piperidines and calmidazolium

1. The regulation of substance P (SP) responsiveness in acutely isolated nodose neurones from adult guinea-pigs was investigated using standard intracellular recording techniques. 2. In control neurones, SP produced no measurable electrophysiological effects. However, following incubation with serotonin (5-HT, 10 microM), 64% of neurones were depolarized by 10 +/- 0.6 mV (n = 84 of 132 neurones) by SP (100 nM). 5-HT-induced SP responses were inhibited by SR48968 (100 nM, n = 6), a neurokinin 2 (NK-2) receptor antagonist, but were unaffected by CP99,994 and SR142801, NK-1 and NK-3 receptor antagonists (n = 3 each), respectively. 3. 5-HT-induced unmasking of SP responses was maximal within 5 min. Increasing the 5-HT incubation time up to 120 min did not increase the mean response amplitude or the percentage of SP responsive neurones (P = 0.611 and 0.867, respectively). 4. 5-HT-induced unmasking of SP responses was dose dependent (EC50 = 14 nM). A 5-HT3 receptor agonist CPBG (1 microM), mimicked the unmasking effects of 5-HT (n = 10 of 19 neurones), while 5-CT (10 microM), a non-selective 5-HT agonist devoid of action at 5-HT3 receptors, did not (n = 18). ICS205-930 (1 microM), a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, completely blocked the 5-HT-induced unmasking of SP responses (n = 10 of 10 neurones). 5. In 68% of the neurones tested, bath-applied 5-HT (10 microM) evoked a 178 +/- 29.5 nM increase in [Ca2+]i (n = 16), which was blocked by nominally zero [Ca2+]o (n = 4) or by ICS205-930 (1 microM, n = 4). Nodose neurones incubated with 5-HT in the presence of nominally zero [Ca2+]o did not respond to SP (n = 12 of 13 neurones) in Locke solution containing normal [Ca2+]o, indicating that the 5-HT-mediated elevation of [Ca2+]i is required for unmasking of SP responses. Calmidazolium (100 nM), a calmodulin inhibitor, inhibited the unmasking effects of 5-HT (n = 5 of 5 neurones). 6. Incubating neurones with the nitric oxide (NO) donors papaNONOate (1 mM, 15-30 min) or SNAP (50 microM, 30-60 min) unmasked depolarizing SP responses in 71% and 45% of the neurones studied, respectively. L-NMMA (30 microM), a NO synthase inhibitor, blocked 5-HT-induced unmasking of SP responses (n = 10 of 10 neurones). 7. In sum, these results suggest that stimulation of 5-HT3 receptors activates an intracellular signalling cascade that couples calcium-calmodulin and NO activation to NK-2 receptor unmasking in sensory neurones.

Topics: Animals; Benzamides; Cycloheximide; Enzyme Inhibitors; Guinea Pigs; Hydrazines; Imidazoles; Indoles; Male; Membrane Potentials; Neurons, Afferent; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Donors; Nodose Ganglion; omega-N-Methylarginine; Penicillamine; Piperidines; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Receptors, Neurokinin-1; Receptors, Neurokinin-2; Receptors, Neurokinin-3; Receptors, Serotonin; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3; Serotonin; Serotonin Antagonists; Substance P; Tropisetron

We have studied the regional distribution and characteristics of polyamine-sensitive [3H]ifenprodil binding sites by quantitative autoradiography in the rat brain. In forebrain areas ifenprodil displaced [3H]ifenprodil (40 nM) in a biphasic manner with IC50 values ranging from 42 to 352 nM and 401 to 974 microM. In hindbrain regions, including the cerebellum, ifenprodil displacement curves were monophasic with IC50 values in the high micromolar range. Wiping studies using forebrain slices (containing both high- and low-affinity sites) or cerebellar slices (containing only the low-affinity site) showed that high- and low-affinity ifenprodil sites are sensitive to spermine and spermidine, to the aminoglycoside antibiotics neomycin, gentamicin, and kanamycin, and to zinc. Two calmodulin antagonists, W7 and calmidazolium, also displaced [3H]ifenprodil from both sites. Other calmodulin antagonists, including trifluoperazine, prenylamine, and chlorpromazine, selectively displaced [3H]ifenprodil from its low-affinity site in hindbrain and forebrain regions. High-affinity [3H]ifenprodil sites, defined either by ifenprodil displacement curves or by [3H]ifenprodil binding in the presence of 1 mM trifluoperazine, were concentrated in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and thalamus with little or no labeling of hindbrain or cerebellar regions. This distribution matches that of NMDAR2B mRNA, supporting data showing that ifenprodil has a preferential action at NMDA receptors containing this subunit. Low-affinity [3H]ifenprodil sites have a more ubiquitous distribution but are especially concentrated in the molecular layer of the cerebellum. [3H]ifenprodil was found to bind to calmodulin-agarose with very low affinity (IC50 of ifenprodil = 516 microM). This binding was displaced by calmodulin antagonists and by polyamines, with a potency that matched their displacement of [3H]ifenprodil from its low-affinity site in brain sections. However, the localization of the low-affinity [3H]ifenprodil site does not strictly correspond to that of calmodulin, and its identity remains to be further characterized. The restricted localization of high-affinity [3H]ifenprodil binding sites to regions rich in NMDAR2B subunit mRNA may explain the atypical nature of this NMDA antagonist.

Topics: Animals; Autoradiography; Binding, Competitive; Brain; Calmodulin; Hippocampus; Imidazoles; Male; Piperidines; Polyamines; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; Sepharose; Spermidine; Spermine; Sulfonamides; Tissue Distribution; Trifluoperazine; Tritium