[3H]-myo-inositol uptake in rat cortical slices. Identification of Na+-dependent and Na+-independent systems

Effects of NMDA on carbachol-stimulated phosphatidylinositol resynthesis in rat brain cortical slices

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) inhibits carbachol-stimulated phosphoinositide breakdown in rat brain cortical slices but not in isolated membranes (1). To gain insight into the mechanisms, we examined the effects of NMDA on carbachol-stimulated [3H]inositol phosphate and intermediates of phosphatidylinositol cycle accumulation in rat cortical slices. The inhibition is primarily on the synthesis of inositol phospholipids subsequent to activation of muscarinic cholinergic receptors. In the absence of lithium, NMDA inhibited carbachol-stimulated [32P]PtdIns but not [32P]PtdOH synthesis. Carbachol-stimulated CDP-DAG formation required trace amount of Ca2+ and the response was inhibited by NMDA at low but not high extracellular Ca2+ concentrations. The inhibition due to NMDA was only seen at millimolar extracellular Mg2+. The inhibition of carbachol-stimulated CDP-DAG formation was not affected by adding tetrodotoxin or cobalt chloride suggesting the inhibitory effect was not due to releasing of neurotransmitters. The inhibitory effects of NMDA could be abolished by MK-801, the specific NMDA receptor associated channel antagonist. When cortical slices were preincubated with ligands and lithium to allow the build up of CDP-DAG, carbachol stimulated the incorporation of [3H]PtdIns. However, this response was not inhibited by NMDA. These results suggest that CDP-DAG synthesis is the primary site of regulation by NMDA. Because CDP-DAG cytidyltransferase requires Mg2+ as cofactor and is sensitive to Ca2+ it is possible that NMDA inhibits ligand-stimulated PtdIns breakdown by blocking the replenish of agonist-sensitive PtdIns pool through changes of divalent cation homeostasis.

High-affinity [3H]inositol uptake by dissociated brain cells and cultured fibroblasts from fetal mice

The accumulation of [3H]inositol by mechanically dissociated brain cells and cultured skin fibroblasts from fetal mice was examined. Uptake by both tissues was strongly dependent on temperature and the presence of sodium ions. Brain and fibroblast uptake also responded similarly to inhibition by inositol isomers and phloridzin. At lower concentrations of inositol, both tissues exhibited high-affinity uptake kinetics with apparent Km values near 30 microM, similar to values observed previously in human fibroblasts and other cultured cells. The activity of brain high-affinity uptake was nearly an order of magnitude lower than that of fibroblasts, however, and was in part confounded by the presence of a low-affinity or simple diffusion system operating at inositol concentrations above 100 microM. Brain preparation from adult mice also showed evidence of high-affinity, Na+ dependent uptake, but its activity was significantly diminished relative to that of fetal brain preparations. Our results demonstrate that a high-affinity inositol transport system closely resembling that found in cultured cells is expressed in the developing mouse brain.

Lithium and the phosphoinositide cycle: an example of uncompetitive inhibition and its pharmacological consequences

The ability of lithium to exert profound and selective psychopharmacological effects to ameliorate manic-depressive psychosis has been the focus of considerable research effort. There is increasing evidence that lithium exerts its therapeutic action by interfering with polyphosphoinositide metabolism in brain and prevention of inositol recycling by an uncompetitive inhibition of inositol monophosphatase. Stefan Nahorski, Ian Ragan and John Challiss discuss this unusual stimulus-dependent form of enzyme inhibition, emphasizing that the selectivity exhibited by lithium depends upon the degree of inositol lipid hydrolysis and polyphosphoinositide dephosphorylation.

Local anesthetics: stimulation of incorporation of inositol into phosphoinositides in guinea pig cerebral cortical synaptoneurosomes

Various local anesthetics enhanced the incorporation of [3H]inositol into phosphoinositides in guinea pig cerebral cortical synaptoneurosomes. Dibucaine, QX-572 and dimethisoquin showed maximum stimulation at 100 microM, tetracaine and diphenhydramine at 300 microM, and QX-314 at 1 mM, while quinacrine, lidocaine and cocaine showed no or only slight stimulation. There was no correlation between local anesthetic activity, estimated by inhibition of the 22Na+ flux elicited by the sodium channel activator batrachotoxin, and the potency for stimulation of inositol incorporation. A quaternary, relatively weak, local anesthetic, QX-572, was the most potent agent in stimulation of inositol incorporation, while the next most potent agent was dibucaine, a tertiary, very potent, local anesthetic. Dibucaine did not affect the uptake of [3H]inositol by synaptoneurosomes. The incorporation of [3H]inositol into phosphoinositides was increased in calcium-free buffer. The presence of dibucaine resulted in further stimulation of [3H]inositol incorporation in calcium-free buffer. Although dibucaine and QX-572 markedly stimulated incorporation of [3H]inositol into phosphoinositides, only QX-572 significantly enhanced the incorporation of 32PO4(3-) into phosphoinositides. The results suggest that certain local anesthetics enhance a pathway involving an exchange reaction between inositol and the phosphoinositol ester bond of phosphatidylinositol, but do not markedly affect the de novo pathway of phosphoinositide synthesis.

Inositol uptake in rat aorta

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of inositol uptake into rat thoracic aorta. 3H-inositol uptake into deendothelialized aorta was linear for at least 2 h and was composed of both a saturable, Na(+)-dependent, and a nonsaturable, Na(+)-independent component. The Na(+)-dependent component of inositol uptake had a Km of 50 microM and a Vmax of 289 pmol/mg prot/h. Exposure to LiCl, ouabain, or Ca2(+)-free Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution inhibited uptake. Metabolic poisoning with dinitrophenol, as well as incubation with phloretin, an inhibitor of carrier-mediated hexose transport, also inhibited uptake. Exposure to norepinephrine decreased inositol uptake, while phorbol myristate acetate was without effect. Isobutylmethylxanthine significantly increased inositol uptake, while the increased uptake due to dibutyryl cyclic AMP and forskolin were not statistically significant. Sodium nitroprusside, an activator of guanylate cyclase, and 8-bromo cyclic GMP, were without effect on uptake, as was methylene blue, an inhibitor of guanylate cyclase. Inositol uptake into the aorta was increased when the endothelium was allowed to remain intact, although this effect was likely due to uptake into both the endothelial and smooth muscle cells. These results suggest that the uptake of inositol into vascular smooth muscle is: (1) dependent upon an inward Na(+)-gradient; (2) carrier mediated, and (3) inhibited by alpha 1 adrenoceptor agonists.

Enhancement by potassium of carbachol-stimulated inositol phospholipid breakdown in rat cerebral cortical miniprisms: comparison with other depolarising agents

Increasing the [K+] in the assay medium from 5.7 to 17.8 mM produces a large enhancement of the inositol phospholipid breakdown response to the muscarinic agonist carbachol in rat cerebral cortical miniprisms, with minor effects on basal inositol phospholipid breakdown. This effect is also found with Rb+. The enhancement by a raised [K+] is not accompanied by a change in the composition of the labelled polyphosphoinositides. The carbachol-stimulated inositol phospholipid breakdown at 17.8 and 42.7 mM K+ was antagonised by veratrine (5-80 microM), 4-aminopyridine (5 mM), and tetraethylammonium (20 mM). These compounds, however, also inhibited the binding of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate to cortical membranes. BRL 34915 (0.2-20 microM) was without significant effect on carbachol-stimulated inositol phospholipid breakdown at either 5.7 or 17.8 mM K+.Mg2+ (10 mM) considerably reduced the carbachol-stimulated inositol phospholipid breakdown at 17.8, but not 42.7, mM K+. Inositol phospholipid breakdown was also stimulated, albeit to a small extent, by L-glutamate (100-3,000 microM) and quisqualate (1-100 microM), with the stimulation being additive to that produced by carbachol at both 5.7 and 17.8 mM K+. N-Methyl-D-aspartate (10-1,000 microM in Mg2+-free medium) had no significant effect on basal inositol phospholipid breakdown and had little or no effect on carbachol-stimulated inositol phospholipid breakdown at either 5.7 or 17.8 mM K+. It is concluded that it may not be correct to ascribe wholly the enhancement by K+ of carbachol-stimulated inositol phospholipid breakdown to the tissue-depolarising actions of this ion and that other actions of K+ may be involved.