scholarly journals GABAA Receptors in Astrocytes Are Targets for Commonly Used Intravenous and Inhalational General Anesthetic Drugs

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Woosuk Chung ◽  
Dian-Shi Wang ◽  
Shahin Khodaei ◽  
Arsene Pinguelo ◽  
Beverley A. Orser

Background: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PNDs) occur commonly in older patients after anesthesia and surgery. Treating astrocytes with general anesthetic drugs stimulates the release of soluble factors that increase the cell-surface expression and function of GABAA receptors in neurons. Such crosstalk may contribute to PNDs; however, the receptor targets in astrocytes for anesthetic drugs have not been identified. GABAA receptors, which are the major targets of general anesthetic drugs in neurons, are also expressed in astrocytes, raising the possibility that these drugs act on GABAA receptors in astrocytes to trigger the release of soluble factors. To date, no study has directly examined the sensitivity of GABAA receptors in astrocytes to general anesthetic drugs that are frequently used in clinical practice. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine whether the function of GABAA receptors in astrocytes was modulated by the intravenous anesthetic etomidate and the inhaled anesthetic sevoflurane.Methods: Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were performed in astrocytes in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 region of hippocampal slices isolated from C57BL/6 male mice. Astrocytes were identified by their morphologic and electrophysiologic properties. Focal puff application of GABA (300 μM) was applied with a Picospritzer system to evoke GABA responses. Currents were studied before and during the application of the non-competitive GABAA receptor antagonist picrotoxin (0.5 mM), or etomidate (100 μM) or sevoflurane (532 μM).Results: GABA consistently evoked inward currents that were inhibited by picrotoxin. Etomidate increased the amplitude of the peak current by 35.0 ± 24.4% and prolonged the decay time by 27.2 ± 24.3% (n = 7, P < 0.05). Sevoflurane prolonged current decay by 28.3 ± 23.1% (n = 7, P < 0.05) but did not alter the peak amplitude. Etomidate and sevoflurane increased charge transfer (area) by 71.2 ± 45.9% and 51.8 ± 48.9% (n = 7, P < 0.05), respectively.Conclusion: The function of astrocytic GABAA receptors in the hippocampus was increased by etomidate and sevoflurane. Future studies will determine whether these general anesthetic drugs act on astrocytic GABAA receptors to stimulate the release of soluble factors that may contribute to PNDs.

2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dian-Shi Wang ◽  
Kirusanthy Kaneshwaran ◽  
Gang Lei ◽  
Fariya Mostafa ◽  
Junhui Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract What We Already Know about This Topic What This Article Tells Us That Is New Background Postoperative delirium is associated with poor long-term outcomes and increased mortality. General anesthetic drugs may contribute to delirium because they increase cell-surface expression and function of α5 subunit-containing γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors, an effect that persists long after the drugs have been eliminated. Dexmedetomidine, an α2 adrenergic receptor agonist, prevents delirium in patients and reduces cognitive deficits in animals. Thus, it was postulated that dexmedetomidine prevents excessive function of α5 γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptors. Methods Injectable (etomidate) and inhaled (sevoflurane) anesthetic drugs were studied using cultured murine hippocampal neurons, cultured murine and human cortical astrocytes, and ex vivo murine hippocampal slices. γ-Aminobutyric acid type A receptor function and cell-signaling pathways were studied using electrophysiologic and biochemical methods. Memory and problem-solving behaviors were also studied. Results The etomidate-induced sustained increase in α5 γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor cell-surface expression was reduced by dexmedetomidine (mean ± SD, etomidate: 146.4 ± 51.6% vs. etomidate + dexmedetomidine: 118.4 ± 39.1% of control, n = 8 each). Dexmedetomidine also reduced the persistent increase in tonic inhibitory current in hippocampal neurons (etomidate: 1.44 ± 0.33 pA/pF, n = 10; etomidate + dexmedetomidine: 1.01 ± 0.45 pA/pF, n = 9). Similarly, dexmedetomidine prevented a sevoflurane-induced increase in the tonic current. Dexmedetomidine stimulated astrocytes to release brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which acted as a paracrine factor to reduce excessive α5 γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor function in neurons. Finally, dexmedetomidine attenuated memory and problem-solving deficits after anesthesia. Conclusions Dexmedetomidine prevented excessive α5 γ-aminobutyric acid type A receptor function after anesthesia. This novel α2 adrenergic receptor- and brain-derived neurotrophic factor-dependent pathway may be targeted to prevent delirium.


2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 186-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fu-Chun Hsu ◽  
Sheryl S. Smith

Withdrawal from the endogenous steroid progesterone (P) after chronic administration increases anxiety and seizure susceptibility via declining levels of its potent GABA-modulatory metabolite 3α-OH-5α-pregnan-20-one (3α,5αTHP). This 3α,5α-THP withdrawal also results in a decreased decay time constant for GABA-gated current assessed using whole cell patch-clamp techniques on pyramidal cells acutely dissociated from CA1 hippocampus. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the decreases in total integrated GABA-gated current observed at the level of the isolated pyramidal cell would be manifested as a reduced GABA inhibition at the circuit level following hormone withdrawal. Toward this end, adult, female rats were administered P via subcutaneous capsule for 3 wk using a multiple withdrawal paradigm. We then evaluated paired-pulse inhibition (PPI) of pyramidal neurons in CA1 hippocampus using extracellular recording techniques in hippocampal slices from rats 24 h after removal of the capsule (P withdrawal, P Wd). The population spike (PS) was recorded at the stratum pyramidale following homosynaptic orthodromic stimulation in the nearby stratum radiatum. The threshold for eliciting a response was decreased after P Wd, and the mean PS amplitude was significantly increased compared with control values at this time. Paired pulses with 10-ms inter-pulse intervals were then applied across an intensity range from 2 to 20 times threshold. Evaluation of paired-pulse responses showed a significant 40–50% reduction in PPI for PS recorded in the hippocampal CA1 region after P Wd, suggesting an increase in circuit excitability. At this time, enhancement of PPI by the benzodiazepine lorazepam (LZM; 10 μM) was prevented, while pentobarbital (10 μM) potentiation of PPI was comparable to control levels of response. These data are consistent with upregulation of the α4 subunit of the GABAA receptor (GABAR) as we have previously shown. Moreover, the reduced PPI caused by P Wd was prevented by suppression of GABAR α4-subunit expression following intraventricular administration of specific antisense oligonucleotides (1 μg/h for 72 h). These results demonstrating a reduction in PPI following P Wd suggest that GABAergic-mediated recurrent or feed-forward inhibition occurring at the circuit level were decreased following P Wd in female rats, an effect at least partially attributable to alterations in the GABAR subunit gene expression.


2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koichi Nishikawa ◽  
M. Bruce MacIver

Background A relatively small number of inhibitory interneurons can control the excitability and synchronization of large numbers of pyramidal cells in hippocampus and other cortical regions. Thus, anesthetic modulation of interneurons could play an important role for the maintenance of anesthesia. The aim of this study was to compare effects produced by volatile anesthetics on inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) of rat hippocampal interneurons. Methods Pharmacologically isolated gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor-mediated IPSCs were recorded with whole cell patch-clamp techniques in visually identified interneurons of rat hippocampal slices. Neurons located in the stratum radiatum-lacunosum moleculare of the CA1 region were studied. The effects of clinically relevant concentrations (1.0 rat minimum alveolar concentration) of halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane were compared on kinetics of both stimulus-evoked and spontaneous GABAA receptor-mediated IPSCs in interneurons. Results Halothane (1.2 vol% approximately 0.35 mm), enflurane (2.2 vol% approximately 0.60 mm), isoflurane (1.4 vol% approximately 0.50 mm), and sevoflurane (2.7 vol% approximately 0.40 mm) preferentially depressed evoked IPSC amplitudes to 79.8 +/- 9.3% of control (n = 5), 38.2 +/- 8.6% (n = 6), 52.4 +/- 8.4% (n = 5), and 46.1 +/- 16.0% (n = 8), respectively. In addition, all anesthetics differentially prolonged the decay time constant of evoked IPSCs to 290.1 +/- 33.2% of control, 423.6 +/- 47.1, 277.0 +/- 32.2, and 529 +/- 48.5%, respectively. The frequencies of spontaneous IPSCs were increased by all anesthetics (twofold to threefold). Thus, the total negative charge transfer mediated by GABAA receptors between synaptically connected interneurons was enhanced by all anesthetics. Conclusions Volatile anesthetics differentially enhanced GABAA receptor-mediated synaptic inhibition in rat hippocampal interneurons, suggesting that hippocampal interneuron circuits are depressed by these anesthetics in an agent-specific manner.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhys W. Livingstone ◽  
Megan K. Elder ◽  
Anurag Singh ◽  
Courteney M. Westlake ◽  
Warren P. Tate ◽  
...  

Regulation of AMPA receptor expression by neuronal activity and neuromodulators is critical to the expression of both long-term potentiation (LTP) and memory. In particular, Ca2+-permeable AMPARs (CP-AMPAR) play a unique role in these processes due to their transient, activity-regulated expression at synapses. Secreted amyloid precursor protein-alpha (sAPPα), a metabolite of the parent amyloid precursor protein (APP) has been previously shown to enhance hippocampal LTP as well as memory formation in both normal animals and in Alzheimer’s disease models. In earlier work we showed that sAPPα promotes trafficking of GluA1-containing AMPARs to the cell surface and specifically enhances synthesis of GluA1. To date it is not known whether de novo synthesized GluA1 form CP-AMPARs or how they contribute to sAPPα-mediated plasticity. Here, using fluorescent non-canonical amino acid tagging–proximity ligation assay (FUNCAT-PLA), we show that brief treatment of primary rat hippocampal neurons with sAPPα (1 nM, 30 min) rapidly enhanced the cell-surface expression of de novo GluA1 homomers and reduced levels of de novo GluA2, as well as extant GluA2/3-AMPARs. The de novo GluA1-containing AMPARs were localized to extrasynaptic sites and later internalized by sAPPα-driven expression of the activity-regulated cytoskeletal-associated protein, Arc. Interestingly, longer exposure to sAPPα increased synaptic levels of GluA1/2 AMPARs. Moreover, the sAPPα-mediated enhancement of LTP in area CA1 of acute hippocampal slices was dependent on CP-AMPARs. Together, these findings show that sAPPα engages mechanisms which specifically enhance the synthesis and cell-surface expression of GluA1 homomers, underpinning the sAPPα-driven enhancement of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 2317-2327 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Pitler ◽  
B. E. Alger

1. Whole cell voltage-clamp techniques were used in the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices to study presynaptic and postsynaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid B (GABAB) response mechanisms. The effects of the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12,13-diacetate (PDA), barium (Ba2+), and pertussis toxin were compared on the presynaptic and postsynaptic GABAB actions of bath-applied baclofen and paired-pulse depression (PPD) of the monosynaptic GABAA inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC). The magnitude of PPD was dependent on the amplitude of the first response. PPD was predominantly a GABAB-mediated effect, as it was very much reduced by the GABAB antagonist CGP 35348. 2. PDA enhanced monosynaptic GABAA IPSCs through an apparently presynaptic mechanism. Iontophoretic GABAA responses were unaffected, and there was no change in EIPSC. PDA increased the frequency of spontaneous, tetrodotoxin-insensitive IPSCs without significantly affecting their amplitudes. The inactive phorbol ester, 4 alpha-PDA did not alter IPSCs. After PDA application, stimulus intensity was adjusted to produce responses of comparable amplitude to control responses. PDA had a marked and reversible depressant effect on the postsynaptic GABAB response and caused a lesser, but still significant, reduction in the baclofen-induced reduction of monosynaptic IPSCs. PDA had no effect on PPD. 3. Ba2+ dramatically reduced postsynaptic GABAB responses; it had no effect on PPD. Ba2+ tended to decrease the presynaptic baclofen reduction of IPSCs, although this was not statistically significant. 4. Pertussis toxin, injected 2–3 days earlier into the intact hippocampus, blocked all three GABAB responses equally (approximately 70% decrease). 5. We conclude that presynaptic and postsynaptic GABAB mechanisms are mediated by G proteins that couple to different mechanisms. Discrepancies with previous work are evidently due to the use of different tissue preparations and different target responses. Even though protein kinase C activation caused a partial reduction in the presynaptic effect of baclofen, its lack of effect on PPD makes a significant role for protein kinase C in modulation of PPD unlikely.


1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeon Son ◽  
Yun-Fei Lu ◽  
Min Zhuo ◽  
Ottavio Arancio ◽  
Eric R. Kandel ◽  
...  

Previous results have suggested that cGMP is involved in hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), perhaps as the presynaptic effector of a retrograde messenger. However, other studies have failed to replicate some of those results, making the role of cGMP uncertain. We therefore reexamined this question and identified several variables that can affect the contribution of cGMP. First, brief perfusion with 8-Br–cGMP before weak tetanic stimulation produced long-lasting potentiation in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices, but more prolonged perfusion with 8-Br–cGMP before the tetanus did not produce long-lasting potentiation. Second, the activity-dependent long-lasting potentiation by cGMP analogs was reduced when NMDA receptors were completely blocked, indicating that NMDA receptor activation contributes to, but is not required for, the potentiation. The amount of reduction of the potentiation differed with different protocols, and in some cases could be complete. Third, LTP produced by strong tetanic stimulation in the stratum radiatum of CA1 (which expresses eNOS) was blocked by inhibitors of soluble guanylyl cyclase or cGMP-dependent protein kinase, but LTP in the stratum oriens (which does not express eNOS) was not. The results of these experiments should help to explain some of the discrepant findings from previous studies, and, in addition, may provide insights into the mechanisms and functional role of the cGMP-dependent component of LTP.


1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 421-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Congar ◽  
R. Khazipov ◽  
Y. Ben-Ari

1. We studied the effects of anoxia on excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs and IPSCs) evoked by electrical stimulation in the stratum radiatum in concomitantly recorded pyramidal cells and interneurons of the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices. We used the blind whole cell patch-clamp technique, and anoxia was induced by switching perfusion of the slice from oxygenated artificial cerebral spinal fluid (ACSF) to ACSF saturated with 95% N2-5% CO2 for 4-6 min. 2. As in pyramidal neurons, anoxia induced in interneurons outward currents, during and shortly after the anoxic episode. Both currents were, however, significantly larger in interneurons than in pyramidal neurons. 3. EPSCs are more rapidly depressed by anoxia in interneurons than in simultaneously recorded pyramidal cells. 4. In pyramidal neurons, polysynaptic IPSCs (pIPSCs) evoked by conventional distant stimulation (> 1 mm) are more sensitive to anoxia then EPSCs. In contrast, in interneurons, anoxia blocks with a similar latency EPSCs and polysynaptic IPSCs. 5. To determine whether this block of pIPSCs in pyramidal cells is due to a shift in driving force or a change in conductance, we examined the current (I/V) relationships. The block by anoxia of pIPSCs is due to a reduction of IPSC conductance (> 98%) that occlude other events including the shift of IPSCs reversal potential (ECl).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 3388-3401 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Shew ◽  
S. Yip ◽  
B. R. Sastry

In the present study, possible mechanisms involved in the tetanus-induced potentiation of γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA-A) receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were investigated using the whole cell voltage-clamp technique on CA1 neurons in rat hippocampal slices. Stimulations (100 Hz) of the stratum radiatum, while voltage-clamping the membrane potential of neurons, induces a long-term potentiation (LTP) of evoked fast IPSCs while increasing the number but not the amplitude of spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs). The potentiation of fast IPSCs was input specific. During the period of IPSC potentiation, postsynaptic responses produced by 4,5,6,7-tetrahydroisoxazolo[5,4-c]pyridin-3-ol hydrochloride and baclofen, GABA-A and GABA-B agonists respectively, were not significantly different from control. CGP 36742, a GABA-B antagonist, blocked the induction of tetanus-induced potentiation of evoked and spontaneous IPSCs, while GTPγS, an activator of G proteins, substitution for GTP in the postsynaptic recording electrode did not occlude potentiation. Since GABA-B receptors work through G proteins, our results suggest that pre- but not postsynaptic GABA-B receptors are involved in the potentiation of fast IPSCs. A tetanus delivered when GABA-A responses were completely blocked by bicuculline suggests that GABA-A receptor activation during tetanus is not essential for the induction of potentiation. Rp-cAMPs, an antagonist of protein kinase A (PKA) activation, blocks the induction of potentiation of fast IPSCs. Forskolin, an activator of PKA, increases baseline evoked IPSCs as well as the number of sIPSCs, and a tetanic stimulation during this enhancement uncovers a long-term depression of the evoked IPSC. Sulfhydryl alkylating agents, N-ethylmaleimide and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid, which have been found to presynaptically increase GABA release and have been suggested to have effects on proteins involved in transmitter release processes occurring in nerve terminals, occlude tetanus-induced potentiation of evoked and spontaneous IPSCs. Taken together our results suggest that LTP of IPSCs originates from a presynaptic site and that GABA-B receptor activation, cyclic AMP/PKA activation and sulfhydryl-alkylation are involved. Plasticity of IPSCs as observed in this study would have significant implications for network behavior in the hippocampus.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pola Tuduri ◽  
Nathalie Bouquier ◽  
Benoit Girard ◽  
Enora Moutin ◽  
Maxime Thouaye ◽  
...  

mGlu3 receptors control the sleep/wake architecture which plays a role in the glutamatergic pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Interestingly, mGlu3 receptors expression is decreased in the brain of schizophrenic patients. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating mGlu3 receptors at the cell membrane. Subcellular receptor localization is strongly dependent on protein-protein interactions. Here we show that mGlu3 interacts with PICK1 and that their binding is important for receptor surface expression and function. Disruption of their interaction via an mGlu3 C-terminal mimicking peptide or an inhibitor of the PDZ domain of PICK1 altered the functional expression of mGlu3 receptors. Consequently, we investigated whether disruption of the mGlu3-PICK1 interaction affects hippocampal theta oscillations in vitro and in vivo. We found a decreased frequency of theta oscillations in organotypic hippocampal slices, similar to what previously observed in mGlu3 -/- mice. In addition, hippocampal theta power was reduced during REM sleep, NREM sleep and wake states after intra-ventricular administration of the mGlu3 C-terminal mimicking peptide. Targeting the mGlu3-PICK1 complex could thus be relevant to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.


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