局部高频电刺激海马对海人酸致痫大鼠海马细胞外谷氨酸和γ-氨基丁酸释放的影响

目的：通过高频电刺激海人酸癫痫模型大鼠海马,观察海马细胞外谷氨酸（Glu）和γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）的动态变化。方法：将SD大鼠分成4大组（n=10）：①空白组;②海人酸组;③假刺激组：植入刺激电极未予电刺激;④电刺激组：海人酸注射后予130 Hz电刺激。利用微透析技术收集不同时段海马细胞外液,应用高效液相-荧光检测法测定收集液Glu、GABA的浓度。结果：注射海人酸后Glu明显升高,并持续至第14天,电刺激使Glu明显下降;而注射海人酸后GABA呈短暂性升高,后逐渐下降于第4天后保持稍高于正常水平,电刺激并无明显改变GABA的水平。结论：海马细胞外Glu下降在海马电刺激治疗癫痫中起到重要作用;高频电刺激海马选择性地减少谷氨酸能神经元活动,但不影响GABA的释放。     

AMPA receptor activation, but not the accumulation of endogenous extracellular glutamate, induces paralysis and motor neuron death in rat spinal cord in vivo

The mechanisms of motor neuron (MN) degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are unknown, but glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity may be involved. To examine directly this idea in vivo, we have used microdialysis in the rat lumbar spinal cord and showed that four- to fivefold increases in the concentration of endogenous extracellular glutamate during at least 1 h, by perfusion with the glutamate transport inhibitor L-2,4-trans-pyrrolidine-dicarboxylate, elicited no motor alterations or MN damage. Stimulation of glutamate release with 4-aminopyridine induced transitory ipsilateral hindlimb muscular twitches but no MN damage. In contrast, perfusion of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) did not modify glutamate levels but produced intense muscular spasms, followed by ipsilateral permanent hindlimb paralysis and a remarkable loss of MNs. These effects of AMPA were prevented by co-perfusion with the AMPA receptor antagonist 2,3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo(F)quinoxaline. Perfusion with NMDA or kainate produced no motor effects or MN damage. Thus, the elevation of endogenous extracellular glutamate in vivo due to blockade of its transport is innocuous for spinal MNs. Because this resistance is observed under the same experimental conditions in which MNs are highly vulnerable to AMPA, these results indicate that excitotoxicity due to this mechanism might not be an important factor in the pathogenesis of ALS.     

Sustained activation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 and protein tyrosine phosphatases mediate the expression of (S)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine-induced long-term depression in the hippocampal CA1 region

Previous studies have shown that brief application of group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist (S)-3, 5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) to hippocampal slices can induce a chemical form of long-term depression (DHPG-LTD) in the hippocampal CA1 region; however, the expression mechanisms of this LTD remain unclear. We show here that the expression of DHPG-LTD can be specifically reversed by application of the broad-spectrum mGluR antagonists, (S)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG) and LY341495, and mGluR5 antagonist, 2-methyl-6-(phenylethyl)pyridine, but not by NMDA receptor antagonist, D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid, mGluR1 antagonist, LY367385, group II mGluR antagonist, (2S)-alpha-ethylglutamic acid, or group III mGluR antagonist, (S)-2-amino-2-methyl-4-phosphonobutanic acid (MAP4). In addition, the ability of MCPG to reverse DHPG-LTD was mimicked by the protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors, phenylarsine oxide and orthovanadate, but not phospholipase C inhibitor, U73122, protein kinase C inhibitor, bisindolylmaleimide 1, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor, SB203580, or protein phosphatases 1/2 A inhibitor, okadaic acid. Moreover, MCPG reversed the DHPG-LTD without affecting the paired-pulse facilitation. The expression of DHPG-LTD was associated with the reduction of both tyrosine phosphorylation and surface expression of AMPA receptor GluR2 subunits. Together, these results suggest that sustained activation of mGluR5 and in turn triggering a protein tyrosine phosphatase-dependent regulation of postsynaptic expression of AMPA receptors may contribute to the expression of DHPG-LTD.     

The potent, selective mGlu2/3 receptor agonist LY379268 increases extracellular levels of dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid, and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid in the medial prefrontal cortex of the freely moving rat

Previous work has shown that the potent, selective metabotropic glutamate mGlu2/3 receptor agonist LY379268 acts like the atypical antipsychotic clozapine in behavioral assays. To investigate further the potential antipsychotic actions of this agent, we examined the effects of LY379268 using microdialysis in awake, freely moving rats, on extracellular levels of dopamine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) in rat medial prefrontal cortex. Systemic LY379268 increased extracellular levels of dopamine, DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA in a dose-dependent, somewhat delayed manner. LY379268 (3 mg/kg s.c. ) increased levels of dopamine, DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA to 168, 170, 169, and 151% of basal, respectively. Clozapine (10 mg/kg) also increased dopamine, DOPAC, and HVA levels, with increases of 255, 262, and 173%, respectively, but was without effect on extracellular 5-HIAA levels by 3 mg/kg LY379268 were reversed by the selective mGlu2/3 receptor antagonist LY341495 (1 mg/kg). Furthermore, LY379268 (3 mg/kg)-evoked increases in DOPAC and HVA were partially blocked and the increase in 5-HIAA was completely blocked by local application of 3 microM tetrodotoxin. Therefore, we have demonstrated that mGlu2/3 receptor agonists activate dopaminergic and serotonergic brain pathways previously associated with the action of atypical antipsychotics such as clozapine and other psychiatric agents.     

Replacement of lysine-181 by aspartic acid in the third transmembrane region of endothelin type B receptor reduces its affinity to endothelin peptides and sarafotoxin 6c without affecting G protein coupling.

A conserved aspartic acid residue in the third transmembrane region of many of the G protein-coupled receptors has been shown to play a role in ligand binding. In the case of endothelin receptors, however, a lysine residue replaces this conserved aspartic acid residue. To access the importance of this residue in ligand binding, we have replaced it with an aspartic acid in the rat endothelin type B (ETb) receptor by PCR mediated mutagenesis. The binding characteristics and functional properties of both the wild type and mutant receptors were determined in COS-7 cells transiently expressing the cloned receptor cDNAs. Using 125I-ET-1 as the radioactive peptide ligand in displacement binding studies, the wild type receptor displayed a typical non-isopeptide-selective binding profile with similar IC50 values (0.2-0.6 nM) for all three endothelin peptides (ET-1, ET-2, and ET-3) and sarafotoxin 6c (SRTX 6c). Interestingly, the mutant receptor showed an increase in IC50 values for ET-1 (5 nM), ET-2 (27 nM), and ET-3 (127 nM) but displayed a much larger increase in IC50 value for SRTX 6c (> 10 uM). The lysine mutant receptor still elicited full inositol phosphate (IP) turnover responses in the presence of saturating concentrations of endothelins (10 nM of ET-1, 100 nM of ET-2, or 1 uM of ET-3), indicating that the mutation (K181D) did not affect the coupling of mutant receptor to the appropriate G protein. These results demonstrate that lysine-181 on the receptor is important for binding ET peptides; however, it is required for binding the ETb selective agonist-SRTX 6c.