of bipolar cell synaptic release was primarily limited by the relatively slow opening kinetics of L- and T-type calcium channels. The cutoff frequency of calcium currents depended nonlinearly on stimulus amplitude, but remained lower than the cutoff frequency of the passive membrane model for a large range of membrane potential fluctuations. These results suggest that while it may be possible to modulate the membrane potential of bipolar cells over a wide range of stimulus frequencies, synaptic release will only be initiated at the lower end of this range.

SUBMITTER: Freeman DK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3152377 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Calcium channel dynamics limit synaptic release in response to prosthetic stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms.

Freeman Daniel K DK Jeng Jed S JS Kelly Shawn K SK Hartveit Espen E Fried Shelley I SI

Journal of neural engineering 20110531 4

Extracellular electric stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms has been shown to allow preferential activation of individual types of retinal neurons by varying stimulus frequency. It is important to understand the mechanisms underlying this frequency dependence as a step toward improving methods of preferential activation. In order to elucidate these mechanisms, we implemented a morphologically realistic model of a retinal bipolar cell and measured the response to extracellular stimulation with s ...[more]

PMID: 21628768

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (mtCU) is an ?700-kD multisubunit channel residing in the inner mitochondrial membrane required for mitochondrial Ca2+ (mCa2+) uptake. Here, we detail the contribution of MCUB, a paralog of the pore-forming subunit MCU, in mtCU regulation and function and for the first time investigate the relevance of MCUB to cardiac physiology. METHODS:We created a stable MCUB knockout cell line (MCUB-/-) using CRISPR-Cas9n technology and generated a cardiac-specific, tamoxifen-inducible MCUB mutant mouse (CAG-CAT-MCUB x MCM; MCUB-Tg) for in vivo assessment of cardiac physiology and response to ischemia/reperfusion injury. Live-cell imaging and high-resolution spectrofluorometery were used to determine intracellular Ca2+ exchange and size-exclusion chromatography; blue native page and immunoprecipitation studies were used to determine the molecular function and impact of MCUB on the high-molecular-weight mtCU complex. RESULTS:Using genetic gain- and loss-of-function approaches, we show that MCUB expression displaces MCU from the functional mtCU complex and thereby decreases the association of mitochondrial calcium uptake 1 and 2 (MICU1/2) to alter channel gating. These molecular changes decrease MICU1/2-dependent cooperative activation of the mtCU, thereby decreasing mCa2+ uptake. Furthermore, we show that MCUB incorporation into the mtCU is a stress-responsive mechanism to limit mCa2+ overload during cardiac injury. Indeed, overexpression of MCUB is sufficient to decrease infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion injury. However, MCUB incorporation into the mtCU does come at a cost; acute decreases in mCa2+ uptake impair mitochondrial energetics and contractile function. CONCLUSIONS:We detail a new regulatory mechanism to modulate mtCU function and mCa2+ uptake. Our results suggest that MCUB-dependent changes in mtCU stoichiometry are a prominent regulatory mechanism to modulate mCa2+ uptake and cellular physiology.

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Calcium channel dynamics limit synaptic release in response to prosthetic stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms.

Publications

Calcium channel dynamics limit synaptic release in response to prosthetic stimulation with sinusoidal waveforms.

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