Functional significance of nitric oxide in ionomycin-evoked [3H]GABA release from mouse cerebral cortical neurons

We investigated a role of nitric oxide (NO) on ionomycin-evoked 3H]GABA release using mouse cerebral cortical neurons. lonomycin dose-dependently released 3H]GABA up to 1 microM. The extent of the release by 0.1 microM ionomycin was in a range similar to that by 30 mM KCl. The ionomycin (0.1 microM)-evoked 3H]GABA release was dose-dependently inhibited by NO synthase inhibitors and hemoglobin, indicating that the ionomycin-evoked 3H]GABA release is mediated through NO formation. The inhibition of cGMP formation by 1H-1,2,4] oxodizao 4,3-a] quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a selective inhibitor for NO-sensitive guanylate cyclase, showed no affects on the ionomycin-evoked 3H]GABA release. Tetrodotoxin and dibucaine significantly suppressed the ionomycin-evoked 3H]GABA release and ionomycin increased fluorescence intensity of bis-oxonol, suggesting the involvement of membrane depolarization in this release. The ionomycin-evoked 3H]GABA release was maximally reduced by about 50% by GABA uptake inhibitors. The concomitant presence of nifedipine and omega-agatoxin VIA (omega-ATX), inhibitors for L- and P/Q-type voltage-dependent calcium channels, respectively, caused the reduction in the ionomycin-evoked release by about 50%. The simultaneous addition of nifedipine, omega-ATX and nipecotic acid completely abolished the release. Although ionomycin released glutamate, (+)-5-methyl-1-,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo-a,d]cycloheptan-5,10-imine (MK-801) and 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX) showed no effects on the ionomycin-induced 3H]GABA release. Based on these results, it is concluded that NO formed by ionomycin plays a critical role in ionomycin-evoked 3H]GABA release from the neurons.