Synaptic activity induces dramatic changes in the geometry of the cell nucleus: interplay between nuclear structure, histone H3 phosphorylation, and nuclear calcium signaling.

Synaptic activity initiates many adaptive responses in neurons. Here we report a novel form of structural plasticity in dissociated hippocampal cultures and slice preparations. Using a recently developed algorithm for three-dimensional image reconstruction and quantitative measurements of cell organelles, we found that many nuclei from hippocampal neurons are highly infolded and form unequally sized nuclear compartments.

Filtering, reconstruction, and measurement of the geometry of nuclei from hippocampal neurons based on confocal microscopy data.

The cell nucleus is often considered a spherical structure. However, the visualization of proteins associated with the nuclear envelope in rat hippocampal neurons indicates that the geometry of nuclei is far more complex. The shape of cell nuclei is likely to influence the nucleo-cytoplasmic exchange of macromolecules and ions, in particular calcium, a key regulator of neuronal gene expression.

Microelectrode array recordings of cultured hippocampal networks reveal a simple model for transcription and protein synthesis-dependent plasticity.

A simplified cell culture system was developed to study neuronal plasticity. As changes in synaptic strength may alter network activity patterns, we grew hippocampal neurones on a microelectrode array (MEA) and monitored their collective behaviour with 60 electrodes simultaneously. We found that exposure of the network for 15 min to the GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline induced an increase in synaptic efficacy at excitatory synapses that was associated with an increase in the frequency of miniature AMPA receptor-mediated EPSCs and a change in network activity from uncoordinated firing of neurones (lacking any recognizable pattern) to a highly organized, periodic and synchronous burst pattern.

Chromosome-induced microtubule assembly mediated by TPX2 is required for spindle formation in HeLa cells.

In Xenopus laevis egg extracts, TPX2 is required for the Ran-GTP-dependent assembly of microtubules around chromosomes. Here we show that interfering with the function of the human homologue of TPX2 in HeLa cells causes defects in microtubule organization during mitosis. Suppressing the expression of human TPX2 by RNA interference leads to the formation of two microtubule asters that do not interact and do not form a spindle.