Glutamatergic Activation of Hippocampal Phospholipase D: Postnatal Fading and Receptor Desensitization

Abstract: Phospholipase D (PLD) activity was determined in rat hippocampal slices between postnatal days 3 and 35. After birth, basal PLD activity was low and, within 2 weeks, increased to reach a plateau that was maintained up to the adult age. Likewise the response to glutamate developed postnatally to reach a maximum at day 8, but then faded rapidly and was almost absent at day 35. Activation of PLD by 4β-phorbol 12β,13α-dibutyrate (PDB) was independent of age, whereas the effect of aluminum fluoride (AlF₄⁻) increased to a plateau within the first week. At day 8, PLD stimulation by glutamate via metabotropic receptors involved protein kinase C activation, but was independent of Ca²⁺ influx; the time course of PLD activation by PDB or AlF₄⁻ was linear throughout the experiment, whereas the response to glutamate or 1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid followed a biphasic pattern: the rapid "first phase activation" desensitized within a few minutes and disclosed a small, but maintained "second phase." Pretreatment experiments confirmed desensitization of PLD activation by glutamate, but not by AlF₄⁻ or PDB. The biphasic pattern of glutamatergic PLD activation changed during development, i.e., the first phase activation faded and the second phase remained. These results were fully confirmed by the time courses of the PLD-mediated efflux of choline evoked by glutamate. In conclusion, postnatal glutamatergic activation of hippocampal PLD is composed of a pronounced and desensitizing first phase activation and a small, but nondesensitizing second phase. The first, but not the second, phase activation fades rapidly during development. The hypothesis is discussed that the glutamatergic activation of PLD occurs along different pathways in neonate and adult tissue.     

Production of Reactive Oxygen Species and Release of l-Glutamate During Superoxide Anion-Induced Cell Death of Cerebellar Granule Neurons

Abstract: Enhanced production of superoxide anion (O₂⁻) is considered to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of CNS neurons. Here, we report that O₂⁻ generated by xanthine (XA) + xanthine oxidase (XO) triggered cell death associated with nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation in cerebellar granule neuron. XA + XO induced significant increases in amounts of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) before initiating loss of cell viability, as determined by measurement of 6-carboxy-2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate, di(acetoxymethyl ester) (C-DCDHF-DA) for O₂⁻ and other ROS and hydroethidine (HEt) specifically for O₂⁻ by using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Catalase, but not superoxide dismutase (SOD), significantly protected granule neurons from the XA + XO-induced cell death. Catalase effectively reduced C-DCDHF-DA but not HEt fluorescence, whereas SOD reduced HEt but not C-DCDHF-DA fluorescence, indicating that HEt and C-DCDHF-DA fluorescence correlated with O₂⁻ and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. The NMDA antagonist MK-801 prevented the death. XA + XO induced an increase in l -glutamate release from cerebellar granule neurons. These results indicate that elevation of O₂⁻ induces cell death associated with increasing ROS production in cerebellar granule neurons and that XA + XO enhanced release of l -glutamate.     

The inhibition of the carbon concentrating mechanism of the green alga Chlorella saccharophila by acetazolamide

The effects of the carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitors acetazolamide (AZ) and dextran-bound sulfonamide (DBS) on HCO₃⁻-dependent O₂ evolution in Chlorella saccharophila were evaluated. Addition of 4 μ M AZ or 0.4 mg ml⁻¹ DBS to photosynthesizing cells reduced the O₂ evolution rate at low dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration, decreased the size of the intracellular acid-labile carbon pool, and decreased the apparent affinity of the cells for DIC. Measurement of the whole-cell affinity of cells for CO₂ and HCO₃⁻ in the presence and absence of inhibitors indicated that active HCO₃⁻ transport was inhibited by AZ and DBS. The inhibition of HCO₃⁻ transport was independent of the inhibition of external and internal CA. These results suggest that the active uptake of HCO₃⁻ occurs initially by the interaction of HCO₃⁻ and a CA-like transporter.     

Effect of organic loading on nitrification and denitrification in a marine sediment microcosm

Abstract The effects of organic additions on nitrification and dentrification were examined in sediment microcosms. The organic material, heat killed yeast, had a C/N ratio of 7.5 and was added to sieved, homogenized sediments. Four treatments were compared: no addition (control), 30 g dry weight (dw) m⁻² mixed throughout the 10 cm sediment column (30M), 100 g dw m⁻² mixed throughout sediments (100M), and 100 g dw m⁻² mixed into top 1 cm (100S). After the microcosms had been established for 7–11 days, depth of O₂ penetration, sediment-water fluxes and nitrification rates were measured. Nitrification rates were measured using three different techniques: N-serve and acetylene inhibition in intact cores, and nitrification potentials in slurris. Increased organic additions decreased O₂ penetration from 2.7 to 0.2 mm while increasing both O₂ consumption, from 30 to 70 mmol O₂ m⁻² d⁻¹, and NO₃⁻ flux into sediments. Nitrification rates in intact cores were similar for the two methods. Highest rates occurred in the 30M treatment, while the lowest rate was measured in the 100S treatment. Total denitrification rates (estimated from nitrification and nitrate fluxes) increased with increased organic addition, because of the high concentrations of NO₃⁻ (40 μM) in the overlaying water. The ratio of nitrification: denitrification was used as an indication of the importance of nitrification as the NO₃⁻ supply for denitrificaion. This ratio decreased from 1.55 to 0.05 iwth increase organic addition.     

Superoxide‐producing NAD(P)H oxidases in plasma membrane vesicles from elicitor responsive bean plants

Higher plants produce active oxygen species (AOS) that regulate their defence responses against pathogenic elicitation. Etiolated bean seedlings ( Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Limburgse vroege) were used to measure the in vivo‐induced AOS production and to search for plasma membrane bound NAD(P)H‐dependent oxidases producing AOS. Immersed bean plants showed a substantial production of H₂O₂, as determined by the peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7)‐dependent oxidation of 3,5‐dichloro‐2‐hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid (DHBS). Addition of the elicitor polygalacturonase (PGase, EC 3.2.1.15) from Aspergillus japonicus or the phosphatase inhibitor, cantharidin, resulted in a transient increase of AOS synthesis. Plasma membrane vesicles, purified from etiolated bean seedlings, showed an NAD(P)H‐dependent superoxide (O₂⁻) production that was highly stimulated with naphthoquinones. Protein solubilisation and anion exchange chromatography resolved a basal and three naphthoquinone‐stimulated NAD(P)H‐dependent O₂⁻ oxidase fractions. The natural phenol, apigenin, was also a strong inducer of the naphthoquinone‐dependent enzymes, when it was used in the presence of peroxidase. Although, the relation of these different in vitro‐determined plasma membrane NAD(P)H‐dependent O₂⁻ oxidases to the in vivo elicitation of H ₂O₂ has not been elucidated so far.     

A reaction diffusion model of C-N-S-O species in some arctic sediments

Abstract A reaction diffusion model was used to simulate the mineralization processes in an Arctic sediment. The simulation and the actual sediment were compared in relation to profiles of O₂, NO₃ and NH₄⁺. The site of particulate organic matter (POM) degradation was the single most important factor in fitting the simulation profiles to those of the sediment. It was deduced that most POM degradation occurred close to the sediment surface. When a reasonably good simulation had been obtained, the sensitivity of the model to changes in other parameters was investigated. Increases in POM degradation in the upper sediment resulted in increases in concentration of NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻, but further increases in POM degradation created anoxic conditions below 3 mm, resulting in decreases in NO₃⁻ concentrations. The model was relatively intensive to changes in POM degradation in the lower sediment layers; increases led to more anoxic conditions and to less NO₃⁻. Increases in the C/N ratio of the POM in the lower sediment layers had little effect; increases in C/N in the upper layers led to a decrease in NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻. The model was sensitive to changes in the first order rate constant for nitrification, but not for denitrification. Decreases in the K _m for O₂ of the nitrifying bacteria had no effect on the profiles.     

Long-term oxidant deficiency in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO303 results in cells which are non-culturable under aerobic conditions

Abstract The effect of long-term energy starvation (lack of electron acceptor in respiration) on the culturability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO303 was studied by subsequent incubations for growth on aerobic medanaerobic media. A batch culture was grown on O₂-free citrate minimal medium containing NO₃⁻ as oxidant. Stationary phase was reached when NO₃⁻ was exhausted. This was followed by a rapid loss of cell culturability as tested by aerobic growth on agar plates (colony forming units, cfu) or on 0.2 μm membrane filters (epifluorescence technique) using the citrate minimal medium. However, energy-starved cells could form ten times more colonies when incubated anaerobically with NO₃⁻ (denitrifying conditions) than when incubated aerobically. Hence the energy starvation resulted in a subpopulation of cells, which were detectable under denitrifying, but not under aerobic growth conditions.     

Oxygen control prevents denitrifiers and barley plant roots from directly competing for nitrate

Abstract Two denitrifying bacteria ( Pseudomonas chlororaphis and P. aureofaciens ) and a plant (barley, Hordeum vulgare ) were used to study the effect of O₂ concentration on denitrification and NO₃⁻ uptake by roots under well-defined aeration conditions. Bacterial cells in the early stationary phase were kept in a chemostat vessel with vigorous stirring and thus a uniform O₂ concentration in the solution. Both Pseudomonads lacked N₂O reductase and so total denitrification could be directly measured as N₂O production.
Denitrification decreased to 6–13% of the anaerobic rate at 0.01% O₂ saturation (0.14 μM O₂) and was totally inhibited at 0.04% O₂ saturation (0.56 μM O₂). In this well-mixed system denitrification was 10-times more oxygen sensitive than stated in earlier reports. Uptake of nitrate by plants was measured in the same system under light. The NO₃⁻ uptake rate decreased gradually from a maximum in 21% O₂-saturated medium (air saturated) to zero at 1.6% O₂ saturation (22.4 μM O₂). Owing to the very different non-overlapping oxygen requirements of the two processes, direct competition for nitrate between plant roots and denitrifying bacteria cannot occur.     

Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide: Control of Rat Pineal Cyclic AMP and Melatonin but Not Cyclic GMP

Abstract: In this study, the effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) on cyclic nucleotide accumulation and melatonin (MT) production in dispersed rat pinealocytes were measured. Treatment with PACAP (10⁻⁷ M ) increased MT production 2.5-fold. PACAP (10⁻⁷ M ) also increased cyclic AMP accumulation four- to fivefold; this effect was potentiated two- to three-fold by α₁-adrenergic activation. This potentiation appears to involve protein kinase C (PKC) because α₁-adrenergic activation is known to translocate PKC and the PACAP-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation was potentiated ninefold by a PKC activator, 4β-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Phenylephrine and PMA also potentiated the PACAP-stimulated MT accumulation. These results indicate that cyclic AMP is one second messenger of PACAP in the pineal gland and that the effects of PACAP on cyclic AMP and MT production can be potentiated by an α₁-adrenergic → PKC mechanism. In addition to these findings, it was observed that PACAP treatment with or without phenylephrine or PMA did not alter cyclic GMP accumulation. This indicates that PACAP is the first ligand identified that increases cyclic AMP accumulation in the pineal gland without increasing cyclic GMP accumulation. That PACAP fails to activate the vasoactive intestinal peptide/cyclic GMP pathway suggests that the vasoactive intestinal peptide receptors present in the pineal may be distinct from the type II PACAP receptors.     

Photosynthesis and respiration of a diatom biofilm cultured in a new gradient growth chamber

Abstract A diatom biofilm was grown in a chamber developed for culture of biofilms in chemical gradients. The diatoms grew on a polycarbonate membrane filter which separated a sterile reservoir, with added phosphate, from a reservoir without phosphate. Within 3 weeks of inoculation, a thick biofilm developed on the surface of the filter. The biofilms were homogeneous and therefore suitable for calculations of O₂ diffusion fluxes from concentration profiles of O₂. Profiles of O₂, pH, and gross photosynthesis at different light intensities and liquid medium concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon and O₂ were measured with microelectrodes. Respiratory activity in a layer of the biofilm was determined as the difference between gross photosynthesis and outflux of O₂ from that layer. The photosynthetic activity in a well-developed biofilm grown at 360 μEinst m⁻² s⁻¹ and 2.4 mM HCO₃⁻ was limited by the supply of inorganic carbon. Exposure to light above 360 μEinst m⁻² s⁻¹ stimulated gross photosynthesis as well as respiratory processes without affecting net outflux of O₂. Higher concentrations of inorganic carbon, on the other hand, enhanced gross photosynthesis without concurrent increase in respiratory rate, resulting in an increased outflux of O₂. High concentrations of O₂ in the liquid medium decreased the net outflux of O₂ with little effect on the gross photosynthesis. The effects of inorganic carbon and O₂ on the metabolic activities of the biofilm were consistent with the presence of photorespiratory activity.     

Effects of oxygen, pH and nitrate concentration on denitrification by Pseudomonas species

Abstract The production of nitrogen-containing gases by denitrification in three organisms was examined using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. The effects of O₂ (during both growth and maintenance) and of pH, nitrate concentration and carbon source were tested in non-proliferating cell suspensions. Two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were capable of co-respiration of NO₃⁻ and O₂ and, under controlled O₂ supply, gave oscillatory denitrification. Variations in culture and assay conditions affected both the rate of denitrification and the ratio of end products (N₂O:N₂). Higher rates were seen following anaerobic growth. Optimum values of pH and nitrate concentration for denitrification are given. Generally, the optimum pH was 7.0–7.5, approximately that of the growth medium. Optimum nitrate concentration was generally 20 mM.     

Heat stress activates phospholipase D and triggers PIP2 accumulation at the plasma membrane and nucleus

Heat stress induces an array of physiological adjustments that facilitate continued homeostasis and survival during periods of elevated temperatures. Here, we report that within minutes of a sudden temperature increase, plants deploy specific phospholipids to specific intracellular locations: phospholipase D (PLD) and a phosphatidylinositolphosphate kinase (PIPK) are activated, and phosphatidic acid (PA) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP₂) rapidly accumulate, with the heat-induced PIP₂ localized to the plasma membrane, nuclear envelope, nucleolus and punctate cytoplasmic structures. Increases in the steady-state levels of PA and PIP₂ occur within several minutes of temperature increases from ambient levels of 20–25°C to 35°C and above. Similar patterns were observed in heat-stressed Arabidopsis seedlings and rice leaves. The PA that accumulates in response to temperature increases results in large part from the activation of PLD rather than the sequential action of phospholipase C and diacylglycerol kinase, the alternative pathway used to produce this lipid. Pulse-labelling analysis revealed that the PIP₂ response is due to the activation of a PIPK rather than inhibition of a lipase or a PIP₂ phosphatase. Inhibitor experiments suggest that the PIP₂ response requires signalling through a G-protein, as aluminium fluoride blocks heat-induced PIP₂ increases. These results are discussed in the context of the diverse cellular roles played by PIP₂ and PA, including regulation of ion channels and the cytoskeleton.     

Role of phospholipase D signaling in ethanol-induced inhibition of carbachol-stimulated DNA synthesis of 1321N1 astrocytoma cells

Inhibition of astrocyte proliferation has been suggested to be an important event in the developmental neurotoxicity associated with ethanol. We have previously shown that the acetylcholine analog carbachol induces astroglial cell proliferation through activation of muscarinic M3 receptors, and that ethanol strongly inhibits this effect by inhibiting activation of protein kinase C (PKC) zeta and its down-stream effector 70-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase (p70S6K). In this study, we investigated whether inhibition by ethanol of this signal transduction pathway in 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells may be due, at least in part, to inhibition of the formation of the PKC zeta activator phosphatidic acid (PA), which is formed by hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine by phospholipase D (PLD). 1-Butanol, which is a substrate for PLD and inhibits PA formation, inhibited carbachol-induced cell proliferation and the underlying intracellular signaling, whereas its analog tert-butanol, which is a poor substrate for PLD, was much less effective. In addition, exogenous PAs were able to increase DNA synthesis and to activate PKC zeta and p70S6K. Furthermore, in carbachol-stimulated cells, ethanol increased the formation of phosphatidylethanol and inhibited the formation of PA. Taken together, these results indicate that PLD activation plays an important role in carbachol-induced astroglial cell proliferation by generating the second messenger PA, which activates PKC zeta. Moreover, the effect of ethanol on carbachol-induced proliferation appears to be mediated, at least in part, by its ability to interact with PLD leading to a decreased synthesis of PA.     

Oxygen consumption in Caridina nilotica (Decapoda: Atyidae) in relation to temperature and size

SUMMARY. The oxygen consumption of shrimps ranging from 1 to 30 mg dry mass was determined at 18, 24 and 30°C using a continuous flow recording respirometer based upon a Clark-type oxygen electrode. Respiration (ascribed to routine metabolism) is described by the power curve: R = a M^b , ( R =μg O₂ h⁻¹, M = mg dry mass), which gives values of a = 1.632, 2.564 and 4.181, and b = 0.800, 0.898, and 0.793, at 18, 24 and 30°C respectively. The single expression, R = 0.008 T ^1.829 M ^0.830 provides a reasonable prediction of respiration as a combined function of shrimp size ( M ) and temperature (T, °C). Using an energy equivalent of 14.14 J mg O₂⁻¹ estimates of the energy requirements ( E , J h⁻¹ 10⁻³) of routine metabolism are given by the expression: E = 0.115 T ^1.829 M ^0.830.
Variability in oxygen consumption values between individuals is discussed and the observations on C. nilotica are compared with other crustacean studies.     

Role of Protein Kinase C (PKC) in Agonist-Induced μ-Opioid Receptor Down-Regulation

Abstract : Agonist-induced down-regulation of opioid receptors appears to require the phosphorylation of the receptor protein. However, the identities of the specific protein kinases that perform this task remain uncertain. Protein kinase C (PKC) has been shown to catalyze the phosphorylation of several G protein-coupled receptors and potentiate their desensitization toward agonists. However, it is unknown whether opioid receptor agonists induce PKC activation under physiological conditions. Using cultured SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, which naturally express μ- and δ-opioid receptors, we investigated whether μ-opioid receptor agonists can activate PKC by measuring enzyme translocation to the membrane fraction. PKC translocation and opioid receptor densities were simultaneously measured by ³H-phorbol ester and [³H]diprenorphine binding, respectively, to correlate alterations in PKC localization with changes in receptor binding sites. We observed that μ-opioid agonists have a dual effect on membrane PKC density depending on the period of drug exposure. Exposure for 2-6 h to [ d -Ala², N -Me-Phe⁴, Gly-ol]enkephalin or morphine promotes the translocation of PKC from the cytosol to the plasma membrane. Longer periods of opioid exposure (>12 h) produce a decrease in membrane-bound PKC density to a level well below basal. A significant decrease in [³H]diprenorphine binding sites is first observed at 2 h and continues to decline through the last time point measured (48 h). The opioid receptor antagonist naloxone attenuated both opioid-mediated PKC translocation and receptor down-regulation. These results demonstrate that opioids are capable of activating PKC, as evidenced by enhanced translocation of the enzyme to the cell membrane, and this finding suggests that PKC may have a physiological role in opioid receptor plasticity.     

Involvement of Protein Kinase C in Ca2+-Signaling Pathways to Activation of AP-1 DNA-Binding Activity Evoked via NMDA- and Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channels

Abstract: Stimulation of cultured cerebellar granule cells with N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) or kainic acid (KA) leads to activation of activator protein-1 (AP-1) DNA-binding activity, which can be monitored by an increase in 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-responsive element (TRE)-binding activity, in concert with c- fos induction. For this increase in TRE-binding activity, Ca²⁺ influx across the plasma membrane is essential. Treatment of cells with an intracellular Ca²⁺ chelator, BAPTA-AM, abolished this increase. Close correspondence between the dose-response curves of ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake and TRE-binding activity by NMDA or KA suggested that Ca²⁺ influx not only triggered sequential activation of Ca²⁺-signaling processes leading to the increase in TRE-binding activity, but also controlled its increased level. Stimulation of non-NMDA receptors by KA mainly caused Ca²⁺ influx through voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels, whereas stimulation of NMDA receptors caused Ca²⁺ influx through NMDA-gated ion channels. The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors staurosporine and calphostin C inhibited the increase in TRE-binding activity caused by NMDA and KA at the same concentration at which they inhibited that caused by TPA. Furthermore, down-regulation of PKC inhibited the increase in TRE-binding activity by NMDA and KA. Thus, a common pathway that includes PKC could, at least in part, be involved in the Ca²⁺-signaling pathways for the increase in TRE-binding activity coupled with the activation of NMDA- and non-NMDA receptors.     

Phospholipid metabolism in bradykinin-stimulated human fibroblasts. II. Phosphatidylcholine breakdown by phospholipases C and D; involvement of protein kinase C

Bradykinin (BK) and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) both stimulate the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine (PC) in human fibroblasts, resulting in the formation of phosphatidic acid (PA) and diacylglycerol (DG) (Van Blitterswijk, W.J., Hilkmann, H., de Widt, J., and Van der Bend, R.L. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 10337-10343). Stimulation with BK resulted in the rapid and synchronous formation of [3H]choline and [3H]myristoyl-PA from the correspondingly prelabeled PC, indicative of phospholipase D (PLD) activity. In the presence of ethanol or n-butanol, transphosphatidylation by PLD resulted in the formation of [3H]phosphatidylethanol or - butanol, respectively, at the cost of PA and DG formation. This suggests that PC-derived DG is generated via a PLD/PA phosphohydrolase pathway. A more pronounced but delayed formation of these products was observed by PMA stimulation. The Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin also activated PLD and accelerated (synergized) the response to PMA. Both [3H] choline and [3H]phosphocholine were released into the extracellular medium in a time- and stimulus-dependent fashion, without apparent changes in the high intracellular levels of [3H]phosphocholine. The protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors staurosporin and 1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-methylglycerol inhibited BK- and PMA-induced activation of PLD. Down-regulation of PKC by long-term pretreatment of cells with phorbol ester caused a dramatic drop in background [3H]choline levels, while subsequent stimulation with BK, ionomycin, or PMA failed to increase these levels and failed to induce transphosphatidylation. From these results we conclude that PLD activation is entirely mediated by (downstream of) PKC. Unexpectedly, however, BK stimulation of these PKC-depleted cells caused a marked generation of DG from PC within 15 s, which was not seen in BK-stimulated control cells, suggesting PC breakdown by a phospholipase C (PLCc). We conclude that cells stimulated with BK generate DG via both the PLCc and the PLD/PA hydrolase pathway, whereas PMA stimulates mainly the latter pathway. BK stimulation of normal cells leads to activation of PKC and, by consequence, to attenuation of the level of PLCc-generated DG and to stimulation of the PLD pathway, whereas the reverse occurs in PKC-down-regulated cells.     

Isolation, characterization, and nitrification potential of a methylotroph and two heterotrophic bacteria from a consortium showing methane-dependent nitrification

Abstract A methanotrophic nitrifying consortium was previously obtained from a humisol which showed CH₄-dependent nitrification. Although the methanotroph could not be obtained in pure culture, three other members of the consortium have been isolated: An obligately methylotrophic Methylobacillus (Is-1) which grows only on CH₃OH and does not nitrify; a Pseudomonas (Is-2) which grows on Is-1 culture filtrate and produces NO₂⁻, NO₃⁻ and N₂O from NH₂OH, and NO₃⁻ from NO₂⁻; and a second Pseudomonas (Is-3) which produces NO₃⁻ from NH₄⁺ or NO₂⁻, and N₂O from NH₂OH. A model is proposed for the trophic relations and nitrogen transformations in the consortium which may apply to some natural systems.     

Presynaptic GABAB Receptor Modulation of Glutamate Exocytosis from Rat Cerebrocortical Nerve Terminals: Receptor Decoupling by Protein Kinase C

Abstract: GABA and the GABA_B receptor agonist (−)-baclofen inhibited 4-aminopyridine (4AP)- and KCl-evoked, Ca²⁺-dependent glutamate release from rat cerebrocortical synaptosomes. The GABA_B receptor antagonist CGP 35348, prevented this inhibition of glutamate release, but phaclofen had no effect. (−)-Baclofen-mediated inhibition of glutamate release was insensitive to 2 µg/ml pertussis toxin. As determined by examining the mechanism of GABA_B receptor modulation of glutamate release, (−)-baclofen caused a significant reduction in 4AP-evoked Ca²⁺ influx into synaptosomes. The agonist did not alter the resting synaptosomal membrane potential or 4AP-mediated depolarization; thus, the inhibition of Ca²⁺ influx could not be attributed to GABA_B receptor activation causing a decrease in synaptosomal excitability. Ionomycin-mediated glutamate release was not affected by (−)-baclofen, indicating that GABA_B receptors in this preparation are not coupled directly to the exocytotic machinery. Instead, the data invoke a direct coupling of GABA_B receptors to voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channels linked to glutamate release. This coupling was subject to regulation by protein kinase C (PKC), because (−)-baclofen-mediated inhibition of 4AP-evoked glutamate release was reversed when PKC was stimulated with phorbol ester. This may therefore represent a mechanism by which inhibitory and facilitatory presynaptic receptor inputs interplay to fine-tune transmitter release.