fg-9041 and 1-amino-1-3-dicarboxycyclopentane

Although the presence of ionotropic (iGluRs) and metabotropic (mGluRs) glutamate receptors has been demonstrated in the anterior pituitary, recent reports on the direct effect of glutamate on prolactin (PRL) secretion by anterior pituitary cells have presented contradictory results. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of ionotropic (iGluRs) and metabotropic (mGluRs) glutamate receptor agonists on prolactin (PRL) release. In addition, since D-Aspartate (D-Asp) is found in the pituitary and is involved in neuroendocrine regulation, we also studied the direct action of D-Asp on PRL secretion. Finally, since the posterior pituitary participates in the regulation of PRL secretion, we examined the influence of the posterior pituitary on the effects of NMDA and D-Asp on PRL release. Glutamate (1000 microM) increased PRL secretion from cultured anterior pituitary cells. Both NMDA (100 microM) and kainate (100 microM) increased PRL secretion and these effects were blocked by a specific NMDA receptor antagonist. AMPA did not modify PRL release in these cultures. The group I and II mGluR agonist, trans-ACPD (1000 microM), and a specific group II mGluR agonist, L-CCG-I (100-1000 microM), inhibited whereas specific group I and III mGluR agonists, 3-HPG and L-AP4 respectively, had no effect on PRL release. Finally, D-Asp (100-1000 microM) stimulated PRL secretion and this effect was reduced by a NMDA receptor antagonist. When anterior pituitary cells were cultured in the presence of posterior pituitary cells, NMDA did not modify PRL or GABA release, while D-Asp increased PRL secretion and decreased GABA release in these cocultures. In conclusion, our results show that L-glutamate has a differential direct effect on PRL release: it exerts a stimulatory action via iGluRs and an inhibitory effect via mGluRs. D-Asp could directly stimulate PRL release through NMDA receptors. D-Asp may also stimulate PRL release by decreasing GABA release from the posterior pituitary.

Topics: Animals; Aspartic Acid; Cells, Cultured; Cyclic AMP; Cycloleucine; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Female; Pituitary Gland, Anterior; Prolactin; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Glutamate; Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate

Activation of glutamate receptors has been implicated in excitotoxicity. Here, we have investigated whether subtoxic concentrations of glutamate can modulate neuronal death in the developing retina. Explants of rat retinas were pre-incubated with glutamate, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), kainate, quisqualate or trans-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (t-ACPD) for 18 h. Then, glutamate (6 mM) was added to the explants for an additional 6 h. Glutamate-induced degeneration was restricted to the emerging inner nuclear layer. Pre-incubation with glutamate, NMDA, or both, reduced glutamate-induced neuronal death and protected against neuronal death induced by irradiation (2 Gy). The NMDA receptor antagonists, 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (d-APV; 30 microM) or 5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzocyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801; 30 microM), prevented glutamate-induced neuroprotection. To investigate whether this neuroprotection was mediated by neurotrophins, we incubated retinal explants with either brain-derived neurotrophic factor or neurotrophin-4. Both treatments resulted in partial protection against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity. Furthermore, NMDA mediated neuroprotection was totally reversed when a soluble form of the specific tyrosine kinase receptor B was simultaneously added to the explants. Our results suggest that activation of NMDA receptors may control neuronal death in the retina during development. This modulation seems to depend, at least in part, on the release of neurotrophins within the retina.

Topics: 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; Animals; Apoptosis; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; Cycloleucine; Dizocilpine Maleate; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Glutamic Acid; Kainic Acid; N-Methylaspartate; Nerve Growth Factors; Neuroprotective Agents; Quinoxalines; Quisqualic Acid; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Receptor, Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor; Retina

Striatal function is heavily influenced by glutamatergic and dopaminergic afferent input. To ultimately better understand how the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, phencyclidine (PCP), alters striatal function, we sought to determine how NMDA receptor function is influenced by activation of other glutamatergic receptors and by dopaminergic receptors. To this end, we used NMDA-stimulated efflux of [14C]GABA and [3H]acetylcholine (ACh) from striatal slices to assess the influence of these receptors on NMDA function. NMDA-stimulated [14C]GABA release was more sensitive to NMDA and glycine antagonists than was [3H]ACh release, suggesting that different NMDA receptors regulate the release of these neurotransmitters. Furthermore, NMDA-stimulated [3H]ACh release was inhibited by a D2 receptor mechanism whereas NMDA-stimulated [14C]GABA release was enhanced by D1 receptor activation. NMDA and (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid hydrobromide (AMPA) interact additively to evoke [3H]ACh release, and synergistically to evoke [14C]GABA release. An additive effect of NMDA and kainate (KA) was found on [14C]GABA release, but NMDA and KA acted in a less than additive manner in evoking [3H]ACh release. KA-stimulated [3H]ACh release was largely blocked by NMDA antagonists, suggesting mediation through activation of NMDA receptors, probably secondary to KA-induced glutamate release. A selective group II metabotropic receptor agonist inhibited NMDA-stimulated [14C]GABA and [3H]ACh release. On the other hand, NMDA-stimulated [14C]GABA release was potentiated by activation of group I metabotropic receptors. Thus, in addition to the differential modulation by D1- and D2-like receptors, the release of striatal neurotransmitters by NMDA receptor activation depends on the extent to which the other glutamate receptors, both ionotropic and metabotropic, are activated.

Topics: 2,3,4,5-Tetrahydro-7,8-dihydroxy-1-phenyl-1H-3-benzazepine; Acetylcholine; alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Benzoates; Carbon Radioisotopes; Corpus Striatum; Cycloleucine; Dopamine Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Glutamic Acid; Glycine; Kainic Acid; Male; N-Methylaspartate; Proline; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Dopamine; Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Tritium

We investigated the modulation by growth factors of phospholipase C (PLC)-linked glutamate receptors during in vitro development of hippocampal cultures. In defined medium, glial cells represent between 3 and 14% of total cell number. When we added basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) 2 h after plating, we found: (i) a neuroprotection from naturally occurring death for up to 5 days; (ii) a proliferation of glial cells from day 3; and (iii) a potentiation of quisqualate (QA)-induced inositol phosphate (IP) formation from 1 to 10 days in vitro (DIV) and 1S, 3R-amino-cyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate (ACPD) response from 3 to 10 DIV. The antimitotic cytosine-beta,D-arabinofuranoside (AraC) blocked glial cell proliferation induced by bFGF, but not neuroprotection. Under these conditions, the early potentiation of the QA response (1-3 DIV) was not changed, while the ACPD and late QA response potentiations were prevented (5-10 DIV). Epidermal growth factor was not neuroprotective but it induced both glial cell proliferation and late QA or ACPD potentiation. Surprisingly, the early bFGF-potentiated QA-induced IP response was blocked by 6, 7-dinitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), suggesting the participation of ionotropic (RS)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA)/kainate (KA) receptors. The delayed bFGF-potentiated ACPD-induced IP response is inhibited by (S)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG), indicating possible activation of glial metabotropic receptors. These results suggest that, in hippocampal cultures, bFGF modulates AMPA and metabotropic glutamate receptors linked to the IP cascade, possibly in relation to the regulation of neuronal survival and glial cell proliferation, respectively.

Topics: Animals; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Benzoates; Cell Division; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Cellular Senescence; Cycloleucine; Cytarabine; Epidermal Growth Factor; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Fetus; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; Glutamic Acid; Glycine; Hippocampus; Inositol Phosphates; Neuroglia; Neurons; Neuroprotective Agents; Quinoxalines; Quisqualic Acid; Rats; Receptors, AMPA; Receptors, Kainic Acid; Type C Phospholipases

This study examined the role of glutamate receptor activation in the regulation of microvascular tone in the hippocampus and neocortex of the rat. Microvascular and neuronal responses were simultaneously recorded in brain slices using videomicroscopic analysis in conjunction with electrophysiological recording. Glutamate and other glutamate receptor agonists, including NMDA, kainic acid, and ACPD elicited dose-dependent dilation in preconstricted hippocampal microvessels. The lower concentrations of NMDA elicited dilation with an increase in neuronal excitability while dilatory responses to other agonists were associated with substantial depolarization. NMDA-mediated dilation was inhibited completely with a sodium channel blocker (TTX), an NOS inhibitor (L-NNA), or a specific inhibitor of neuronal NOS (7-NI). Inhibition of the GABA(A) or the A2 adenosine receptor did not attenuate the NMDA-induced dilation. The role of spontaneous glutamate receptor activation by endogenous glutamate in the regulation of resting dilatory tone was also examined. Blocking AMPA or metabotropic glutamate receptors did not induce significant responses in resting hippocampal vessels. However, the NMDA receptor antagonist, APV, elicited a dose-dependent constriction. In surface vessels of the neocortex, NMDA elicited a comparable dose-dependent dilation, and APV elicited a significantly smaller dose-dependent constriction. A 60 min period of hypoxia elicited a significant dilation of preconstricted hippocampal microvessels. APV did not significantly influence this dilatory response indicating that hypoxia-induced dilation is not mediated by NMDA receptor activation. Taken together, these results indicate that glutamate contributes to the dilatory tone of cerebral microvessels under physiologic conditions and that this effect is mediated by NMDA receptors. Glutamatergic vasodilation is dependent on neuronal discharge activity and the neuronal production of NO. The tonic influence is more pronounced in hippocampal microvessels than in neocortical vessels suggesting that the contribution of NMDA receptor activation to resting dilatory tone is dependent on the location of vessels within the brain.

Topics: 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Cerebral Cortex; Cerebrovascular Circulation; Cycloleucine; Electric Stimulation; Evoked Potentials; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Glutamic Acid; Hippocampus; In Vitro Techniques; Kainic Acid; Male; Microcirculation; N-Methylaspartate; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Glutamate; Synapses; Vasoconstriction; Vasodilation

The role of glial cells in nitric oxide production in the cerebellum of conscious rats was investigated with a glial selective metabolic inhibitor, fluorocitrate. The levels of nitric oxide metabolites (nitrite plus nitrate) in the dialysate following in vivo microdialysis progressively increased to more than 2-fold the basal levels during a 2-h infusion of fluorocitrate (1 mM), and the increase persisted for more than 2 h after the treatment. Pretreatment with N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester attenuated the fluorocitrate-induced increase in nitric oxide metabolite levels. None of the glutamate receptor antagonists, including D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid, 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione, and (+/-)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine, inhibited the fluorocitrate-induced increase. The L-arginine-induced increase was significantly reduced by fluorocitrate treatment, while N-methyl-D-aspartate, (+)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid, and trans-(+/-)-1-amino-(1S,3R)-cyclopentane-dicarboxylic acid increased nitric oxide metabolites levels in the fluorocitrate-treated rats, as much as in control animals. These results suggest that glial cells play an important role in modulating nitric oxide production in the cerebellum by regulating L-arginine availability.

Topics: Aconitate Hydratase; alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Benzoates; Cerebellum; Citrates; Citric Acid Cycle; Cycloleucine; Enzyme Inhibitors; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; Extracellular Space; Glycine; Male; N-Methylaspartate; Neuroglia; Neuroprotective Agents; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester; Nitrates; Nitric Oxide; Nitrites; Nitroarginine; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Substrate Specificity

L-Glutamate, NMDA, DL-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA), and kainate (KA) increased the release of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (SRIF-LI) from primary cultures of rat hippocampal neurons. In Mg(2+)-containing medium, the maximal effects (reached at approximately 100 microM) amounted to 737% (KA), 722% (glutamate), 488% (NMDA), and 374% (AMPA); the apparent affinities were 22 microM (AMPA), 39 microM (glutamate), 41 microM (KA), and 70 microM (NMDA). The metabotropic receptor agonist trans-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate did not affect SRIF-LI release. The release evoked by glutamate (100 microM) was abolished by 10 microM dizocilpine (MK-801) plus 30 microM 1-aminophenyl-4-methyl-7,8-methylenedioxy-5H-2,3-benzodiazepine (GYKI 52466). Moreover, the maximal effect of glutamate was mimicked by a mixture of NMDA+AMPA. The release elicited by NMDA was sensitive to MK-801 but insensitive to GYKI 52466. The AMPA- and KA-evoked releases were blocked by 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX) or by GYKI 52466 but were insensitive to MK-801. The release of SRIF-LI elicited by all four agonists was Ca(2+) dependent, whereas only the NMDA-evoked release was prevented by tetrodotoxin. Removal of Mg2+ caused increase of basal SRIF-LI release, an effect abolished by MK-801. Thus, glutamate can stimulate somatostatin release through ionotropic NMDA and AMPA/KA receptors. Receptors of the KA type (AMPA insensitive) or metabotropic receptors appear not to be involved.

Topics: alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Benzodiazepines; Calcium; Cells, Cultured; Cycloleucine; Dizocilpine Maleate; Drug Synergism; Glutamic Acid; Hippocampus; Kainic Acid; N-Methylaspartate; Pyramidal Cells; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, AMPA; Receptors, Glutamate; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Somatostatin; Tetrodotoxin

Cone-driven ON-type bipolar cells were patch clamped in white perch retinal slices. Application of glutamate activated a current (IGlu) that was mediated by a conductance increase. The reversal potential for IGlu followed ECl closely when the intracellular chloride concentration was varied. IGlu was not blocked by 100 microM picrotoxin or 1 microM strychnine, indicating that it was not caused by inhibitory input. IGlu is not mediated by a typical ionotropic glutamate receptor since it was not activated by kainate, AMPA, or NMDA, or blocked by kynurenic acid, CNQX, DNQX, or AP-V. Further, IGlu is not mediated by a known metabotropic glutamate receptor since it was not activated by quisqualic acid, AP-4, ACPD, or ibotenate. IGlu required the presence of extracellular sodium and could be partially inhibited by the glutamate uptake inhibitors THA and tPDC. This is suggestive of sodium-dependent glutamate transport. However, when intracellular sodium was greatly increased, neither the magnitude nor reversal potential of IGlu was substantively affected. Thus, IGlu appears to involve a chloride channel activated by a glutamate receptor with transporter-like pharmacology. IGlu is localized to the dendrites of the bipolar cell, where bipolar cells receive an endogenous glutamatergic input from photoreceptors. Further, the reversal potential of the light response in these cells is the same as that of IGlu. Thus, it seems likely that IGlu is the current responsible for the cone component of the ON bipolar cell light response in the teleost retina.

Topics: 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; 6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione; alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Chloride Channels; Chlorides; Cycloleucine; Dendrites; Glutamic Acid; Ibotenic Acid; In Vitro Techniques; Kainic Acid; Kynurenic Acid; Membrane Potentials; N-Methylaspartate; Neurotoxins; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Perches; Picrotoxin; Quinoxalines; Quisqualic Acid; Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate; Retina; Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells; Strychnine

1. The effects of agonists of on the evoked N-wave complex in slices of mouse have been studied: most experiments were carried out using slices perfused with Mg(2+)-free solution to which 10 microM of either 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione or 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione was applied. 2. Following agonist washout, a slowly developing, long lasting potentiation of the complex occurred which was confined to the mediated component of the potential. The relative agonist potencies were 1S,3R-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (1S,3R-ACPD, 5-250 microM) = quisqualate (5-50 microM) > 1RS,3RS-cis-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (ACPD, 25-1000 microM) > L-glutamate (0.25-2.5 mM); NMDA, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA) and L-aspartate were inactive. 3. Potentiation of the NMDA receptor-mediated component by 1S,3R-ACPD (0.1 mM) was non-competitively antagonised by S-(+)- but not R-(-)-2-amino-3-phosphonopropionate (AP3, 0.125 mM), equally by D-(-) and L-(+)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (0.25 mM) and also by the protein kinase C inhibitors sphingosine, (25 microM), sangivamycin (25 microM) and 5-(isoquinolinylsulphonyl)-3-methylpiperazine (50 microM). 4. In a series of input-output experiments, 1S,3R-ACPD (0.1 mM) reversibly reduced the latency to peak of the NMDA receptor-mediated component at submaximal stimulus intensities, an effect blocked by S-(+)-AP3 (0.125 mM). On agonist washout, there was an increase in the area of the receptor-mediated component over all stimulus intensities, an effect blocked by the inhibitors of protein kinase C and by S-(+)-AP3 (0.125mM). 4-beta-Phorbol-12,13-diacetate (2.5 muM) also potentiated the component, an action inhibited by protein kinase C inhibitors but not by S-(+)-AP3. IS,3R-ACPD (0.1mM) had no significant effect on postsynaptic responses evoked by NMDA, AMPA and kainate, but significantly reversed a partial antagonism of NMDA responses produced by 7-chlorokynurenate (2.5 muM). The K+evoked release of glycine was selectively and significantly increased in the presence 0.1mM 1S,3R-ACPD(antagonized by 0.125 mM S-(+)-AP#) whereas following agonist washout, release of glycine fell to control levels but there was a significant increase in release of aspartate(antagonized by 25 muM sangivamycin and 0.125 muM S-(+)-AP3). It is concluded that mediate (i) a reduction in the latency of the mediated component of potentials by a mechanism that is independent of protein kinase C but wh

Topics: 6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione; alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Amino Acids; Animals; Cycloleucine; Ibotenic Acid; In Vitro Techniques; Male; Mice; Neurotransmitter Agents; Olfactory Bulb; Potassium; Quinoxalines; Receptors, Glutamate; Synapses; Synaptic Transmission

Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were made in thin transverse slices from neurons of the dorsomedial subdivision of the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS) of the rat. Cells were exposed to either the ionotropic glutamate receptor agonist (R, S)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) or the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol via pressure ejection directed at the cell soma. The metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist 1S,3R-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylate (1S,3R-ACPD; 2-100 microM) reversibly depressed muscimol-evoked currents. Conversely, 1S,3R-ACPD reversibly potentiated AMPA-evoked currents. High-frequency stimulation of the tractus solitarius in the presence of 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione and D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid also produced a reversible depression of muscimol-evoked currents that was occluded in the presence of 100 microM 1S,3R-ACPD. 8-Br-cGMP or brain-derived natriuretic peptide mimicked the effects of 1S,3R-ACPD on AMPA and muscimol currents. However, agents that mimicked the actions of cAMP or diacylglycerol did not. These findings indicate that metabotropic glutamate receptors may mediate multiple components of excitatory transmission in the NTS including modulation of glutamate and GABA-activated ion channels.

Topics: alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Cycloleucine; Electrophysiology; Female; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; Glutamates; Glutamic Acid; Ibotenic Acid; Male; Medulla Oblongata; Muscimol; Neurons; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Glutamate; Synapses

Several recent reports document that activation of the NMDA receptor is required for the development and maintenance of thermal hyperalgesia. In contrast, the receptor subtype(s) involved in mechanisms that underlie mechanical hyperalgesia are at present unknown. We report here that acute mechanical hyperalgesia in the rat is not produced by NMDA receptor agonists, but instead requires coactivation of ionotropic AMPA and metabotropic glutamate receptor subtypes. Collectively, the results are consistent with a role for activation of spinal cord neurons using NMDA receptor agonists in mechanisms of thermal hyperalgesia and for coactivation of AMPA and metabotropic glutamate receptors on spinal cord neurons in mechanisms of mechanical hyperalgesia.

Topics: alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Cycloleucine; Hot Temperature; Ibotenic Acid; Male; N-Methylaspartate; Neurotoxins; Pain; Pain Measurement; Pain Threshold; Physical Stimulation; Quinoxalines; Quisqualic Acid; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, AMPA; Receptors, Glutamate; Spinal Cord

We investigated the hypothesis that stimulation of metabotropic excitatory amino acid receptors in the ventrolateral medulla evokes cardiovascular responses. Thus, (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid [(1S,3R)-ACPD], a selective agonist of metabotropic excitatory amino acid receptors, was microinjected into the rostral or caudal ventrolateral medulla of halothane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Microinjections of (1S,3R)-ACPD (100 pmol-1 nmol) into the rostral ventrolateral medulla produced dose-dependent increases in mean arterial pressure (+20 +/- 4 mm Hg by 100 pmol and +35 +/- 2 mm Hg by 1 nmol, p < 0.01 versus artificial cerebrospinal fluid) and integrated splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity (+17 +/- 3% and +46 +/- 4%, respectively, p < 0.01), whereas (1S,3+)-ACPD microinjected into the caudal ventrolateral medulla decreased mean arterial pressure (-28 +/- 2 mm Hg by 100 pmol and -48 +/- 6 mm Hg by 1 nmol, p < 0.01 versus artificial cerebrospinal fluid) and splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity (-24 +/- 4% and -49 +/- 5%, p < 0.01). The blockade of ionotropic excitatory amino acid receptors by the combined injection of 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (200 pmol) and 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (200 pmol), which effectively blocked the responses elicited by either N-methyl-D-aspartate (20 pmol) or alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (5 pmol), failed to affect the responses evoked by either (1S,3R)-ACPD (100 pmol) or L-glutamate (2 nmol) microinjected in the rostral and caudal ventrolateral medulla. These results suggest that metabotropic receptors are present and mediate cardiovascular responses evoked by L-glutamate injections into the rostral and caudal ventrolateral medulla.

Topics: 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; Alanine; Amino Acids; Animals; Blood Pressure; Cycloleucine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Combinations; Male; Medulla Oblongata; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Glutamate; Stimulation, Chemical

1. The role of metabotropic glutamate receptors at the parallel fiber (PF)-Purkinje cell synapse in cerebellum was studied by examining the actions of the active stereoisomer (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid [1S,3R-ACPD (25-50 microM)] on fura-2-loaded, patch-clamped rat Purkinje cells in thin slices. 2. The bath application of 1S,3R-ACPD evoked a direct post-synaptic depolarization that readily desensitized during prolonged (> 1 min) applications of the drug. This depolarizing response to 1S,3R-ACPD differed from the slow depolarization to 1S,3R-ACPD observed in cortical neurons mediated via closure of potassium channels in that it was not associated with an obvious change in membrane conductance and was not blocked by external barium. Similarly, slow inward rectifier currents were not affected during the 1S,3R-ACPD-induced depolarization. 3. The direct depolarization induced by 1S,3R-ACPD was not mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or (RS)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid kainate (AMPA)-KA excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptor subtypes, because the response was not blocked in the presence of antagonists of these receptors. 4. The EAA antagonist L-2-amino-3-phosphonopropionic acid, which blocks 1S,3R-ACPD-induced inositide synthesis in other cell types, had no effect on the depolarizing response. 5. Fura-2 measurements of somatic [Ca2+]i revealed that [Ca2+]i was not elevated during the 1S,3R-ACPD-induced depolarization unless the cell fired calcium-dependent action potentials. 6. In addition to the direct depolarization induced by 1S,3R-ACPD, the amplitude of PF-evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) was profoundly and reversibly reduced. This effect was observed in all cells regardless of whether a direct depolarization was produced by 1S,3R-ACPD. This reduction of the PF EPSP generally preceded the onset of depolarizing responses, did not desensitize during prolonged applications of 1S,3R-ACPD, and was reversible. 7. The reversible reduction of the PF EPSP by 1S,3R-ACPD was not related to a postsynaptic blocking action of the drug, because responses of Purkinje cells to AMPA, an agonist of the EAA receptor subtype mediating the EPSP, were reversibly potentiated in the presence of 1S,3R-ACPD. 8. The nitric oxide synthesis promoter sodium nitroprusside (1-3 nM) had no effect on the amplitude of PF EPSP or the membrane properties of Purkinje cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Topics: Afferent Pathways; Animals; Cerebellum; Cycloleucine; Electric Stimulation; Evoked Potentials; Female; Glutamates; In Vitro Techniques; Male; Membrane Potentials; Nerve Fibers; Neurotoxins; Purkinje Cells; Quinoxalines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, Glutamate; Synapses; Tetrodotoxin

The actions of the excitatory amino acid quisqualate (QA) on inositol polyphosphate accumulation in cerebral cortex slices have been assessed using both [3H]inositol prelabeling and mass measurements over relatively short incubation periods. QA stimulated accumulation of all the inositol polyphosphates, with similar EC50 values (2.8 +/- 0.7 microM). High performance liquid chromatography analysis of isomeric forms of inositol polyphosphates and specific mass assays revealed that both phosphorylation and dephosphorylation products of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate accumulate. A large component of the QA-stimulated inositol polyphosphate accumulation was inhibited by the ionotropic antagonist 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione in a competitive manner. This implied that the QA response may be due to entry of Ca2+ via voltage-sensitive calcium channels as a consequence of an ionotropic receptor-induced depolarization. In support of this mechanism, the QA-induced response was dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium, whereas the well characterized muscarinic receptor agonist response to carbachol showed only a slight reduction under the same conditions. The concentration-dependent (EC50 8.8 +/- 3 microM) response to the selective ionotropic agonist amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoazolepropionic acid (AMPA) differed from that to QA or carbachol, in that accumulation of only [3H]inositol mono- and bisphosphates was stimulated, with no increase in the [3H]inositol tris- or tetrakisphosphates. Use of the metabotropic agonist (trans)-(+/-)-1-aminocyclopentyl-1,3-dicarboxylate (ACPD), however, produced concentration-dependent increases in all [3H]inositol polyphosphates. Although both AMPA and ACPD responses alone were smaller in magnitude than that to QA, when present together AMPA and ACPD produced additive responses on [3H]inositol mono- and bisphosphate and a marked synergistic increase in [3H]inositol tetrakisphosphate accumulation, resulting in a response similar to that seen for QA. These data suggest that QA-evoked responses in rat cortex slices are the result of a complex interaction mediated through both ionotropic and metabotropic receptors, in which Ca2+ entry may stimulate accumulation of inositol mono- and bisphosphate directly and divert the metabolism of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate to inositol-1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate.

Topics: alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; Animals; Calcium; Cerebral Cortex; Cycloleucine; Ibotenic Acid; In Vitro Techniques; Inositol Phosphates; Quinoxalines; Quisqualic Acid; Rats; Receptors, AMPA; Receptors, Neurotransmitter

Activation of metabotropic quisqualate receptors by trans-ACPD (trans-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid) caused a reduction in the amplitude of the synaptic response elicited by stimulation of the Schaffer collateral projection and recorded intracellularly from area CA1 in slices of rat hippocampus. Pharmacological agents were used to isolate components of the response mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, non-NMDA receptors, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors. Each of these components was reduced during the trans-ACPD application. These results indicate that one subtype of glutamate receptor may be able to decrease the synaptic efficacy of other subtypes and may provide an important means for balancing the synaptic enhancement processes often studied in the hippocampus.

Topics: 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; 6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione; Animals; Cycloleucine; Electrophysiology; Hippocampus; In Vitro Techniques; Male; Quinoxalines; Rats; Receptors, Amino Acid; Receptors, Cell Surface; Synapses; Synaptic Transmission