Aa. Lie et al., 5 '-nucleotidase activity indicates sites of synaptic plasticity and reactive synaptogenesis in the human brain, J NE EXP NE, 58(5), 1999, pp. 451-458
Citations number
36
Categorie Soggetti
Neurosciences & Behavoir
Journal title
JOURNAL OF NEUROPATHOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL NEUROLOGY
The localization and morphological assessment of plastic or newly formed sy
napses in the human brain remains difficult due to the lack of specific mar
kers. The ectoenzyme 5'-nucleotidase may represent a useful marker of these
structures, since in adult rodents synaptic 5'-nucleotidase activity is re
stricted to sites of spontaneous synaptic turnover and induced reactive syn
aptogenesis. However, it is unclear to what extent synaptic 5'-nucleotidase
activity occurs in the normal human brain, and whether reactive synaptogen
esis, as seen e.g. in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), is associated with this
ectoenzyme. Therefore, we have investigated the histochemical distribution
of 5'-nucleotidase in hippocampal control specimens (n = 3) and in the hip
pocampus of TLE patients (n = 13). In controls, 5'-nucleotidase activity wa
s present in the dentate gyrus molecular layer (DG-ML) and the mossy fiber
termination field within the CA4 and CA3 subfields. Compared with controls,
TLE specimens revealed markedly increased 5'-nucleotidase labeling in the
DG-ML, implying TLE-associated reactive synaptogenesis in this hippocampal
region. In contrast to GAP-43, synaptophysin, and dynorphin A, synaptic 5'-
nucleotidase activity may serve as a potential specific indicator of plasti
c synapses or newly formed terminals in the human brain and prove useful fo
r the study of diseases involving aberrant sprouting or altered synaptic pl
asticity.