Change of inhibitory input to the spinal neurons in spina bifida

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K20005
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Orthopaedic surgery
• Research Institution: Ehime University
• Principal Investigator: Khan MD.Sakirul 愛媛大学, 医学系研究科, 助教(特定教員) (70746867)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: spina bifida / chick / inhibitory input / GABA

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated the neuropathological mechanisms of progression of SBA-like motor dysfunctions in a neural tube surgery-induced chicken model of SBA at different pathogenesis points ranging from embryonic to posthatch ages. We found that chicks with SBA-like features lose voluntary leg movements and subsequently exhibit lower-limb paralysis within the first 2 weeks after hatching, coinciding with the synaptic change-induced disruption of spinal motor networks at the site of the SBA lesion in the lumbosacral region. Such synaptic changes reduced the ratio of inhibitory-to-excitatory inputs to motor neurons and were associated with a drastic loss of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inputs and upregulation of the cholinergic activities of motor neurons. Furthermore, most of the neurons in ventral horns, which appeared to be suffering from excitotoxicity during the early postnatal days, underwent apoptosis. (Disease Models & Mechanisms 10, 1421-1432, 2017)

Free Research Field

neuroscience