Glial cell-mediated potassium and glutamate homeostases play important roles in the regulation of neuronal excitability. Diminished potassium and glutamate buffering capabilities of astrocytes result in hyperexcitability of neurons and abnormal synaptic transmission. The role of the different K+ channels in maintaining the membrane potential and buffering capabilities of cortical astrocytes has not yet been definitively determined due to the lack of specific K+ channel blockers. The purpose of the present study was to assess the role of the inward-rectifying K+ channel subunit Kir4.1 on potassium fluxes, glutamate uptake and membrane potential in cultured rat cortical astrocytes using RNAi, whole-cell patch clamp and a colorimetric assay. The membrane potentials of control cortical astrocytes had a bimodal distribution with peaks at -68 and -41 mV. This distribution became unimodal after knockdown of Kir4.1, with the mean membrane potential being shifted in the depolarizing direction (peak at -45 mV). The ability of Kir4.1-suppressed cells to mediate transmembrane potassium flow, as measured by the current response to voltage ramps or sequential application of different extracellular [K+], was dramatically impaired. In addition, glutamate uptake was inhibited by knock-down of Kir4.1-containing channels by RNA interference as well as by blockade of Kir channels with barium (100 microM). Together, these data indicate that Kir4.1 channels are primarily responsible for significant hyperpolarization of cortical astrocytes and are likely to play a major role in potassium buffering. Significant inhibition of glutamate clearance in astrocytes with knock-down of Kir4.1 highlights the role of membrane hyperpolarization in this process.

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Many forms of neurodegeneration are associated with oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are prominent targets of oxidative damage, however, it is not clear whether mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and/or its lack of repair are primary events in the delayed onset observed in Huntington’s disease (HD). We hypothesize that an age-dependent increase in mtDNA damage contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction in HD. Two HD mouse models were studied, the 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) chemically induced model and the HD transgenic mice of the R6/2 strain containing 115–150 CAG repeats in the huntingtin gene. The mitochondrial toxin 3-NPA inhibits complex II of the electron transport system and causes neurodegeneration that resembles HD in the striatum of human and experimental animals. We measured nuclear and mtDNA damage by quantitative PCR (QPCR) in striatum of 5- and 24-month-old untreated and 3-NPA treated C57BL/6 mice. Aging caused an increase in damage in both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. 3-NPA induced 4–6 more damage in mtDNA than nuclear DNA in 5-month-old mice, and this damage was repaired by 48 h in the mtDNA. In 24-month-old mice 3NPA caused equal amounts of nuclear and mitochondrial damage and this damage persistent in both genomes for 48 h. QPCR analysis showed a progressive increase in the levels of mtDNA damage in the striatum and cerebral cortex of 7–12-week-old R6/2 mice. Striatum exhibited eight-fold more damage to the mtDNA compared with a nuclear gene. These data suggest that mtDNA damage is an early biomarker for HD-associated neurodegeneration and supports the hypothesis that mtDNA lesions may contribute to the pathogenesis observed in HD.

Spermine (SPM) and spermidine (SPD), endogenous polyamines (PA) with the ability to modulate various ion channels and receptors in the brain, exert neuroprotective, antidepressant, antioxidant and other effects in vivo such as increasing longevity. These PA are preferably accumulated in astrocytes, and we hypothesized that SPM increases glial intercellular communication by interacting with glial gap junctions. Results obtained in situ, using Lucifer yellow propagation in the astrocytic syncitium of 21–25 day old rat CA1 hippocampal slices, showed reduced coupling when astrocytes were dialyzed with standard intracellular solutions (ICS) without SPM. However, there was a robust increase in the spreading of Lucifer yellow via gap junctions to neighboring astrocytes when the cells were patched with ICS containing 1 mM SPM; a physiological concentration in glia. Lucifer yellow propagation was inhibited by gap junction blockers. Our findings show that the glial syncitium propagates SPM via gap junctions and further suggest a new role of polyamines in the regulation of the astroglial network in both normal and pathological conditions.