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“Vertebrate inner-ear hair cells use mechanical feedback to amplify sound-induced vibrations. The gain of click here this ‘cochlear amplifier’ is centrally controlled via efferent fibres that, making synaptic contacts with the hair cells, modulate the feedback gain. The sensory neurons of the Drosophila ear likewise employ mechanical feedback to assist sound-evoked vibrations, yet whether this neuron-based feedback is also subject to efferent control has remained uncertain. We show here that the function of Drosophila auditory neurons is independent of efferent modulation, and that no synaptic transmission is needed to control the gain of mechanical

feedback amplification. Immunohistochemical, mechanical and electrophysiological analyses revealed that the Drosophila auditory organ lacks peripheral synapses and efferent innervations, and that blocking synaptic transmission in a pan-neural manner does not affect the afferent electrical

activity of the sensory neurons or the mechanical feedback gain. Hence, unlike the cochlear amplifier of vertebrates, mechanical feedback amplification in Drosophila is not associated with an efferent control system but seems to be a purely local process that is solely controlled peripherally within the ear itself. “
“The drastic loss of cholinergic projection neurons in the basal forebrain is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and drugs most frequently applied for the treatment of dementia Clomifene include inhibitors of the acetylcholine-degrading Selleck Roscovitine enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). This protein is known to act as a ligand of β-amyloid (Aβ) in senile plaques, a further neuropathological sign of AD. Recently, we have shown that the fluorescent, heterodimeric AChE inhibitor PE154 allows for the histochemical staining of cortical Aβ plaques in triple-transgenic (TTG)

mice with age-dependent β-amyloidosis and tau hyperphosphorylation, an established animal model for aspects of AD. In the present study, we have primarily demonstrated the targeting of Aβ-immunopositive plaques with PE154 in vivo for 4 h up to 1 week after injection into the hippocampi of 13–20-month-old TTG mice. Numerous plaques, double-stained for PE154 and Aβ-immunoreactivity, were revealed by confocal laser-scanning microscopy. Additionally, PE154 targeted hippocampal Aβ deposits in aged TTG mice after injection of carboxylated polyglycidylmethacrylate nanoparticles delivering the fluorescent marker in vivo. Furthermore, biodegradable core-shell polystyrene/polybutylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles were found to be suitable, alternative vehicles for PE154 as a useful in vivo label of Aβ. Moreover, we were able to demonstrate that PE154 targeted Aβ, but neither phospho-tau nor reactive astrocytes surrounding the plaques. In conclusion, nanoparticles appear as versatile carriers of AChE inhibitors and other promising drugs for the treatment of AD.