AMPA receptor activation of area postrema neurons

1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (2) ◽  
pp. R586-R590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Hay ◽  
Kathy A. Lindsley

This study reports on the effects of activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors on area postrema neuron cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). In 140 of 242 area postrema neurons isolated from postnatal rats, application of 100 μMl-glutamate (l-Glu) resulted in a significant increase in [Ca2+]i. The remaining neurons were unaffected. The effects ofl-Glu on area postrema [Ca2+]iwere dose dependent, with a threshold of response near 1.0 μM and maximal response near 100 μM. To determine if the response ofl-Glu in area postrema neurons was due to activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors, the effects of the broad-spectrum ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonist kynurinic acid (Kyn) was determined. Application of 1.0 mM Kyn resulted in a 62.6 ± 4% inhibition of thel-Glu-evoked response. Application of the selective N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) antagonist 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid had no effect on the response of area postrema neurons to 100 μMl-Glu. In contrast, application of the selectivedl-α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA)/kainate receptor antagonist 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline (DNQX) effectively blocked the 100 μMl-Glu response. Application of (±)-AMPA mimicked the effects observed withl-Glu and was selectively blocked by DNQX. These results suggest thatl-Glu activation of area postrema neurons involves activation of AMPA receptors but not NMDA receptors.

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Krolo ◽  
E. A. Stuth ◽  
M. Tonkovic-Capin ◽  
Z. Dogas ◽  
F. A. Hopp ◽  
...  

The relative roles of ionotropic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA glutamate receptors in supplying excitatory drive to inspiratory (I) augmenting pattern neurons of the ventral respiratory group were studied in anesthetized, ventilated, paralyzed, and vagotomized dogs. Multibarrel micropipettes were used to record simultaneously single-unit neuronal activity and pressure microeject the NMDA antagonist, 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (AP5; 2 mM), the non-NMDA antagonist 2,3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo( f)quinoxaline (NBQX; 0.25 mM), and an artificial cerebrospinal fluid vehicle. Ejected volume-rates were measured directly via meniscus level changes. The moving time average of phrenic nerve activity was used to determine respiratory phase durations and to synchronize cycle-triggered histograms of the discharge patterns. Both AP5 and NBQX produced dose-dependent reductions in peak spontaneous I neuronal discharge frequency ( F n). The average (± SE) maximum reduction in peak F n produced by AP5 was 69.1 ± 4.2% and by NBQX was 47.1 ± 3.3%. Blockade of both glutamate receptor subtypes nearly silenced these neurons, suggesting that their activity is highly dependent on excitatory synaptic drive mediated by ionotropic glutamate receptors. Differential effects were found for the two glutamatergic antagonists. AP5 produced downward, parallel shifts in the augmenting pattern of discharge, whereas NBQX reduced the slope of the augmenting discharge pattern. These results suggest that time-varying excitatory input patterns to the canine I bulbospinal neurons are mediated by non-NMDA glutamate receptors and that constant or tonic input patterns to these neurons are mediated by NMDA receptors.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (5) ◽  
pp. R1469-R1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Michael Foley ◽  
Helen W. Vogl ◽  
Patrick J. Mueller ◽  
Meredith Hay ◽  
Eileen M. Hasser

Glutamate is the proposed neurotransmitter of baroreceptor afferents at the level of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). Exogenous glutamate in the NTS activates neurons through ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). This study tested the hypothesis that group I mGluRs in the NTS produce depressor, bradycardic, and sympathoinhibitory responses. In urethan-anesthetized rats, unilateral 30-nl microinjections of the group I-selective mGluR agonist 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) into the NTS decreased mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and lumbar sympathetic nerve activity. The dose of drug that produced 50% of the maximal response (ED50) was 50–100 μM. The response to microinjection of equal concentrations of DHPG or the general mGluR agonist 1-aminocyclopentane-1 S,3 R-dicarboxylic acid (ACPD) produced similar cardiovascular effects. The cardiovascular response to injection of DHPG or ACPD was abolished by NTS blockade of mGluRs with α-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG). Blockade of ionotropic glutamate receptors with kynurenic acid did not attenuate the response to DHPG or ACPD injection. These data suggest that DHPG and ACPD activate mGluRs in the NTS and do not require ionotropic glutamate receptors to produce their cardiovascular response. In the NTS the group I mGluRs produce responses that are consistent with excitation of neurons involved in reducing sympathetic outflow, heart rate, and arterial pressure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 591-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domingo Sanchez Ruiz ◽  
Hella Luksch ◽  
Marco Sifringer ◽  
Achim Temme ◽  
Christian Staufner ◽  
...  

Background: Glutamate receptors are widely expressed in different types of cancer cells. α-Amino-3- hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptors are ionotropic glutamate receptors which are coupled to intracellular signaling pathways that influence cancer cell survival, proliferation, and migration. Blockade of AMPA receptors by pharmacologic compounds may potentially constitute an effective tool in anticancer treatment strategies. Method: Here we investigated the impact of the AMPA receptor antagonist CFM-2 on the expression of the protein survivin, which is known to promote cancer cell survival and proliferation. We show that CFM-2 inhibits survivin expression at mRNA and protein levels and decreases the viability of cancer cells. Using a stably transfected cell line which overexpresses survivin, we demonstrate that over-expression of survivin enhances cancer cell viability and attenuates CFM-2–mediated inhibition of cancer cell growth. Result: These findings point towards suppression of survivin expression as a new mechanism contributing to anticancer effects of AMPA antagonists.


1991 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 986-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Rainnie ◽  
E. K. Asprodini ◽  
P. Shinnick-Gallagher

1. Intracellular current-clamp recordings obtained from neurons of the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) were used to characterize postsynaptic potentials elicited through stimulation of the stria terminalis (ST) or the lateral amygdala (LA). The contribution of glutamatergic receptor subtypes to excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were analyzed by the use of the non N-methyl-D-aspartate (non-NMDA) antagonist, 6-cyano-7-nitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), and the NMDA antagonist, (DL)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV). 2. Basic membrane properties of BLA neurons determined from membrane responses to transient current injection showed that at the mean resting membrane potential (RMP; -67.2 mV) the input resistance (RN) and time constant for membrane charging (tau) were near maximal, and that both values were reduced with membrane hyperpolarization, suggesting an intrinsic regulation of synaptic efficacy. 3. Responses to stimulation of the ST or LA consisted of an EPSP followed by either a fast inhibitory postsynaptic potential (f-IPSP) only, or by a fast- and subsequent slow-IPSP (s-IPSP). The EPSP was graded in nature, increasing in amplitude with increased stimulus intensity, and with membrane hyperpolarization after DC current injection. Spontaneous EPSPs were also observed either as discrete events or as EPSP/IPSP waveforms. 4. In physiological Mg2+ concentrations (1.2 mM), at the mean RMP, the EPSP consisted of dual, fast and slow, glutamatergic components. The fast-EPSP (f-EPSP) possessed characteristics of kainate/quisqualate receptor activation, namely, the EPSP increased in amplitude with membrane hyperpolarization, was insensitive to the NMDA receptor antagonist, APV (50 microM), and was blocked by the non-NMDA receptor antagonist, CNQX (10 microM). In contrast, the slow-EPSP (s-EPSP) decreased in amplitude with membrane hyperpolarization, was insensitive to CNQX (10 microM), and was blocked by APV (50 microM), indicating mediation by NMDA receptor activation. 5. In the presence of CNQX (10 microM), ST stimulation evoked an APV-sensitive s-EPSP. In contrast, LA stimulation evoked a f-IPSP, which when blocked by subsequent addition of bicuculline methiodide (BMI; 30 microM) revealed a temporally overlapping APV-sensitive s-EPSP. These data suggest that EPSP amplitude and duration are determined, in part, by the shunting of membrane conductance caused by a concomitant IPSP. 6. Superfusion of either CNQX or APV in BLA neurons caused membrane hyperpolarization and blockade of spontaneous EPSPs and IPSPs, suggesting that these compounds may act to block tonic excitatory amino acid (EAA) release within the nucleus, and that a degree of feed-forward inhibition occurs within the nucleus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (11) ◽  
pp. 1345-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Huxtable ◽  
P. M. MacFarlane ◽  
S. Vinit ◽  
N. L. Nichols ◽  
E. A. Dale ◽  
...  

Acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH; three 5-min hypoxic episodes) causes a form of phrenic motor facilitation (pMF) known as phrenic long-term facilitation (pLTF); pLTF is initiated by spinal activation of Gq protein-coupled 5-HT2 receptors. Because α1 adrenergic receptors are expressed in the phrenic motor nucleus and are also Gq protein-coupled, we hypothesized that α1 receptors are sufficient, but not necessary for AIH-induced pLTF. In anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated rats, episodic spinal application of the α1 receptor agonist phenylephrine (PE) elicited dose-dependent pMF (10 and 100 μM, P < 0.05; but not 1 μM). PE-induced pMF was blocked by the α1 receptor antagonist prazosin (1 mM; −20 ± 20% at 60 min, −5 ± 21% at 90 min; n = 6). Although α1 receptor activation is sufficient to induce pMF, it was not necessary for AIH-induced pLTF because intrathecal prazosin (1 mM) did not alter AIH-induced pLTF (56 ± 9% at 60 min, 78 ± 12% at 90 min; n = 9). Intravenous (iv) prazosin (150 μg/kg) appeared to reduce pLTF (21 ± 9% at 60 min, 26 ± 8% at 90 min), but this effect was not significant. Hypoglossal long-term facilitation was unaffected by intrathecal prazosin, but was blocked by iv prazosin (−4 ± 14% at 60 min, −13 ± 18% at 90 min), suggesting different LTF mechanisms in different motor neuron pools. In conclusion, Gq protein-coupled α1 adrenergic receptors evoke pMF, but they are not necessary for AIH-induced pLTF.


2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
João O. Malva ◽  
Ana P. Vieira ◽  
Catarina R. Oliveira

Teaching students about the physiology of neurotransmitter receptors usually requires practical lessons with the use of sophisticated equipment and complex analysis of data. Here, we report our experience in teaching medical students with a simple, practical protocol that transforms the physiology of glutamate receptors into neuronal staining, observable under bright-field microscopy. Essentially, the students were challenged to selectively stain a subpopulation of cultured neurons expressing Ca2+-permeable α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) receptors (a subgroup of ionotropic glutamate receptors). Neurons expressing this type of receptors were loaded with Co2+ (in substitution for Ca2+) after nondesensitizing activation of AMPA receptors. After precipitation, the Co2+ was revealed after treatment with silver. At the end of the procedure, the neurons expressing Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors were visually identified under bright-field microscopy. The procedure allowed the visualization of the complete dendritic network of the stained neurons and allowed the students to learn very efficiently about the physiology of glutamate receptors.


2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 1573-1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Cottrell ◽  
Gilles R. Dubé ◽  
Christophe Egles ◽  
Guosong Liu

Postsynaptic differentiation during glutamatergic synapse formation is poorly understood. Using a novel biophysical approach, we have investigated the distribution and density of functional glutamate receptors and characterized their clustering during synaptogenesis in cultured hippocampal neurons. We found that functional α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolpropionate (AMPA) and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are evenly distributed in the dendritic membrane before synaptogenesis with an estimated density of 3 receptors/μm2. Following synaptogenesis, functional AMPA and NMDA receptors are clustered at synapses with a density estimated to be on the order of 104 receptors/μm2, which corresponds to ∼400 receptors/synapse. Meanwhile there is no reduction in the extrasynaptic receptor density, which indicates that the aggregation of the existing pool of receptors is not the primary mechanism of glutamate receptor clustering. Furthermore our data suggest that the ratio of AMPA to NMDA receptor density may be regulated to be close to one in all dendritic locations. We also demonstrate that synaptic AMPA and NMDA receptor clusters form with a similar time course during synaptogenesis and that functional AMPA receptors cluster independently of activity and glutamate receptor activation, including following the deletion of the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit. Thus glutamate receptor activation is not necessary for the insertion, clustering, and activation of functional AMPA receptors during synapse formation, and this process is likely controlled by an activity-independent signal.


Neuroforum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. A121-A126
Author(s):  
Denise Manahan-Vaughan

Abstract The hippocampus supports the acquisition of both spatial representations and long-term spatial memory. This is enabled by a triumvirate of physiological processes comprising information organisation and transfer by means of neuronal oscillations, creation of context-dependent spatial maps by means of place cells, and long-term storage of spatial experience by means of synaptic plasticity. All three processes are enabled by the glutamatergic system. Glutamate binding to ionotropic glutamate receptors enables both fast excitatory synaptic transmission (via AMPA receptors) and the initiation of long-term synaptic storage (via NMDA receptors). But glutamate also binds to metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors. These receptors not only contribute to the stability of hippocampal encoding and the longevity of synaptic plasticity, they can also support synaptic information storage independent of NMDA receptor activation and are important for the acquisition and retention of long-term memory.


2008 ◽  
pp. S49-S57
Author(s):  
M Sedláček ◽  
M Kořínek ◽  
M Petrovič ◽  
O Cais ◽  
E Adamusová ◽  
...  

Ionotropic glutamate receptors function can be affected by neurosteroids, both positively and negatively. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor responses to exogenously applied glutamate are potentiated or inhibited (depending on the receptor subunit composition) by pregnenolone sulphate (PS) and inhibited by pregnanolone sulphate (3alpha5betaS). While PS effect is most pronounced when its application precedes that of glutamate, 3alpha5betaS only binds to receptors already activated. Synaptically activated NMDA receptors are inhibited by 3alpha5betaS, though to a lesser extent than those tonically activated by exogenous glutamate. PS, on the other hand, shows virtually no effect on any of the models of synaptically activated NMDA receptors. The site of neurosteroid action at the receptor molecule has not yet been identified, however, the experiments indicate that there are at least two distinct extracellularly located binding sites for PS mediating its potentiating and inhibitory effects respectively. Experiments with chimeric receptors revealed the importance of the extracellular loop connecting the third and the fourth transmembrane domain of the receptor NR2 subunit for the neurosteroid action. alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA)/kainate receptors are inhibited by both PS and 3alpha5betaS. These neurosteroids also affect AMPA receptors-mediated synaptic transmission, however, in a rather indirect way, through presynaptically located targets of action.


2015 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1383-1393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent A. Jourdain ◽  
Nicolas Morin ◽  
Laurent Grégoire ◽  
Marc Morissette ◽  
Thérèse Di Paolo

OBJECT Unilateral subthalamotomy is a surgical procedure that may be used to alleviate disabling levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LIDs) in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). However, the mechanisms involved in LID remain largely unknown. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is the sole glutamatergic nucleus within the basal ganglia, and its lesion may produce changes in glutamate receptors in various areas of the basal ganglia. The authors aimed to investigate the biochemical changes in glutamate receptors in striatal and pallidal regions of the basal ganglia after lesion of the STN in parkinsonian macaque monkeys. METHODS The authors treated 12 female ovariectomized monkeys with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) to induce PD-like symptoms, treated 8 of these animals with 3,4-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine (L-DOPA; levodopa) to induce LID, and performed unilateral subthalamotomy in 4 of these 8 monkeys. Four additional monkeys were treated with saline only and were used as controls. The MPTP monkeys had previously been shown to respond behaviorally to lower doses of levodopa after the STN lesion. Autoradiography of slices from postmortem brain tissues was used to visualize changes in the specific binding of striatal and pallidal ionotropic glutamate receptors (that is, of the α-amino-3-hydroxy 5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate [AMPA] and N-methyl-d-aspartate [NMDA] NR1/NR2B subunit receptors) and of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors (that is, mGlu2/3 and mGlu5 receptors). The specific binding and distribution of glutamate receptors in the basal ganglia of the levodopa-treated, STN-lesioned MPTP monkeys were compared with those in the saline-treated control monkeys and in the saline-treated and levodopa-treated MPTP monkeys. RESULTS The autoradiographic results indicated that none of the pharmacological and surgical treatments produced changes in the specific binding of AMPA receptors in the basal ganglia. Levodopa treatment increased the specific binding of NMDA receptors in the basal ganglia. Subthalamotomy reversed these increases in the striatum, but in the globus pallidus (GP), the subthalamotomy reversed these increases only contralaterally. Levodopa treatment reversed MPTP-induced increases in mGlu2/3 receptors only in the GP. mGlu2/3 receptor–specific binding in the striatum and GP decreased bilaterally in the levodopa-treated, STN-lesioned MPTP monkeys compared with the other 3 groups. Compared with mGlu5 receptor–specific binding in the control monkeys, that of the levodopa-treated MPTP monkeys increased in the dorsal putamen and remained unchanged in the caudate nucleus and in the GP. CONCLUSIONS These results implicate glutamate receptors in the previously observed benefits of unilateral subthalamotomy to improve motor control.


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