Excitatory amino acid regulation of neuronal functions.

Excitatory amino acids (EAAs), usually glutamate, activate the greatest excitatory system in the vertebrate brain. EAAs mediate synaptic transmission and control the stability and efficiency of synaptic connections. Moreover, EAAs provide the postsynaptic neurone with chemical cues for survival and maturation. Improper activation of EAA receptors can lead to neurotoxicity and be involved in the pathogenesis of certain neurological diseases.     

Synaptic organization of the cone horizontal cells in the catfish retina

Horizontal cells of the vertebrate retina are known to contribute to the formation of the receptive field surrounds of photoreceptor and bipolar cells. However, few synapses have been described anatomically that might mediate these interactions. We have observed in the catfish retina that cone horizontal cell perikarya and dendrites make conventional chemical synapses onto photoreceptor terminal telodendria and onto bipolar cell dendrites, while horizontal cell axon terminals make chemical synapses onto the perikarya and processes of amacrine cells. The synapses are characterized by clusters of round vesicles aggregated close to the site of contact, as well as by electron-dense material associated with both pre- and postsynaptic membranes. The three kinds of synapses observed anatomically correspond to the synaptic pathways involving cone horizontal cells that have been suggested by the physiology of these cells.     

Role of Ca2+ store in AMPA-triggered Ca2+ dynamics in retinal horizontal cells

Fura-2 fluorescent calcium imaging was applied to measure [Ca(2+)](i) in freshly dissociated horizontal cells of carp retina, and a model containing endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane processes and plasma membrane processes was constructed for quantitative analyses of the AMPA-triggered calcium dynamics. A transient increase followed by a sustained steady level of [Ca(2+)](i) was observed when 100 microM AMPA was applied, while the initial transient increase of [Ca(2+)](i) was suppressed by exogenously applied ryanodine. The model analyses results suggest that the AMPA-triggered calcium dynamics involves a number of cytoplasmic and endoplasmic processes that interact with each other. It also suggests that calcium store is an important part contributing to the transient calcium signal.     

Ca2+-permeable and Ca2+-impermeable AMPA receptors coexist on horizontal cells

Fura-2 fluorescent calcium imaging was used for analyzing the subtype of AMPA receptors in freshly dissociated horizontal cells of carp retina. Exogenous application of AMPA induced an increase of intracellular concentration of free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in horizontal cells, while the [Ca2+]i increase was partly inhibited by nifedipine. The residual [Ca2+]i increase was completely eliminated by joro spider toxin-3, a blocker of Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors. On the other hand, the application of pentobarbital, which blocked Ca2+-impermeable AMPA receptors, could also partly inhibit the increase of [Ca2+]i, implying that the application of AMPA induced the activation of both Ca2+-permeable and Ca2+-impermeable AMPA receptors and the consequent activation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. Taken together, these results suggested that Ca2+-permeable and Ca2+-impermeable AMPA receptors were coexpressed on horizontal cells.     

Effect of caffeine on the processes of intracellular Ca2+ concentration regulation in isolated snail neurons

The Ca2+ indicator Fura-2 was used to measure changes of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]in) in isolated neurons of the snail Helix pomatia occurring through prolonged plasma membrane depolarization. An amplitude of Ca2+ response did not practically depend on value of depolarization in the presence of 5 mmol/l of caffeine unlike normal solution, which permitted suggesting that caffeine activated calcium-dependent Ca2+ release from the intracellular stores, which was a main factor of [Ca2+]in increase during depolarization. The processes of [Ca2+]in relaxation to the rest levels were approximated monoexponentially and occurred 2 times more rapidly in caffeine than in normal solution. An increase of the [Ca2+]in relaxation rate was provided probably, by a rise in the efficiency of the intracellular Ca2+ pumps able to decrease the rest level of [Ca2+]in even lower than that one under normal extracellular solution conditions.     

Purinergic regulation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration of rat pituitary folliculo-stellate cells in primary culture

Pituitary folliculo-stellate cells (FSCs) are glia-like cells in the anterior pituitary and are believed to modulate the activity of the pituitary endocrine cells. However, little is known what regulates the activity of FSCs. We hypothesized that ATP could act on FSCs, because ATP is coreleased with pituitary hormones from endocrine cells. To test this possibility, we examined the effect of ATP by measuring intracellular Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i of FSCs in primary culture. Both ATP and UTP increased the [Ca2+]i in a concentration-dependent manner in a range between 0.1 microM and 10 microM. The response was completely suppressed by thapsigargin, an inhibitior of endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase, and was significantly suppressed by U-73122, an inhibitor of phospholipase C. The response was also suppressed by caffeine, a blocker of IP3 receptor, whereas that was not suppressed by ryanodine, an antagonist of ryanodine receptor. These results indicate that ATP increases [Ca2+]i of FSCs by activating phospholipase C via P2Y purinergic receptor and suggest that ATP would be one of paracrine factors to FSCs in the anterior pituitary.     

Excitatory amino acid-induced alterations of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ in individual cerebellar granule neurons: role in neurotoxicity.

The effects of glutamate on intracellular free Ca2+, [Ca2+]i, and neurotoxicity were compared in cerebellar granule neurons in vitro. [Ca2+]i was measured with fura-2 and digital fluorescence imaging microscopy; neurotoxicity was monitored using a vital dye and colorimetric analysis. Glutamate produced dose-dependent increases in [Ca2+]i, which tended to be transient for glutamate concentrations in a range of 0.01-0.5 microM and sustained for higher levels of glutamate. The ED50 for the [Ca2+]i response to glutamate was 6 microM. The LD50 for glutamate-induced neurotoxicity was similar, i.e., 10 microM. The effect of glutamate on [Ca2+]i was greatly diminished when external Ca2+ was removed and blocked by Mg2+ or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type receptor antagonists. The latter conditions as well as preloading granule neurons with the intracellular Ca2+ chelator quin2 largely prevented glutamate cytotoxicity. The neurotoxic effect of glutamate required incubations with the stimulus for 10-20 min at 25 degrees C. Withdrawal of glutamate after this period was accompanied by a prolonged alteration in [Ca2+]i. Pretreatment of the cells with the ganglioside GM1 reduced this late increase in [Ca2+]i as well as the neurotoxic effects of glutamate. This indicates that glutamate-induced neurotoxicity results from a composite of diverse temporal alterations in Ca2+ homeostasis and that blunting any of these components reduces excitotoxicity.     

Evoked intracellular Ca2+ elevations in HT4 neuroblastoma cells

In this study, membrane depolarization and multiple neurotransmitters (5-HT, acetylcholine, histamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, and ATP) were tested for the ability to elevate the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in mouse HT4 neuroblastoma cells. Apart from ATP, none of the treatments gave rise to a detectable Ca2+ response, no matter whether the cells were subjected to temperature-induced neuronal differentiation. Our results provide pharmacological evidence for the co-existence in HT4 cells of both P2X and P2Y receptors, the activation of which by ATP led to Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ release, respectively. The P2Y receptor was found to couple to more than one type of G protein in the signaling pathway, causing the activation of phospholipase C (PLC) and Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores. cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) attenuated ATP-evoked [Ca2+]i elevations in different ways. However, no correlation was identified between neuronal differentiation and the ATP-evoked Ca2+ responses in HT4 cells. This work indicates that HT4 cells can serve as a good model to study P2 purinoceptor-associated signaling pathways.     

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate activates non-selective cation conductance via intracellular Ca2+ increase in isolated frog taste cells

The effect of intracellular Ca²⁺ increase was analysed in isolated frog taste cells under the whole-cell patch clamp. External application of a Ca²⁺-ionophore, ionomycin (3 μm ) induced the sustained inward current of ?200 ± 17 pA (mean ± SE, n = 23) at – 50 mV in taste cells. The ionomycin-induced response was observed in most of the cells exposed in the drug, but not when 10 mm BAPTA (1,2-bis (o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid) was included in the pipette (eight cells). Steady-state I–V relationships of ionomycin-induced currents were almost linear and reversed at – 8 ± 1 mV (n = 23). The simultaneous removal of Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ from the external solution eliminated the response completely (three cells). Intracellular dialysis with 1 mm Ca²⁺ or 50 μm inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP₃) in K⁺-internal solution also induced an inward current in the taste cells. The Ca²⁺-induced and IP₃-induced responses were observed in 82% and 36% of the cells dialysed with the drugs, respectively. The Ca²⁺-induced and IP₃-induced currents were inhibited by external Cd²⁺ (1–2 mm ). The reversal potentials of the inward currents were – 15 ± 3 mV (n = 9) in Ca²⁺ dialysis and – 11 ± 3 mV (n = 13) in IP₃ dialysis. The half-maximal Ca²⁺ concentration in the pipette to induce the inward current was ≈ 170 μm . The results suggest that IP₃ can depolarize the taste cell with mediation by intracellular Ca²⁺.     

Inhibition of cell growth and intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in human brain tumor cells by Ca2+ channel antagonists

The effects of various Ca²⁺ channel agonists and antagonists on tumor cell growth were investigated using U-373 MG human astrocytoma and SK-N-MC human neuroblastoma cell lines. Classical Ca²⁺ channel antagonists, verapamil, nifedipine, and diltiazem, and inorganic Ca²⁺ channel antagonists, Ni²⁺ and Co²⁺, inhibited growth of these tumor cells in a dose-dependent manner. Except Ni²⁺, these Ca²⁺ channel antagonists did not induce a significant cytotoxicity, suggesting that the growth-inhibitory effects of these drugs may be the result of the influence on the proliferative signaling mechanisms of these tumor cells. In contrast, Bay K-8644, a Ca²⁺ channel agonist, neither enhanced the growth of tumor cells nor increased intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration, indicating that voltage-sensitive Ca²⁺ channels may not be involved in tumor cell proliferation. Moreover, growth-inhibitory concentrations of Ca²⁺ channel antagonists significantly blocked agonist (carbachol or serum)-induced intracellular Ca²⁺ mobilization, which was monitored using Fura-2 fluorescence technique. These results suggest that the inhibition of the growth of human brain tumor cells induced by Ca²⁺ channel antagonists may not be the result of interaction with Ca²⁺ channels, but may be the result of the interference with agonist-induced intracellular Ca²⁺ mobilization, which is an important proliferative signaling mechanism.     

小鼠皮质神经元类缺血/再灌注后氟桂利嗪对胞质内游离钙离子和神经元凋亡的实验研究

目的研究类缺血/再灌注后不同时间点神经元胞质内游离钙离子及神经元凋亡比例变化,探讨类缺血/再灌注后神经元的凋亡与神经内钙离子的关系及氟桂利嗪的治疗意义.方法利用Ca2 指示剂Flu-3/AM作为细胞内钙离子的荧光探针负载培养的神经元,共聚焦技术检测细胞内荧光强度的变化,原位末端标记法(TUNEL)观察神经元类缺血再灌注后不同时间点神经元凋亡情况.结果与类缺血/再灌注组相比,氟桂利嗪对类缺血/再灌注后神经元胞质内游离钙离子浓度增高和神经元凋亡有显著抑制作用(P＜0.05);再灌注3 h两组无显著差异.结论氟桂利嗪可明显抑制类缺血/再灌注后神经元胞质内钙离子的升高,减少神经元凋亡比例.     

Excitatory amino acid receptors in primary cultures of glial cells from the retina.

Binding of 3H-L-aspartate to membranes from retinal glial cells in primary culture was characterized. Binding kinetics showed a saturable, reversible binding to three populations of sites with KB = 40, 200, and 1,300 nM. The first two were present at 1 day in vitro (DIV), whereas the latter two were observed at 12 DIV. The possibility of the 40 nM site being neuronal cannot be discarded, since some neurons are present at 1 DIV. In 12 DIV cultures, the presence or absence of sodium determined two different pharmacological patterns, comparable to those described for electrogenic glutamate transport in Müller cells, and QA metabotropic receptors in astrocytes, respectively. Results suggest that, as has been shown for some receptors in nerve tissue, the properties of glial cell receptors undergo age-dependent changes. In turn, this could be related to changes in the function of neurotransmitter substances during development.     

Properties of non-NMDA excitatory amino acid-activated channels in isolated retinal horizontal cells.

The excitatory amino acid glutamate is believed to be the neurotransmitter used by some photoreceptors in the teleost retina. Past studies have shown that exogenous glutamate, and its analogs, are capable of affecting second-order retinal neurons in a manner consistent with the action of a photoreceptor transmitter. In an effort to characterize the properties of retinal glutamate channels on second-order neurons, non-NMDA excitatory amino acid-activated channels were studied in single horizontal cells isolated from the retina of the white bass. Using patch-clamp techniques single glutamate, kainate, and quisqualate channels were recorded. Two categories of channels were observed. The first was labeled slow-channels. Single-channel conductances and open times for this channel showed a range of values, but the average for channels activated by glutamate was 12 pS and 5.6 msec; quisqualate, 8.5 pS and 8.8 msec; and kainate, 8.5 pS and 4.5 msec. Openings of slow-channels elicited by the agonists tended to occur in bursts with a mean burst length of 38 msec. The bursts were punctuated by numerous, brief closings. The second channel category was termed fast channels. The agents glutamate, quisqualate, and kainate all activated channels in this category with open times of 1-2 msec and 2 prominent conductances in the range of about 10 and 20-30 pS. Activity of the fast channels tended to be noisy and no bursting behavior was observed.     

Process extension and intracellular Ca2+ in cultured murine oligodendrocytes.

Previous investigations have shown that phorbol esters stimulate process extension in oligodendrocytes (OL), likely by the activation of protein kinase C (PKC). In this report, we demonstrate that treatment of OL with 4beta-phorbol-12, 13-dibutyrate (PDB; 0.1-1 microM) resulted in an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) from 94+/-2 nM (mean+/-S.E.M.) to 244+/-10 nM. This increase was produced by Ca2+ influx through a La3+-insensitive pathway. Changes in [Ca2+]i were also produced by modifying the extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o) where [Ca2+]i was increased by elevations in [Ca2+]o. In parallel experiments we found that increased [Ca2+]o alone, without concurrent phorbol ester application, resulted in increased OL process extension as determined by the percent of OL with long processes (greater than 3 times the cell body diameter). These results demonstrate that increasing [Ca2+]o stimulates OL process outgrowth. Furthermore, both elevations in [Ca2+]o and PDB exposure increase [Ca2+]i, suggesting that some of the effects of phorbol esters on OL process extension are likely mediated by changes in [Ca2+]i.     

Effects of Na+ and Ca2+ gradients on intracellular free Ca2+ in voltage-clamped Aplysia neurons

Selected neurons of the abdominal ganglion of Aplysia californica were voltage-clamped and intracellular free Ca [( Ca2+]i) and Na [( Na+]i) concentrations were monitored with ion selective microelectrodes. Reducing [Na+]o from 500 mM (normal seawater, NSW) to 5 mM resulted in a decrease of the potential measured by the Ca electrode (VCa). Increasing [Ca2+]o from 10 to 50 mM increased [Ca2+]i two-fold, keeping [Ca2+]o at 50 mM and decreasing [Na+]o to 5 mM still led to a decrease in VCa. With 100 mM [Ca2+]o, which also increased [Ca2+]i, decreasing [Na+]o increased VCa in two of the eight cells tested. This indicates that in normal or moderately high resting [Ca2+]i, Ca2+ extrusion by Na/Ca exchange (forward mode) is not essential for [Ca2+]i buffering. [Na+]i was 12.9 +/- 3.6 mM (S.E.M., n = 7) in NSW; reducing [Na+]o to 5 mM decreased [Na+]i to 2.0 +/- 1.1 mM (S.E.M.). Keeping [Na+]o at 5 mM and increasing [Ca2+]o from 10 to 20 mM further decreased [Na+]i to about 1.0 mM, evidence of Na/Ca exchange operating in the reverse mode. Attempts to increase [Ca2+]i by bath application of the Ca ionophores A23187, X537A, ionomycin or ETH 1001 resulted in no measurable change of the resting [Ca2+]i. Application of Ouabain caused an apparent increase in [Ca2+]i in two of the six cells tested. In cells injected with the metallochromic indicator arsenazo III (AIII), the rate of the falling phase of the AIII absorbance increase, following a voltage-clamp pulse, was significantly slower in 5 mM [Na+]o. This indicates that in its forward mode Na-Ca exchange is active in clearing large submembrane increases in [Ca2+]i.     

Melittin enhances excitatory amino acid release and AMPA-stimulated 45Ca2+ influx in cultured neurons.

Melittin, a potent activator of phospholipase A2, enhanced both spontaneous and depolarization-induced release of D-[3H]aspartate in primary cultures of cerebellar granule cells. The action of melittin was concentration-dependent (EC50 value = 300 ng/ml) and did not require the presence of extracellular Ca2+. Melittin also stimulated the release of glutamate and aspartate, in addition to other endogenous amino acids (taurine, alanine and gamma-aminobutyric acid). These effects were accompanied by an enhanced influx of 45Ca2+, which was in part mediated by the activation of excitatory amino acid receptors by endogenous agonists. Low concentrations of melittin (50 ng/ml) potentiated the efficacy of AMPA in stimulating 45Ca2+ influx without affecting stimulation by kainate or by glutamate added in the absence of extracellular Mg2+ (a condition that favors the activation of NMDA receptors). These results indicate that activation of phospholipase A2 evokes both an enhanced glutamate release and an increased sensitivity of AMPA receptors, two events that may support synaptic facilitation and LTP formation.     

Muscarinic regulation of Ca2+ oscillation frequency in GH3 cells

The circadian timekeeping system exhibits many functional changes with aging, including a loss of sensitivity to time cues such as systemic injections of the serotonergic agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT). In order to elucidate the neurochemical mechanisms responsible for this age-related loss of sensitivity of the circadian pacemaker to serotonin agonists, the present study used quantitative autoradiography to determine whether aging decreases serotonin receptor populations in male Syrian hamsters. Four neuroanatomical regions that regulate circadian timekeeping were studied (the suprachiasmatic nuclei [SCN], the lateral geniculate nuclei [LGN], and the median raphe nucleus [MRN] and dorsal raphe nucleus [DRN]). The specific binding of [3H]8-OH-DPAT to serotonin7 (5-HT7) and serotonin1A (5-HT1A) receptors was investigated by competitive inhibition with ritanserin and pindolol, respectively. The results showed that the SCN, IGL, MRN, and DRN of the male Syrian hamster exhibited specific binding of [3H]8-OH-DPAT to both the 5-HT7 and 5-HT1A receptors, and that the latter receptor subtype is more abundant in all of these regions. At 17-19 months of age, a 50% decrease in 5-HT7 receptors was found in the DRN but not in any other regions. No significant age-related changes in 5-HT1A receptors were observed in any regions examined. The finding that a marked decrease in 5-HT7 receptors occurs in the DRN at the age previously characterized by loss of sensitivity to 8-OH-DPAT suggests that this region and this receptor subtype play important roles in 8-OH-DPAT induction of circadian phase shifts in vivo and that they constitute an important locus of aging in the circadian timing system.     

Intercellular Ca2+ waves induce temporally and spatially distinct intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in glia

Mechanically induced intercellular Ca²⁺ waves propagated for approximately 300 μm in primary glial cultures. Following the wave propagation, 34% of the cells displayed Ca²⁺ oscillations in a zone 60–120 μm from the stimulated cell. The initiation, frequency, and duration of these Ca²⁺ oscillations were dependent on the cells' distance from the wave origin but were not dependent on the cell type nor on the magnitude of the Ca²⁺ wave. When an individual cell propagated two sequential intercellular Ca²⁺ waves originating from different sites, the characteristics of the Ca²⁺ oscillations initiated by each wave were determined by the distance of the cell from the origin of each wave. Each Ca²⁺ oscillation commonly occurred as an intracellular Ca²⁺ wave that was initiated from a specific site within the cell. The position of the initiation site and the direction of the intracellular Ca²⁺ wave were independent of the orientation of the initial intercellular Ca²⁺ wave. Because initiation and frequency of Ca²⁺ oscillations are dependent on the intracellular inositol trisphosphate concentration ([IP₃]_i), we propose that the zone of cells displaying Ca²⁺ oscillations is determined by an intercellular gradient of [IP₃]_i, established by the diffusion of IP₃ through gap junctions during the propagation of the intercellular Ca²⁺ wave. Exposure to acetylcholine, a muscarinic agonist that initiates IP₃ production, shifted the zone of oscillating cells about 45 μm farther away from the origin of the mechanically induced wave. These findings indicate that a glial syncytium can resolve information provided by a local Ca²⁺ wave into a distinct spatial and temporal pattern of Ca²⁺ oscillations. GLIA 28:97–113, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Excitatory effect of Cd2+ on cat adrenal chromaffin cells.

To understand the mechanism(s) underlying the Cd2+- and Co2+-induced increases in the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca]i) in cat adrenal chromaffin cells, we used nystatin-perforated patch recording method and fura-2 microfluorometry. Under the current-clamp conditions, the external application of 5x10(-7) M Cd2+ slowly depolarized the cells resulting in the bursting of action potentials. Under the voltage-clamp conditions, Cd2+ evoked a slow inward current accompanied by a decrease of K+ conductance at a holding potential of -40 mV, and Co2+ mimicked Cd2+ action. In some cells (16%), Cd2+ evoked an additional rapid transient outward current associated with an increased K+ conductance and a successive slow inward current. The Cd2+-induced inward current was activated in a concentration-dependent manner with a half-maximum concentration of 9.3x10(-8) M. The Cd2+- and Co2+-induced [Ca]i increases measured with fura-2 microfluorometry were maximal at 10(-6) and 10(-5) M, respectively, and the higher concentrations of both cations caused the smaller responses. Additional transient increase in [Ca]i was often evoked upon the removal of relatively higher concentrations of these metals. It was concluded that the Cd2+-induced membrane depolarization due to the decrease in K+ conductances evoked the bursting firings resulting in the increase in [Ca]i, and consequently might stimulate the catecholamine secretion.