Name: paradigms for pharmacological characterization of c. elegans synaptic transmission mutants
Uploaded: 2008-08-18T17:08:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Paradigms for Pharmacological Characterization of C. elegans Synaptic Transmission Mutants at JoVE.com

We wish to acknowledge the cooperative spirit of all Caldwell Lab members. A Basil O&rsquo;Connor Scholar Award from the March of Dimes and a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to GAC, as well as an Undergraduate Research Science Program Grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to The University of Alabama, have funded neuronal excitability and epilepsy research in the Caldwell Lab.

Aldicarb Exposure Paradigm
<ol>
<li>On the first day, ensure that at least thirty young adult stage worms of each genotype and of each replicate will be available for aldicarb assays on the second day. It is best if an experimenter selects fifty or more L4 stage worms onto fresh NGM plates (best without nystatin), which contain E. coli (preferably OP50) as a food source, and grow them for 12-24 hours at a consistent and permissive temperature (20&deg;C to 22&deg;C is best, although 25&deg;C is okay). <br ...

<ol>
	<li>Mahoney, T. R., Luo, S., Nonet, M. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Analysis+of+synaptic+transmission+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans+using+an+aldicarb-sensitivity+assay.">Analysis of synaptic transmission in Caenorhabditis elegans using an aldicarb-sensitivity assay.</a> Nat. Protoc. 1, 1772-1777 (2006).</li><li>Williams, S. N., Locke, C. J., Braden, A. L., Caldwell, K. A., Caldwell, G. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Epileptic-like+convulsions+associated+with+LIS-1+in+the+cytoskeletal+control+of+neurotransmitter+signaling+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">Epileptic-like convulsions associated with LIS-1 in the cytoskeletal control of neurotransmitter signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> Hum. Mol. Genet.. 13, 2043-2059 (2004).</li></ol>

Current protocols for aldicarb exposure with C. elegans do not allow experimenters to distinguish between mutants with specific deficits in ACh transmission and mutants with generalized deficits in synaptic transmission, as both classes of mutants exhibit resistance to aldicarb. Likewise, aldicarb cannot be used to determine if mutants have specific deficits in GABA transmission or generalized failures to negatively regulate ACh transmission, as both classes of mutants exhibit hypersensitivity to aldicarb. Resul...

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<td>Aldicarb</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Supelco, Inc.</td>
<td>PS734</td>
<td>Purchasable from Sigma</td>
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<td>Pentylenetetrazole</td>
<td>Reagent</td>
<td>Sigma</td>
<td>P6500</td>
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paradigms for pharmacological characterization of c. elegans synaptic transmission mutants

The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has become an expedient model for studying neurotransmission. C. elegans is unique among animal models, as the anatomy and connectivity of its nervous system has been determined from electron micrographs and refined by pharmacological assays. In this video, we describe how two complementary neural stimulants, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, called aldicarb, and a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor antagonist, called pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), may be employed to specifically characterize signaling at C. elegans neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and facilitate our understanding of antagonistic neural circuits.
Of 302 C. elegans neurons, nineteen GABAergic D-type motor neurons innervate body wall muscles (BWMs), while four GABAergic neurons, called RMEs, innervate head muscles. Conversely, thirty-nine motor neurons express the excitatory neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), and antagonize GABA transmission at BWMs to coordinate locomotion. The antagonistic nature of GABAergic and cholinergic motor neurons at body wall NMJs was initially determined by laser ablation and later buttressed by aldicarb exposure. Acute aldicarb exposure results in a time-course or dose-responsive paralysis in wild-type worms. Yet, loss of excitatory ACh transmission confers resistance to aldicarb, as less ACh accumulates at worm NMJs, leading to less stimulation of BWMs. Resistance to aldicarb may be observed with ACh-specific or general synaptic function mutants. Consistent with antagonistic GABA and ACh transmission, loss of GABA transmission, or a failure to negatively regulate ACh release, confers hypersensitivity to aldicarb. Although aldicarb exposure has led to the isolation of numerous worm homologs of neurotransmission genes, aldicarb exposure alone cannot efficiently determine prevailing roles for genes and pathways in specific C. elegans motor neurons. For this purpose, we have introduced a complementary experimental approach, which uses PTZ.
Neurotransmission mutants display clear phenotypes, distinct from aldicarb-induced paralysis, in response to PTZ. Wild-type worms, as well as mutants with specific inabilities to release or receive ACh, do not show apparent sensitivity to PTZ. However, GABA mutants, as well as general synaptic function mutants, display anterior convulsions in a time-course or dose-responsive manner. Mutants that cannot negatively regulate general neurotransmitter release and, thus, secrete excessive amounts of ACh onto BWMs, become paralyzed on PTZ. The PTZ-induced phenotypes of discrete mutant classes indicate that a complementary approach with aldicarb and PTZ exposure paradigms in C. elegans may accelerate our understanding of neurotransmission. Moreover, videos demonstrating how we perform pharmacological assays should establish consistent methods for C. elegans research.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Paradigms for Pharmacological Characterization of C. elegans Synaptic Transmission Mutants at JoVE.com

Paradigms for Pharmacological Characterization of C. elegans Synaptic Transmission Mutants

This video demonstrates how to employ two neural stimulants, aldicarb and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), in complementary ways to study synaptic function in the nematode, C. elegans. This complementary approach may also be used to shed light on evolutionarily conserved mechanisms for modulating neuronal synchrony and has implications for epilepsy and seizures.

The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has become an expedient model for studying neurotransmission. C. elegans is unique among animal models, as the ...

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