Interactions of glutamate receptor agonists coupled to changes in intracellular Ca2+ in rat cerebellar granule cells in primary culture

Ruthenium red protects against glutamate-induced neuronal death in cerebellar culture

Intracytosplasmic concentration of calcium dramatically increases after glutamate exposure in cultured neurons. Here, we investigated the effects of glutamate (100 microM, 15 min) on the intramitochondrial calcium homeostasis using 45Ca as a radioactive tracer. Calcium content increased in both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial fractions during the first 15 min following glutamate exposure. Whereas calcium content declined in the cytosolic fraction during the next 45 min, it remained elevated in the mitochondrial fraction. We next investigated the effects of ruthenium red, a mitochondrial calcium uptake blocker, on calcium homeostasis and neuronal viability after glutamate. Ruthenium red (100 microM) fully protected granule cells from glutamate exposure when performed in low sodium-chloride solution. Furthermore, ruthenium red substantially lessened calcium accumulation in mitochondrial fraction after glutamate exposure.

Endogenous gamma-L-glutamylglutamate is a partial agonist at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in cultured cerebellar granule cells

gamma-L-Glutamylglutamate (LGG), an endogenous constituent of the brain, reduced the glutamate-evoked increase in intracellular Ca2+ in cultured cerebellar granule cells. The extent and properties of this inhibition were different at different Mg2+ concentrations. The intracellular Ca2+ response to NMDA was slightly enhanced by 0.1 mM LGG in normal (1.3 mM) Mg2+ medium, but in Mg(2+)-free medium LGG was stimulatory at low (0.1-1 microM) NMDA and inhibitory at high (0.1-1 mM) NMDA concentrations. In the absence of Mg2+, LGG alone increased cytosolic free Ca2+ and depolarized the cells. These effects were potentiated by glycine and blocked by extracellular Mg2+, 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoate (APV), 7-chlorokynurenate, 3-amino-1-hydroxypyrrolidin-2-one (HA-966) and 5,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (MNQX). The results indicate that LGG is a partial NMDA agonist. On the other hand, the non-NMDA antagonists 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) and 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX) also inhibited the effects of LGG. This indicates an involvement of non-NMDA receptors in the actions of LGG. The consequent depolarization may also contribute to the activation of NMDA receptor-governed ionophores.

The calcium response to the excitotoxin kainate is amplified by subsequent reduction of extracellular sodium

The relation between intracellular and extracellular [Na+] and [Ca2+] and membrane potential during stimulation of non-N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors has been studied in cerebellar granule cells using the fluorescent indicators SBFI, fura-2 and the bisoxonol membrane potential probe DiBaC4(3). Kainate increased both [Ca2+]i (intracellular [Ca2+]) and [Na+]i (intracellular [Na+]) and depolarized the membrane. This elevation of [Ca2+]i was only partially dependent on the presence of extracellular Na+ at the time of kainate addition. Removal of extracellular Na+ itself had a very minor effect on the [Ca2+]i or membrane potential of unstimulated cells. If extracellular Na+ was removed (in order to reverse the [Na+] gradient) or its concentration reduced during stimulation with kainate, the membrane depolarization recovered as expected. However, the intracellular level of sodium recovered only very slowly and the [Ca2+]i rose sharply, rather than recovering as might be expected on repolarization of depolarized cells possessing voltage sensitive calcium channels. This effect of extracellular [Na+] reduction on [Ca2+]i was mimicked by ouabain, another agent that causes accumulation of [Na+] in cells. These results suggest that Na+/Ca2+ exchange may play a major role in calcium homeostasis in stimulated cells, and that the levels of Na+ inside and outside the cell are critical in determining the effect of receptor stimulation on the intracellular [Ca2+].

Pharmacological characterization of glutamate binding sites in cultured cerebellar granule cells and cortical astrocytes

Membranes prepared from cerebellar granule cells and cortical astrocytes exhibited specific, saturable binding of L-[3H]glutamate. The apparent binding constant KD was 135 nM and 393 nM and the maximal binding capacity Bmax 42 and 34 mumol/kg in granule cells and astrocytes, respectively. In granule cells the binding was strongly inhibited by the glutamate receptor agonists kainate, quisqualate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), L-homocysteate and ibotenate, and the antagonist DL-5-aminophosphonovalerate. In astrocytes, only quisqualate among these was effective. L-Aspartate, L-cysteate, L-cysteinesulphinate and gamma-D-glutamylglycine were inhibitors in both cell types. The binding was totally displaced in both cell types by L-cysteinesulphinate with IC50 in the micromolar range. In astrocytes the binding was also totally displaced by quisqualate, but in granule cells only partially by NMDA, kainate and quisqualate in turn. It is concluded from the relative potencies of agonists and antagonists in [3H]glutamate binding that cerebellar granule cells express the NMDA, kainate and quisqualate types of the glutamate receptor, while only the quisqualate-sensitive binding seems to be present in cortical astrocytes.

Glutamate increases the [Ca2+]i but stimulates Ca(2+)-independent release of [3H]GABA in cultured chick retina cells

The effect of glutamate on [Ca2+]i and on [3H] gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) release was studied on cultured chick embryonic retina cells. It was observed that glutamate (100 microM) increases the [Ca2+]i by Ca2+ influx through Ca2+ channels sensitive to nitrendipine, but not to omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-Cg Tx) (50%), and by other channels insensitive to either Ca2+ channel blocker. Mobilization of Ca2+ by glutamate required the presence of external Na+, suggesting that Na+ mobilization through the ionotropic glutamate receptors is necessary for the Ca2+ channels to open. The increase in [Ca2+]i was not related to the release of [3H]GABA induced by glutamate, suggesting that the pathway for the entry of Ca2+ triggered by glutamate does not lead to exocytosis. In fact, the glutamate-induced release of [3H]GABA was significantly depressed by Ca(2+)o, but it was dependent on Na(+)o, just as was observed for the [3H]GABA release induced by veratridine (50 microM). The veratridine-induced release could be fully inhibited by TTX, but this toxin had no effect on the glutamate-induced [3H]GABA release. Both veratridine- and glutamate-induced [3H]GABA release were inhibited by 1-(2-(((diphenylmethylene)amino)oxy)ethyl)-1,2,5,6-tetrahydro-3-py ridine- carboxylic acid (NNC-711), a blocker of the GABA carrier. Blockade of the NMDA and non-NMDA glutamate receptors with MK-801 and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), respectively, almost completely blocked the release of [3H]GABA evoked by glutamate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

N-methyl-D-aspartate responses in rat cerebellar granule cells are modified by chronic depolarisation in culture

Following culture in high (25 mM) K+ conditions cerebellar granule cells only respond with a rise in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i after removal of external Mg2+. When granule cells are grown in low (5 mM) K+ N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) exerts a neurotrophic effect. We show that at the critical time for this effect NMDA will elicit a rise in [Ca2+]i in 5 mM K+ cultures even in the presence of Mg2+ and that growth in 25 mM K+ induces the rapid appearance of a Mg2+ block of NMDA receptors in granule cells. This suggests firstly, that a rise in [Ca2+]i could be involved in the neurotrophic effect of NMDA and secondly, that the characteristics of the NMDA responses in granule cells are modified as a result of growth under depolarising conditions.