VIP inhibits high voltage-gated calcium channel currents of hamster submandibular ganglion neurons

VIP receptors control excitability of suprachiasmatic nuclei neurones

The role of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) receptors on excitable properties of neurones in slices acutely prepared from the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of wild-type (WT) and VPAC(2)-receptor-deficient (Vipr2 ( -/- )) mice was studied under voltage clamp with the use of patch-clamp recording in the whole-cell configuration. The resting membrane potential in Vipr2 ( -/- ) neurones was significantly hyperpolarised as compared to WT cells (-60+/-7 vs -72+/-6 mV, p<0.01). Bath application of 100 nM VIP or the VPAC(2) receptor agonist RO 25-1553 triggered a slow inward current in a subpopulation of WT SCN neurones; the VIP-induced current was not affected by slice incubation with 25 microM of bicuculline but disappeared completely when the cells were dialysed with CsCl-containing/K(+)-free solution. Application of VIP or RO 25-1553 to neurones from Vipr2 ( -/- ) mice did not induce currents in all cells tested. Incubation of WT slices with 100 nM VIP or RO 25-1553 resulted in inhibition of fast tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium currents and delayed rectifier K(+) currents in most of the cells tested. This effect was completely absent in cells from Vipr2 ( -/- ) mice. We postulate that VIP receptors control excitability of SCN neurones at the postsynaptic level by direct modulation of membrane potential via inhibition of K(+) channels and by tonic inhibition of sodium and potassium voltage-gated currents.

PACAP-induced depolarizations in hamster submandibular ganglion neurons

In this study, we have investigated the effects of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) on in vitro hamster submandibular ganglion neurons using the conventional intracellular recording technique. PACAP (10 microM) induced slow depolarizations in approximately 70% of tested cells. PACAP-induced depolarizations were approximately 10 mV in the peak amplitude, and their durations were approximately 10 min. The slow depolarizations were accompanied by a decrease in membrane conductance (gm) at the initial phase and an increase in gm at the peak phase. Membrane input resistance increased by 14.8 +/- 2.2% (mean +/- S.E., max.) of the resting value at the initial phase and decreased by 30.8 +/- 4.3% (max.) at the peak phase. Anodal break spikes were elicited at the initial phase during PACAP-induced depolarization. In one neuron, anodal break spikes were elicited at the peak. Spikes which followed the anodal break spike were also elicited at 4 Hz in the initial phase during the slow depolarizations. The decrease in gm was probably produced by an inhibition of calcium conductance and an inhibition of slow Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels, while the increase in gm might have been produced by an activation of nonselective cation channels. The slow depolarizations by PACAP might be mediated by a membrane-delimited signal transduction cascade involving G protein in the submandibular ganglion neurons.

VIP and PACAP inhibit L-, N- and P/Q-type Ca2+ channels of parasympathetic neurons in a voltage independent manner

In this study, we investigated the effects of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide 1-38 (PACAP) on the voltage-gated calcium currents in hamster submandibular ganglion neurons. VIP and PACAP inhibited the high threshold voltage-gated calcium current in a voltage-independent and a concentration-dependent manner via the G protein-mediated pathway. L-, N- and P/Q-type components of the total maximum voltage-gated calcium current accounted for 48.0 +/- 3.1% (n = 4), 35.1 +/- 4.7% (n = 4), and 13.5 +/- 2.3% (n = 3) of the total peak amplitude, respectively. VIP at a concentration of 1 microM inhibited the L-type calcium current by 33.2% +/- 1.4% (n = 4), the N-type current by 31.0 +/- 3.6%, and the P/Q-type current by 3.2 +/- 1.1% (n = 3). PACAP at a concentration of 1 microM inhibited the L-type current by 35.6 +/- 5.7%, the N-type current by 34.4 +/- 3.1% (n = 4), and the P/Q-type current by 6.4 +/- 2.1% (n = 2). However, VIP and PACAP did not inhibit the low threshold voltage-gated (T-type) calcium current. The rank order of potency was PACAP > VIP. In experiments replacing GTP with GDP-beta-S, the inhibitory effects of VIP and PACAP were prevented. In experiments of double-pulse protocol, depolarizing conditioning pulses could not relieve the inhibition of total high threshold voltage-gated calcium currents produced by VIP and PACAP. Therefore, the inhibition of the high threshold voltage-gated calcium channels produced by VIP and PACAP in hamster parasympathetic neurons differed in its mechanisms from that of N-type calcium channels in rat sympathetic neurons.