Lack of adenylate cyclase 1 (AC1): consequences on corticospinal tract development and on locomotor recovery after spinal cord injury.

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) signalling pathways are involved in axonal growth and regeneration. The calcium-calmodulin- stimulated adenylate cyclase 1 (AC1), a regulator of cAMP levels, is strongly expressed in the corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN) in cerebral cortex layer V during development, but its role in the development of the corticospinal tract (CST) is unknown. Here, we analyse the organization of the CST pathway using anterograde and retrograde tracers in the barrelless (brl) mouse that carries an inactivating mutation of the AC1 gene. We show that in brl mice the general organization of the CST is normal but there is an increase in the number of axons in the ipsilateral contingent in the dorsal and ventral medial funiculi of the cervical spinal cord. The density of CSMN in layer V of the motor cortex is increased in brl compared to wild-type mice. Thus, lack of AC1 likely perturbs late phases of CSMN and CST development. Next, we examine the motor recovery after a spinal cord injury (SCI). We find that brl mice show enhanced locomotor functions as assessed by the BMS (Basso mouse scale) as early as 6h and up to 6 weeks after SCI, indicating a smaller responsiveness of brl mice to SCI. It is therefore possible that developmental effects on motor systems might decrease the locomotor effects consecutive to a SCI. This point is particularly important with regards to the use of transgenic animals for testing SCI recovery.

A role for nitric oxide in sensory-induced neurogenesis in an adult insect brain.

In the adult cricket, neurogenesis occurs in the mushroom bodies, the main integrative structures of the insect brain. Mushroom body neuroblast proliferation is modulated in response to environmental stimuli. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unspecified. In the present study, we demonstrate that electrical stimulation of the antennal nerve mimics the effects of olfactory activation and increases mushroom body neurogenesis. The putative role of nitric oxide (NO) in this activity-regulated neurogenesis was then explored. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrate that NO synthase inhibition decreases, and NO donor application stimulates neuroblast proliferation. NADPH-d activity, anti-L-citrulline immunoreactivity, as well as in situ hybridization with a probe specific for Acheta NO synthase were used to localize NO-producing cells. Combining these three approaches we clearly establish that mushroom body interneurons synthesize NO. Furthermore, we demonstrate that experimental interventions known to upregulate neuroblast proliferation modulate NO production: rearing crickets in an enriched sensory environment induces an upregulation of Acheta NO synthase mRNA, and unilateral electrical stimulation of the antennal nerve results in increased L-citrulline immunoreactivity in the corresponding mushroom body. The present study demonstrates that neural activity modulates progenitor cell proliferation and regulates NO production in brain structures where neurogenesis occurs in the adult insect. Our results also demonstrate the stimulatory effect of NO on mushroom body neuroblast proliferation. Altogether, these data strongly suggest a key role for NO in environmentally induced neurogenesis.

Influence of environmental stimulation on neurogenesis in the adult insect brain.

Mushroom bodies are the main integrative structures of insect brain. They receive sensory information from the eyes, the palps, and the antennae. In the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, a cluster of mushroom body neuroblasts keeps producing new interneurons during an insect's life span. The aim of the present work is to study the impact of environmental stimuli on mushroom body neurogenesis during adulthood. Crickets were reared either in an enriched environment, where they received complex environmental and congeneric stimulations or isolated in small cages and deprived of most visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli. They then were injected with a S-phase marker, 5-bromo, 2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and sacrificed at different periods of their life. Neurogenesis and cell survival were estimated by counting the number of BrdU-labeled cells in the mushroom bodies. Environmentally enriched crickets were found to have an increased number of newborn cells in their mushroom bodies compared with crickets housed in cages with an impoverished environment. This effect of external factors on neurogenesis seems to be limited to the beginning of imaginal life. Furthermore, no cell loss could be detected among the newborn neurons in either environmental situation, suggesting that cell survival was not affected by the quality of the environment. Considering vertebrate studies which showed that enriched environment increases hippocampal cell survival and improves animal performances in spatial learning tests, we suggest that the increased number of interneurons produced in an integrative brain structure after exposure to enriched environment could contribute to adaptive behavioral performances in adult insects.