Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol 76, Issue 5 3264-3273, Copyright © 1996 by APS

ARTICLES

Cd(2+)-induced injury in CNS white matter

R. Fern, J. A. Black, B. R. Ransom and S. G. Waxman
Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven 06510, USA.

1. The affect of extracellular Cd2+ on CNS white matter was studied using an isolated rat optic nerve preparation. A 100-min exposure to 200 microM Cd2+ reduced the area of the compound action potential (CAP) recorded from the optic nerve to 32.6 +/- 3.8% (mean +/- SE) of the preexposure area, compared with a reduction to 74.9 +/- 2.9% after 100 min in control conditions (P > 0.001). This CAP reduction was not reversed after 120 min of reperfusion with Cd(2+)-free solution, or by perfusion with Cd2+ chelators. 2. Cd(2+)-induced CAP loss occurred in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. Increasing extracellular Ca2+ concentration to 16 mM, however, prevented Cd(2+)-induced CAP loss. Once evident, Cd(2+)-induced CAP reduction could not subsequently be reversed by addition of 16 mM Ca2+. 3. Low concentrations of Cd2+ (60 microM) did not significantly reduce CAP area. This concentration of Cd2+ combined with high extracellular K+ (30 mM) caused CAP loss that was blocked by 10 microM nifedipine, an antagonist of L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. 4. Treatment with pharmacological inhibitors of membrane proteins known to be inhibited by Cd2+ did not affect the CAP. These included inhibitors of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels, Ca(2+)-ATPase and the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. 5. Treatment with pharmacological agents that inhibit calmodulin or disrupt tubulin, two intracellular proteins affected by Cd2+, did not affect CAP area. 6. The effect of Cd2+ was not prevented by pretreatment with (+)-cyanidanol-3, an agent that prevents Cd(2+)-induced lipid peroxidation. 7. Treatment with antimycin A, a inhibitor of mitochondrial respiration, resulted in irreversible CAP reduction with a time course and extent similar to that produced by 200 microM Cd2+. Cd(2+)-induced CAP reduction was prevented by 1 mM cysteine, which prevents Cd(2+)-induced disruption of mitochondrial respiration. 8. The ultrastructure of optic nerves exposed to 200 microM Cd2+ for 100 min was characterized by swollen mitochondria with disrupted cristae and dissolution of microtubules, which were replaced by flocculent debris. Occasional regions of axonal swelling and empty spaces beneath the myelin also were found. Qualitatively similar changes in mitochondria and cytoskeletal elements were found in optic nerves exposed to antimycin A for 100 min. Astrocytes also displayed disrupted mitochondria and had an electron-lucent appearance under both conditions. 9. The neurological injury produced by exposure to Cd2+ is characterized by lesions of CNS white matter. Our results indicate that Cd(2+)-induced white matter injury in vitro results largely from disruption of mitochondrial respiration after Cd2+ influx through routes that include voltage-gated Ca2+ channels.

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