Genistein directly blocks glycine receptors of rat neurons freshly isolated from the ventral tegmental area

The effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitors on the glycine-induced current (I(Gly)) were studied in rat neurons freshly isolated from the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Genistein reversibly and concentration-dependently depressed I(Gly), with an IC(50) of 13 microM. Preincubation with genistein had no effect on I(Gly), indicating that genistein is effective only when glycine is bound to the receptor and channels are most likely open. Genistein depressed maximum I(Gly) without significantly changing the EC(50) for glycine. Genistein-induced inhibition of I(Gly) was sensitive to membrane voltage, being greater at positive membrane potentials. A kinetic analysis indicated that genistein lengthens the time constant of I(Gly) activation, but has no effect on deactivation or desensitization. When genistein was rapidly washed out, a transient rebound current probably reflected a faster dissociation of genistein, with respect to glycine. Results of competition experiments suggest that genistein acts on the same region of the glycine receptor as picrotoxin. Daidzein, an analog of genistein that does not act on protein kinases, also inhibited I(Gly). Co-application of lavendustin A, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine kinase, had no effect on I(Gly). Our results extend to neurons isolated from the VTA, the previous finding that genistein directly inhibits glycine receptors of hypothalamic brain slices.

Moderate hypoglycemia aggravates effects of hypoxia in hippocampal slices from diabetic rats

We recorded the effects of hypoxia combined with relative hypoglycemia on pre- and post-synaptic potentials in the CA1 area of slices from 4-month-old control and diabetic (streptozotocin-treated) Wistar rats. In experiments on slices kept in 10 or 4 mM glucose (at 33 degrees C), hypoxia was applied until the pre-synaptic afferent volley disappeared--after 12-13 min in most slices, but much earlier (5+/-0.8 min) in diabetic slices kept in 4 mM glucose. When oxygenation was resumed, the afferent volley returned in all slices, for an overall mean recovery of 86.5% (+/-8.8%). Field post-synaptic potentials were fully blocked within 2-3 min of the onset of hypoxia. After the end of hypoxia, they failed to reappear in some slices: overall, their recovery varied between 62 and 68% in control slices, as well as in diabetic slices kept in 10 mM glucose; but recovery was very poor in diabetic slices kept in 4 mM glucose (only 15+/-0.94%). In the latter, hypoxic injury discharges occurred earlier (4.2+/-0.68 min vs. 6.5-8 min for other groups). We conclude that diabetes appears to make hippocampal slices more prone to irreversible loss of synaptic function and early block of axonal conduction when temporary hypoxia is combined with moderate hypoglycemia.

Decay of ethanol-induced suppression of glycine-activated current of ventral tegmental area neurons

We demonstrated previously that ethanol depresses glycine-induced currents in 45% of neurons freshly isolated from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of rats (), and that protein kinase C (PKC) modulates this action of ethanol (). In the present study, we investigated the time course of this effect of ethanol on VTA neurons from young rats. For 70% of the neurons in which ethanol reduced glycine-evoked currents, this depressant effect gradually diminished during continuous superfusion with ethanol. Its action decayed faster when ethanol was applied in several brief pulses than by continuous superfusion. On the other hand, the decay was especially slower when ethanol was applied in pulses at longer intervals or by preincubation. Phorbol ester 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu, 1 microM), an activator of PKC, also depressed glycine-induced currents. In approximately 40% (6/15) of the neurons, the effect of PDBu diminished with time and was antagonized by the specific PKC inhibitor, chelerythrine (7 microM). Chelerythrine also attenuated the ethanol-induced depression of glycine-induced currents and its time-dependent decay, thus confirming our previous evidence that PKC mediates, at least in part, the decay of the depressant effect of ethanol on glycine-induced currents of VTA neurons.

Ethanol inhibition of glycine-activated responses in neurons of ventral tegmental area of neonatal rats

The brain is particularly sensitive to alcohol during the period of its rapid growth. To better understand the mechanism(s) involved, we studied ethanol effects on glycine-activated responses of ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons isolated from the newborn rat, using whole cell and gramicidin perforated patch-clamp techniques. Previously we reported that 0.1-40 mM ethanol enhances glycine-induced responses of 35% of VTA neurons. We now direct our attention to the inhibitory effects of ethanol observed in 45% (312 of 694) of neonatal VTA neurons. Under current-clamp conditions, 1 mM ethanol had no effect on the membrane potential of these cells, but it decreased glycine-induced membrane depolarization and the frequency of spontaneous action potentials. Under voltage-clamp conditions, 0.1-10 mM ethanol did not elicit a current but depressed the glycine-induced currents. The ethanol-induced inhibition of glycine current was independent of membrane potential (between -60 and +60 mV). Likewise, ethanol did not alter the reversal potential of the glycine-activated currents. Ethanol-mediated inhibition of glycine current depended on the glycine concentration. While ethanol strongly depressed currents activated by 30 microM glycine, it had no appreciable effect on maximal currents activated by 1 mM glycine. In the presence of ethanol (1 mM), the EC(50) for glycine increased from 32 +/- 5 to 60 +/- 3 microM. Thus ethanol may decrease the agonist affinity of glycine receptors. A kinetic analysis indicated that ethanol shortens the time constant of glycine current deactivation but has no effect on activation. In conclusion, by altering VTA neuronal function, ethanol-induced changes in glycine receptors may contribute to neurobehavioral manifestations of the fetal alcohol syndrome.

2-deoxyglucose induces LTP in layer I of rat somatosensory cortex in vitro

Temporary replacement of glucose by 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) induces a long-term potentiation (2-DG-LTP) of excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampal slices. We therefore examined the effects of 2-DG on monosynaptic field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in slices of somatosensory cortex from rats. Monosynaptic fEPSPs were elicited in layer I by stimulating horizontal projections in the same layer. Replacement of glucose (10 mM) in the artificial cerebrospinal fluid with 10 mM 2-DG for 15-17 min produced a minor reduction (by 10-30%), followed by a sustained increase (by approximately 150%) in synaptic responses that could last for over 2 hours. Equimolar replacement of glucose with sucrose did not induce potentiation. The addition of 5 or even 2.5 mM glucose to 10 mM 2-DG largely suppressed the effects of 2-DG; but topically-applied GABA antagonists bicuculline and CGP 35348 did not prevent 2-DG-LTP. Unlike hippocampal 2-DG-LTP, neocortical 2-DG-LTP was: (1) not sensitive to 2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5); and (2) usually not depotentiated by stimulation at 1 Hz. We conclude that 2-DG produces a robust and sustained increase in synaptic transmission in the neocortex through mechanisms that are independent of NMDA receptor activation.

2-Deoxyglucose-induced long-term potentiation of monosynaptic IPSPs in CA1 hippocampal neurons

In previous experiments on excitatory synaptic transmission in CA1, temporary (10-20 min) replacement of glucose with 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) consistently caused a marked and very sustained potentiation (2-DG LTP). To find out whether 2-DG has a similar effect on inhibitory synapses, we recorded pharmacologically isolated mononosynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs; under current clamp) and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs; under voltage clamp); 2-DG was applied both in the presence and the absence of antagonists of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). In spite of sharply varied results (some neurons showing large potentiation, lasting for >1 h, and many little or none), overall there was a significant and similar potentiation of IPSP conductance, both for the early (at approximately 30 ms) and later (at approximately 140 ms) components of IPSPs or IPSCs: by 35.1 +/- 10.25% (mean +/- SE; for n = 24, P = 0.0023) and 36.5 +/- 16.3% (for n = 19, P = 0.038), respectively. The similar potentiation of the early and late IPSP points to a presynaptic mechanism of LTP. Overall, the LTP was statistically significant only when 2-DG was applied in the absence of glutamate antagonists. Tetanic stimulations (in presence or absence of glutamate antagonists) only depressed IPSPs (by half). In conclusion, although smaller and more variable, 2-DG-induced LTP of inhibitory synapses appears to be broadly similar to the 2-DG-induced LTP of excitatory postsynaptic potentials previously observed in CA1.

2-Deoxyglucose-induced long-term potentiation in CA1 is not prevented by intraneuronal chelator

In hippocampal slices, temporary (10-20 min) replacement of glucose with 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose is followed by marked and very sustained potentiation of EPSPs (2-DG LTP). To investigate its mechanism, we examined 2-DG's effect in CA1 neurons recorded with sharp 3 M KCl electrodes containing a strong chelator, 50 or 100 mM ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). In most cases, field EPSPs were simultaneously recorded and conventional LTP was also elicited in some cells by tetanic stimulation of stratum radiatum. 2-DG potentiated intracellular EPSP slopes by 48 +/- 5.1% (SE) in nine cells recorded with plain KCl electrodes and by 52 +/- 6.2% in seven cells recorded with EGTA-containing electrodes. In four of the latter cells, tetanic stimulation (twice 100 Hz for 1 s) failed to evoke LTP (2 +/- 1.1%), although field EPSPs were clearly potentiated (by 28 +/- 6.9%). Thus unlike tetanic LTP, 2-DG LTP is not readily prevented by postsynaptic intraneuronal injection of EGTA. These findings agree with other evidence that the rise in postsynaptic (somatic) [Ca(2+)](i) caused by 2-DG is not the principal trigger for the subsequent 2-DG LTP and that it may be a purely presynaptic phenomenon.

Hypoxia on hippocampal slices from mice deficient in dystrophin (mdx) and isoforms (mdx3cv)

Slices from control C57, mdx, and mdx3cv mice were made hypoxic until both field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) and presynaptic afferent volley (AV) disappeared (H1). After reoxygenation and recovery of fEPSP, a second and longer hypoxic test (H2) lasted 3 minutes beyond the time required to block AV. When slices were kept in 10 mmol/L glucose, HI abolished AV 37 and 19% earlier in slices from mdr and mdx3cv mutants than in control slices (where HI = 12 +/- 4.6 minutes, mean +/- SD). During H2 or when slices were kept in 4 mmol/L glucose, AV vanished even more quickly, but the times to block did not differ significantly between slices from controls and mutants. After reoxygenation, AV fully recovered in most slices. Rates of blockade of fEPSPs were comparable in all slices, and most fEPSPs recovered fully after HI. But even in the presence of 10 mmol/L glucose, the second hypoxia suppressed fEPSPs irreversibly in some slices: 2 of 10 from control, 3 of 7 from mdx, and 1 of 6 from mdx3cv mice. Most slices in 4 mmol/L glucose showed no recovery at all: six of seven from control, three of five from mdx, and four of five from mdx3cv mice. Thus, slices from mdx mice were more susceptible than other slices to irreversible hypoxic failure when slices were kept in 10 mmol/L glucose, but they were less susceptible than other slices when kept in 4 mmol/L glucose. In conclusion, the lack of full-length dystrophin (427 kDa) predisposes to quicker loss of nerve conduction in slices from mdx and mdx3cv mutants and improved posthypoxic recovery of fEPSPs in 4 mmol/L glucose in slices from mdx but not mdx3cv mutants, perhaps because the 70-kDa and other C-terminal isoforms are still present in mdx mice.

Early effects of hypoxia on brain cell function

This article reviews the changes in neuronal function produced by oxygen lack, especially as observed in hippocampal slices in vitro. An early cessation of electrical activity ("firing"), caused by a K+ conductance-mediated neuronal hyperpolarization and disappearance of excitatory synaptic potentials (EPSPs), can be seen as a protective mechanism that prevents the cellular damage resulting from severe mismatch between energy needs and supplies. These changes are triggered by such hypoxia-induced signals as a rise in cytoplasmic free calcium, fall in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and extracellular accumulation of adenosine (produced by ATP breakdown). Upon reoxygenation, the suppression of neuronal/synaptic activity is quite reversible, as long as hypoxic nerve cells have an adequate supply of glucose. But if sufficient ATP cannot be obtained by anerobic glycolysis to maintain essential Na-K pump activity and protein synthesis, long-term cell functi on and survival are compromised. Thus, when both oxygen and glucose are deficient, as in strokes, the cellular protective mechanisms cannot prevent the lethal effects of excessive Ca2+ influx.

Diabetes mellitus preserves synaptic plasticity in hippocampal slices from middle-aged rats

Synaptic plasticity is generally believed to provide a cellular mechanism for learning and memory. One manifestation of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation in the CA1 region, was compared in hippocampal slices from young and older rats, both control animals and streptozotocin-treated diabetics with moderate hyperglycemia ( approximately 15 mM). Long-term potentiation of excitatory synaptic potentials, elicited by tetanic stimulation or by 2-deoxy-D-glucose application, was readily obtained in slices from young (four-month-old) control and diabetic rats, but not in slices from middle-aged (12-month-old) control rats. Both forms of potentiation, however, could be elicited in slices from 12-month-old diabetics. The unexpected finding that long-term potentiation is restored in moderately hyperglycemic older rats suggests that the blood glucose level of older animals may be important for synaptic plasticity and perhaps for the ability to learn.

Cocaine and lidocaine have additive inhibitory effects on the GABAA current of acutely dissociated hippocampal pyramidal neurons

Inhibition mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major target for the central actions of cocaine and lidocaine, which can result in seizures, especially when these drugs are abused in combination. In the present study, we investigated how cocaine and lidocaine interact to depress GABA current (IGABA), recorded by the whole-cell technique in freshly isolated rat hippocampal neurons. Cocaine depressed IGABA in a concentration dependent manner, such that cocaine was more potent against lower than higher GABA concentrations: the cocaine IC50 was 0.13, 0.62 and 1.2 mM for GABA at 2, 10 and 100 microM, respectively. Cocaine depressed IGABA to the same extent in the absence and presence of 1 microM tetrodotoxin, indicating that cocaine inhibition of IGABA is distinct from its Na+ channel blocking action. Lidocaine reversibly depressed IGABA evoked by 10 microM GABA, with an IC50 of 9.8 mM. In the presence of 3 mM lidocaine, 0.3 mM cocaine depressed IGABA (10 microM GABA) to 30+/-7%. The significantly greater depression by the combined agents (p<0.05) indicates additive effects on the GABA receptor/channel complex, which are likely to contribute to the additive convulsant effects noted when these drugs are abused in combination.

Persistent block of CA1 synaptic function by prolonged hypoxia

The effects of prolonged hypoxia were studied by field and intracellular recordings from hippocampal slices of the rat, kept submerged at 34 degrees C. When artificial cerebrospinal fluid contained 10 mM glucose, even very long exposures to hypoxia or 300 microM cyanide (21-25 min) did not block field excitatory postsynaptic potentials and population spikes irreversibly. By contrast, in the presence of 4 mM glucose, hypoxia lasting only 9-13 min-ending 2-3 min after the characteristic transient recovery ("hypoxic injury potential")-resulted in irreversible block of synaptic responses. Voltage-dependent sodium channels and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are involved, because irreversible block was prevented by tetrodotoxin (0.5 microM), kynurenate (2 mM) or DL-aminophosphonovalerate (50 microM), whereas 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (25 microM) suppressed only the transient recovery. The hypoxic suppression of afferent volleys in slices kept in 4 mM glucose was also prevented by kynurenate or aminophosphonovalerate. Intracellular recordings revealed opposite effects of hypoxia according to glucose concentration: in 10 mM glucose, mainly hyperpolarization; in 4 mM glucose, after a brief hyperpolarization, a major and usually irreversible depolarization. In the presence of kynurenate or tetrodotoxin, major depolarizations also occurred, but they were reversible. Thus, large depolarizations of hippocampal neurons do not necessarily lead to irreversible block of synaptic transmission: there is lasting damage only when hypoxia is combined with low glucose, presumably because a reduced supply of glycolytically generated ATP limits the Na+/K+ pump's ability to maintain or restore membrane potentials and thus prevent excessive activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.

Cocaine decreases the glycine-induced Cl- current of acutely dissociated rat hippocampal neurons

The effects of cocaine on glycine-induced Cl- current (I(GLY)) of single neurons, freshly isolated from the rat hippocampal CA1 area, were studied with conventional whole-cell recording under voltage-clamp conditions. Cocaine depressed I(GLY) in a concentration-dependent manner, with an IC50 of 0.78 mM. Preincubation with 1 mM cocaine alone had no effect on I(GLY), suggesting that resting glycine channels are insensitive to cocaine. The depression of I(GLY) by cocaine was independent of membrane voltage. Internal cell dialysis with 1 mM cocaine failed to modify I(GLY). Because the depression of I(GLY) was noncompetitive, cocaine may act on the glycine receptor-chloride ionophore complex at a site distinct from that to which glycine binds. The cocaine suppression of I(GLY) was unaffected by 1 microM tetrodotoxin and 1 microM strychnine. Blockers of protein kinase C (Chelerythrine), kinase A (N-[2-((p-bromocinnamyl)amino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide HCl, (H-89)) and Ca-calmodulin-dependent kinase (1-[N,O-bis(5-isoquinoline-sulfonyl)-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl]-4-phenylpiperaz ine (KN-62)) were also ineffective, which suggests that these phosphorylating mechanisms do not modulate cocaine-induced suppressant action on I(GLY). This extracellular, strychnine-independent depression of I(GLY) may contribute to cocaine-induced seizures.

Intraneuronal [Ca2+] changes induced by 2-deoxy-D-glucose in rat hippocampal slices

Temporary replacement of glucose by 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG; but not sucrose) is followed by long-term potentiation of CA1 synaptic transmission (2-DG LTP), which is Ca2+-dependent and is prevented by dantrolene or N-methyl--aspartate (NMDA) antagonists. To clarify the mechanism of action of 2-DG, we monitored [Ca2+]i while replacing glucose with 2-DG or sucrose. In slices (from Wistar rats) kept submerged at 30 degreesC, pyramidal neurons were loaded with [Ca2+]-sensitive fluo-3 or Fura Red. The fluorescence was measured with a confocal microscope. Bath applications of 10 mM 2-DG (replacing glucose for 15 +/- 0.38 min, means +/- SE) led to a rapid but reversible rise in fluo-3 fluorescence (or drop of Fura Red fluorescence); the peak increase of fluo-3 fluorescence (DeltaF/F0), measured near the end of 2-DG applications, was by 245 +/- 50% (n = 32). Isosmolar sucrose (for 15-40 min) had a smaller but significant effect (DeltaF/F0 = 94 +/- 14%, n = 10). The 2-DG-induced DeltaF/F0 was greatly reduced (to 35 +/- 15%, n = 16) by,-aminophosphono-valerate (50-100 microM) and abolished by 10 microM dantrolene (-4.0 +/- 2.9%, n = 11). A substantial, although smaller effect, of 2-DG persisted in Ca2+-free 1 mM ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N', N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) medium. Two adenosine antagonists, which do not prevent 2-DG LTP, were also tested; 2-DG-induced DeltaF/F0 (fluo-3) was not affected by the A1 antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-3, 7-dihydro-1,3-dipropyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione (DPCPX 50 nM; 287 +/- 38%; n = 20), but it was abolished by the A1/A2 antagonist 8-SPT; 25 +/- 29%, n = 19). These observations suggest that 2-DG releases glutamate and adenosine and that the rise in [Ca2+] may be triggered by a synergistic action of glutamate (acting via NMDA receptors) and adenosine (acting via A2b receptors) resulting in Ca2+ release from a dantrolene-sensitive store. The discrepant effects of sucrose and 8-SPT on DeltaF/F0, on the one hand, and 2-DG LTP, on the other, support other evidence that increases in postsynaptic [Ca2+]i are not essential for 2-DG LTP.

Higher sensitivity of CA1 synapses to aglycemia in streptozotocin-diabetic rats is age-dependent

We studied conduction velocity in peripheral nerves and the block of synaptic transmission produced by lack of glucose in hippocampal slices from 4- and 12-month-old streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and their age-matched controls. In sural nerves of young and old diabetic rats, the conduction velocity was reduced by 30-35%. In slices from young diabetics, CA1 synaptic transmission was more sensitive to aglycemia than in control slices. However, all slices from older rats showed comparable increases in CA1 synaptic sensitivity to aglycemia. We conclude that the cerebral adaptation to diabetic hyperglycemia apparent in the hippocampus of young rats is masked in older rats by an age-dependent increase in sensitivity to lack of glucose.

Potassium conductance causing hyperpolarization of CA1 hippocampal neurons during hypoxia

In experiments on slices (from 100- to 150-g Sprague-Dawley rats) kept at 33 degreesC, we studied the effects of brief hypoxia (2-3 min) on CA1 neurons. In whole cell recordings from submerged slices, with electrodes containing only KMeSO4 and N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid, and in the presence of kynurenate and bicuculline (to minimize transmitter actions), hypoxia produced the following changes: under current clamp, 36 cells were hyperpolarized by 2.7 +/- 0.5 (SE) mV and their input resistance (Rin) fell by 23 +/- 2.7%; in 30 cells under voltage clamp, membrane current increased by 114 +/- 22.3 pA and input conductance (Gin) by 4.9 +/- 0.9 nS. These effects are much greater than those seen previously with K gluconate whole cell electrodes, but only half those seen with "sharp" electrodes. The hypoxic hyperpolarizations (or outward currents) were not reduced by intracellular ATP (1-5 mM) or bath-applied glyburide (10 microM): therefore they are unlikely to be mediated by conventional ATP-sensitive K channels. On the other hand, their depression by internally applied ethylene glycol-bis-(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N, N',N'-tetraacetic acid (1.1 and 11 mM) and especially 1, 2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (11-33 mM) indicated a significant involvement of Ca-dependent K (KCa) channels. The beta-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline (10 microM) reduced hypoxic hyperpolarizations and decreases in Rin (n = 4) (and in another 11 cells corresponding changes in Gin); and comparable but more variable effects were produced by internally applied 3':5'-adenosine cyclic monophosphate (cAMP, 1 mM, n = 6) and bath-applied 8-bromo-cAMP (n = 8). Thus afterhyperpolarization-type KCa channels probably take part in the hypoxic response. A major involvement of G proteins is indicated by the near total suppression of the hypoxic response by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (0. 1-0.3 mM, n = 23) and especially guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (0.3 mM, n = 26), both applied internally. The adenosine antagonist 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (10-50 microM) significantly reduced hypoxic hyperpolarizations and outward currents in whole cell recordings (with KMeSO4 electrodes) from submerged slices but not in intracellular recordings (with KCl electrodes) from slices kept at gas/saline interface. In further intracellular recordings, antagonists of gamma-aminobutyric acid-B or serotonin receptors also had no clear effect. In conclusion, these G-protein-dependent hyperpolarizing changes produced in CA1 neurons by hypoxia are probably initiated by Ca2+ release from internal stores stimulated by enhanced glycolysis and a variable synergistic action of adenosine.

In rat hippocampal slices, NMDA receptor-mediated EPSPs are more sensitive to hypoxia than AMPA receptor-mediated EPSPs

In slices kept at 33 degrees C, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor- and (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor-mediated field excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs) were pharmacologically isolated in CA1. Both types of EPSPs were reversibly blocked by 3 min of hypoxia (95% N2/5% CO2); but NMDA receptor-mediated EPSPs were consistently blocked earlier and recovered later than AMPA receptor-mediated EPSPs, recorded in the same slice. This difference may be due to inactivation of NMDA receptors by hypoxia-induced acidity and/or rise in internal [Ca2+].

2-Deoxy-D-glucose-induced changes in membrane potential, input resistance, and excitatory postsynaptic potentials of CA1 hippocampal neurons

Temporary block of glycolysis by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) reversibly suppresses synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices. Recovery of responses is followed by a sustained potentiation of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) (2-DG-LTP). To investigate the mechanisms involved in this type of LTP, we studied the effects of 2-DG on membrane properties of CA1 neurons (in slices from Sprague-Dawley rats), recorded with sharp intracellular electrodes containing 3 M KCl, as well as patch electrodes, filled mainly with 150 mM KMeSO4 and Hepes. The predominant change produced by 15- to 20-min applications of 2-DG (10 mM, replacing glucose) was hyperpolarization (-5.6 +/- 1.1 mV for 18 intracellular recordings and -7.2 +/- 0.80 mV for 17 whole-cell recordings) accompanied by a fall in resistance (-33 +/- 2.5% for 14 intracellular recordings and -11.6 +/- 7.1% for 15 whole-cell recordings). Virtually identical hyperpolarizations were recorded in the presence of 20 microM glyburide (-5.5 +/- 1.5 mV, n = 6), but they were abolished by adenosine antagonists 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (8-SPT) and 8-cyclopentyl-3,7-dihydro-1,3-dipropyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione (DPCPX) (2.8 +/- 1.6 and 4.0 +/- 1.7 mV, respectively; n = 5 for both). It was concluded that the hyperpolarization is most likely caused by an increase in K+ conductance, activated by a 2-DG-induced rise in adenosine release. After such applications of 2-DG, a sustained potentiation of EPSPs (similar to the 2-DG-LTP of field EPSPs) was evident in five neurons recorded with intracellular electrodes but not in any of nine whole-cell recordings, where it was replaced by sustained, LTD-like depression. We conclude that a factor essential for 2-DG-LTP induction is lost during whole-cell recording.

Adenosine release mediates cyanide-induced suppression of CA1 neuronal activity

The rapid suppression of CNS function produced by cyanide (CN) was studied by field, intracellular, and whole-cell recording in hippocampal slices (at 33-34 degrees C). Population spikes and field EPSPs were depressed by 4-5 min bath applications of 50-100 microM CN (IC50 was 18 miroM for spikes and 72 microM for EPSPs). The actions of CN were reversibly suppressed by the adenosine antagonists 8-sulfophenyltheophylline (8-SPT; 10 microM) and 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX; 0.2 microM), potentiated by the adenosine transport inhibitor dipyridamole (0.5 microM), but unaffected by the KATP channel blocker glyburide (10 microM). Therefore the CN-induced reductions of synaptic efficacy and postsynaptic excitability-demonstrated by synaptic input:output plots-are mediated mainly by adenosine. In whole-cell or intracellular recordings, CN depressed EPSCs and elicited an increase in input conductance and an outward current, the reversal potential of which was approximately -90 mV (indicating that K+ was the major carrier). These effects also were attenuated by 8-SPT. In the presence of 1 mM Ba, CN had no significant postsynaptic action; Cs (2 mM) also prevented CN-induced outward currents but only partly blocked the increase in conductance. Another 8-SPT-sensitive action of CN was to depress hyperpolarization-activated slow inward relaxations (Q current). At room temperature (22-24 degrees C), although it did not change holding current and slow inward relaxations, CN raised the input conductance; this effect also was prevented by 8-SPT (10 microM), but not by glyburide (10 microM). Adenosine release thus appears to be the major link between acute CN poisoning and early depression of CNS synaptic function.

Endogenous adenosine on membrane properties of CA1 neurons in rat hippocampal slices during normoxia and hypoxia

The effects of endogenous adenosine release on CA1 neurons in hippocampal slices were studied under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, by using extra-/intracellular and whole-cell recordings. During normoxia, the adenosine antagonist, 8-(p-sulphophenyl) theophylline (8-SPT) or adenosine deaminase (ADA) potentiated both evoked CA1 EPSPs and spontaneous synaptic activity, but not monosynaptic IPSPs; there was a minimal depolarization (by 1 mV), probably caused by the enhanced synaptic activity, but no increase in input conductance. Under voltage-clamp with KCl electrodes (with holding potential (VH) near -70 mV), hypoxia (4-5 min) elicited a rise in input conductance and an outward current that reversed near -90 mV, in keeping with the activation of K conductance. These effects of hypoxia were partly attenuated by 8-SPT (10 microM). The hypoxia-induced outward current and conductance increase were abolished by 1 mM Ba, being replaced by a small inward current and a conductance decrease. These data indicate that adenosine tonically inhibits excitatory, but not inhibitory, synaptic transmission, has no direct effect on input conductance, and contributes to the hyperpolarization and fall in input resistance induced by hypoxia.

Calcium dependence of LTP induced by 2-deoxyglucose in CA1 neurons

1. As previously reported, in hippocampal slices from Sprague-Dawley rats, 13-min applications of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) (substituting 10 mM 2-DG for glucose)-which sharply depress field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs)-are followed by a sustained potentiation of the initial slopes of EPSPs (2-DG-LTP). 2. Such 2-DG-LTP is not prevented by exposing slices to Ca(2+)-free medium for 25 min before the 13-min 2-DG applications (in Ca(2+)-free medium). Therefore 2-DG-LTP is not dependent on influx of external Ca2+ during the 2-DG applications. 3. When the Ca(2+)-free conditions begin 15 min before, and are maintained for 10 min after, the 13-min 2-DG applications (in Ca(2+)-free medium), 2-DG-LTP is either totally suppressed or much reduced. A delayed Ca2+ influx thus plays a crucial role in the induction of 2-DG-LTP. 4. Much longer Ca(2+)-free pretreatment (for 77 min) largely abolishes 2-DG-LTP. Therefore Ca2+ release from a compartment (presumably intracellular) that is not readily depleted is also important for the induction of 2-DG-LTP. 5. This intracellular Ca2+ store is sensitive to dantrolene sodium (10 microM)-which prevents 2-DG-LTP-but not 10 microM thapsigargin. 2-DG-LTP of isolated N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor-mediated EPSPs is only partly reduced by dantrolene. 6. Dantrolene (10 microM) also reduces or abolishes posttetanic potentiation, but not paired-pulse facilitation. 7. Depotentiation by 1-Hz stimulation is abolished by 20 microM dantrolene. 8. In contrast to the above, long-term potentiation (LTP) elicited by tetanic stimulation is prevented by 10 microM thapsigargin but not by dantrolene (< or = 50 microM). 9. In conclusion, two mechanisms of intracellular Ca2+ concentration increase appear to be essential for LTP induction by 2-DG. One is Ca2+ influx after the 2-DG application; the other is Ca2+ release from a dantrolene-sensitive internal store. The opposite effects of thapsigargin and dantrolene on 2-DG-LTP and tetanic LTP suggest that distinct internal sources of Ca2+ may be needed for the induction of these two forms of LTP.

Tolbutamide blocks Ca(2+)- and voltage-dependent K+ currents of hippocampal Ca1 neurons

In current-clamp recordings with KMeSO4 electrodes (either whole-cell or intracellular), though tolbutamide (0.5-1 mM) did not change the resting potential, it increased both input resistance (by 12 +/- 3.8%) and spontaneous firing, and spikes were evoked by smaller depolarizing pulses. Tolbutamide reduced in a dose-dependent manner both components of post-burst afterhyperpolarizations: IC50 was 0.15 mM for medium afterhyperpolarizations and 0.33 mM for slow afterhyperpolarizations. In whole-cell recordings under voltage-clamp, 0.5-1 mM tolbutamide depressed slow outward currents by 65 +/- 5.3%. The tolbutamide-sensitive current was Ca(2+)-dependent-tolbutamide being ineffective in Mn2+, low Ca(2+)-containing medium-though tolbutamide did not significantly depress high voltage-activated Ca2+ currents. Tolbutamide reduced C-type outward currents by 45 +/- 5.9% and M-type current inward relaxations by 41 +/- 12.9%, as well as Q-type current inward relaxations by 22 +/- 5.7%. Glyburide (10 microM) did not depress afterhyperpolarizations or outward currents, even in recordings with electrodes containing 1 mM guanosine diphosphate. We conclude that the most prominent effects of 0.5-1 mM tolbutamide on CA1 neurons are caused by suppression of Ca(2+)-and voltage-dependent outward currents, including IAHP, IC and IM.

Dantrolene depolarizes hippocampal neurons in slices from rats

In intracellular recordings by current clamp, dantrolene (sodium salt, 20 microM) regularly depolarized CA1 neurons (by approximately 13 mV), even in the presence of tetrodotoxin. Dantrolene almost abolished slow (but not medium) afterhyperpolarizations (AHP) (down by approximately 80%). As in previous experiments, dantrolene strongly depressed the hyperpolarization and resistance drop caused by hypoxia. Under voltage clamp (at approximately -70 mV), dantrolene accordingly elicited an inward current of approximately -100 pA and suppressed a voltage-dependent slow outward current and tail current, as well as the outward current generated by hypoxia. In addition, dantrolene enhanced Q-current (IQ) inward relaxations; but it had no effect on high voltage activated Ca currents and did not prevent their suppression by hypoxia. We conclude that depression of slow AHP current and increase in IQ probably account for the depolarizing action of dantrolene.

Nitric oxide tonically depresses a voltage- and Ca-dependent outward current in hippocampal slices

In whole-cell recordings from CA1 neurons, net outward currents (at ca. -20 mV, from VH ca. -50 mV) were 40-50% depressed by sodium nitroprusside (100-500 microM) or L-arginine (L-ARG; 50-200 microM), but not by D-arginine (100 microM). The NO synthase inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 200 microM) restored the L-ARG-depressed current to ca. 80% of control. In naive cells, L-NAME increased outward currents by 45 +/- 12.6%; the enhanced currents were then reduced by adding L-ARG (200-400 microM). The NO-sensitive current is Ca-dependent, because L-NAME and L-ARG were ineffective in Mn/low Ca medium or when electrodes contained 2.2 mM EGTA. Since high voltage-activated Ca-currents were unaltered by L-NAME, we conclude that NO tonically enhances excitability in slices by depressing a voltage- and calcium-dependent (IK(Ca)-type) outward current.

Long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices induced by temporary suppression of glycolysis

1. Temporary suppression of glycolysis by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG)-long enough to abolish CA1 population spikes (PSs) and reduce field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) by two-thirds-is followed by a sustained rebound of EPSPs and PSs (both up by 70-150%). 2. Post 2-DG long-term potentiation (2-DG-LTP) is prevented by block of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (NMDARs). Though 2-DG-LTP is normally expressed by other receptors, in presence of picrotoxin 2-DG causes similar LTP of NMDAR-mediated EPSPs. 3. Stimulation at 1 s-1 fully depotentiates 2-DG-LTP. 4. Unlike tetanic LTP, 2-DG-LTP is not pathway-specific, is not occluded by a preceding tetanic LTP (or vice versa) and is insensitive to block of NO synthesis. 5. Hypoglycemic states may have long-lasting after-effects on cerebral synaptic function.

Econazole, a blocker of Ca2+ influx, selectively suppresses LTP of EPSPs in hippocampal slices

Econazole--an agent that suppresses Ca2+ influx triggered by depletion of internal Ca-stores in non-excitable cells--was bath-applied to submerged slices from Sprague-Dawley rats. Econazole (15-20 microM) had no consistent effect on afferent volleys, EPSPs or population spikes; but in seven out of nine slices, it prevented the induction of tetanic long-term potentiation (LTP) of field EPSPS. By contrast, all slices showed a marked LTP of population spikes. Ca2+ influx induced by tetanic depletion of Ca2+ stores may be essential for LTP of excitatory synaptic transmission.

Internal Ca2+ stores involved in anoxic responses of rat hippocampal neurons

1. During whole-cell recordings from CA1 neurons of rat brain slices with electrodes containing only KMeSO4 and Hepes, brief anoxia (2-3 min) consistently evoked a hyperpolarization (delta V approximately 14 mV) and reduction in input resistance (delta R approximately -20%). 2. As in previous intracellular recordings, Dantrolene sodium (10 microM) suppressed the anoxic delta V and delta R, confirming the release of internal Ca2+ is a major component of the anoxic response. 3. To identify the relevant intracellular Ca2+ store, other blockers of Ca2+ release were applied either externally (in the bath) or internally, by addition to the contents of the recording electrode. 4. The anoxic hyperpolarization was abolished or much reduced by heparin (10-20 micrograms ml-1, internal), thapsigargin (10 microM, external), Ruthenium Red (50 microM, internal) and external procaine (0.5-2 mM), but not by internal procaine (0.5-1 mM) or ryanodine (10 microM, external). 5. The anoxic fall in resistance was also abolished or reduced by heparin, thapsigargin and external procaine, but not by ryanodine, internal procaine or Ruthenium Red. 6. In addition, external procaine (0.5-2 mM) eliminated the early (transient) depolarization and reduced the post-anoxic hyperpolarization by 60 +/- 22%. 7. None of these agents consistently changed the resting potential, but the input resistance was significantly increased by Dantrolene and external procaine. 8. In view of the marked effects of heparin and thapsigargin, but not ryanodine and internal procaine, we conclude that the anoxic response seen in such whole-cell recordings is initiated predominantly by Ca2+ release from an internal store that is InsP3 sensitive rather than Ca2+ sensitive. 9. Comparable but less pronounced effects of external procaine were seen during intracellular recordings with 3 M KCl-containing electrodes. The dose-dependent suppression of various features of the anoxic response by external procaine (EC50 approximately 0.2 mM) is presumed to be mediated by a superficial membrane trigger or modulating site.

Actions of diazoxide on CA1 neurons in hippocampal slices from rats

Membrane effects of diazoxide (DZX) were examined in CA1 pyramidal neurons, mainly by whole-cell recording in slices kept at 33 degrees C (from Sprague-Dawley rats). Bath applications of DZX (0.65 mM) did not significantly change the resting input conductance; but instantaneous inward rectification was reduced by 47 +/- 14% (near -110 mV). There was a similar depression of a large, sustained voltage-dependent outward current (by 44 +/- 11% near 0 mV). A nearly identical reduction of the outward current recorded in a Ca current suppressing medium (but not in 30 mM tetraethylammonium) indicated that the DZX-sensitive current includes the delayed rectifier. In Mn, low-Ca medium containing tetraethylammonium and carbachol, DZX potentiated (by 43 +/- 12%) the D-type slowly decaying outward current seen after hyperpolarizing pulses at a holding potential of approximately -50 mV. DZX abolished or depressed slow inward currents, such as the tetrodotoxin-sensitive persistent Na current, high voltage activated Ca currents (IC50 = 0.47 mM), and the Q current. In 6 of 13 cells recorded with electrodes containing either guanosine or adenosine diphosphate, DZX potentiated the voltage-dependent outward current, but input conductances were reduced. In conclusion, although there was little indication that it activates classical KATP channels in CA1 neurons, DZX strongly depresses several voltage-dependent, slowly inactivating outward and inward currents, which are important modulators of cell excitability.

Adenosine antagonists have differential effects on induction of long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices

How adenosine leakage and tetanic release might affect long-term potentiation (LTP) was investigated by applying adenosine antagonists 8(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (8SPT) or 8-cyclopentyl-3,7-dihydro-1,3-dipropyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione (DPCPX) to slices, while recording CA1 field EPSPs and population spikes. In the first series of experiments, we applied weak double tetani (at 100 Hz, for 1 s) that were subliminal for evoking LTP in initial control runs. In the presence of 8SPT--at concentrations (10-50 microM) which block both A1 and A2 receptors--the same tetani consistently evoked LTP of population spikes but not of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs), whereas DPCPX (50 nM), which blocks only A1 receptors, facilitated LTP of both EPSPs and population spikes. These results are consistent with previous evidence that tetanic adenosine release on the one hand depresses LTP via A1 receptors but on the other facilitates LTP via A2 receptors. In a second set of experiments, 8SPT (50-100 microM) did not prevent the induction of LTP of both EPSPs and population spikes by stronger tetanic stimulation. Therefore A2 receptor activation is not essential for the induction of LTP when stronger tetani are applied. Overall, the main effect of endogenous adenosine release is to oppose LTP induction.

Endogenous adenosine deaminase does not modulate synaptic transmission in rat hippocampal slices under normoxic or hypoxic conditions

Field and intracellular potentials were recorded from CA1 pyramidal stratum in submerged slices (at 33 degrees). During "normal" oxygenation (95% O2 + 5% CO2), tonic depression of population spikes and field excitatory postsynaptic potentials by endogenous adenosine was demonstrated by (i) the marked enhancement by the adenosine antagonists 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (10 microM) and caffeine (0.2 mM), (ii) depression by the transport blocker dipyridamole (5 microM), and (iii) enhancement by exogenous adenosine deaminase (all tested by bath application). Thus, adenosine deaminase (0.5 units/ml) reduced by 10.7 +/- 3.0% (S.E.) the half-maximal stimulus intensity (for population spikes). The effects of adenosine deaminase were prevented by the specific inhibitor, deoxycoformycin (30 microM). In intracellular recordings, excitatory postsynaptic potentials were enhanced in a comparable manner by adenosine deaminase. By contrast, neither deoxycoformycin (5 and 30 microM) nor erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (another adenosine deaminase inhibitor; 10 and 50 microM) had significant effects on population spikes. Superfusion with anoxic medium (saturated with 95% N2 + 5% CO2) for 2-3 min suppressed population spikes reversibly, by a mechanism involving adenosine, because 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (10 microM) and caffeine (0.2 mM) delayed the onset of anoxic block and accelerated the subsequent recovery, and the recovery was much slower or incomplete in the presence of dipyramidole (0.5 microM). However, the anoxic suppression of population spikes was not affected by deoxycoformycin (30 microM) or erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (10 microM); the corresponding 50% postanoxic recovery times were also unchanged (e.g. 4.0 +/- 0.2 min for controls and 4.1 +/- 0.3 min in deoxycoformycin).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Tolbutamide suppresses slow and medium afterhyperpolarization in hippocampal slices

Afterhyperpolarizations (AHPs) were recorded (in whole-cell mode, with KMeSO4-containing electrodes) after multiple spikes evoked with 200 ms current pulses. Bath applications of tolbutamide (0.5-1 mM) to 12 CA1 neurones nearly abolished the medium and slow component of AHPs. Thus the AHPs generated by 7-8 spikes (mostly) were reduced by 82.6 +/- 5.2% (s.e.m.) at the initial peak (mAHP) and by 85.0 +/- 5.8% 1 s later (sAHP). Glibenclamide (10 microM) had no comparable blocking effect. The previous finding that tolbutamide (but not glibenclamide) selectively suppresses the anoxic hyperpolarization of CA1 neurones is therefore consistent with the idea that the anoxic hyperpolarization is mediated by Ca-dependent (especially AHP-type) K channels.

Actions of cromakalim on outward currents of CA1 neurones in hippocampal slices

1. Membrane effects of cromakalim (Crom; 50-300 microM) were examined in CA1 neurones recorded mainly by intracellular, single-electrode voltage-clamping in slices (from Sprague-Dawley rats) kept in an interface chamber at 33 degrees C. 2. In 14 cells held at -63 +/- 3.5 mV, in the presence of tetrodotoxin, kynurenic acid and (in most cases) bicuculline, bath applied Crom produced no consistent change in holding current (-59 +/- 66 pA) or input conductance (GN) (-3.9 +/- 5.2%). 3. Overall there were no significant changes in instantaneous inward rectification or in Q-current inward relaxations. 4. In 18 out of 22 cells, outward currents, evoked by 0.5 s pulses to voltages > -50 and < -20 mV, were depressed by Crom (by 42 +/- 11%, for n = 22). Because this effect was consistently seen in Ca current-blocking media, containing either Mn and low Ca, or Cd (and also carbachol), the K channels depressed by Crom were probably of the delayed rectifier (IDR) type. 5. The Crom-control difference current (ICrom), obtained with slow depolarizing ramps, had a biphasic character, inward in the voltage (V) range > -50 < -20 mV (where outward currents are depressed by Crom) and tending outward for V > or = -20 mV. 6. In 10 out of 11 cells, Crom potentiated a D-like, slowly-inactivating outward current (by 88 +/- 31%, for n = 11). 7 The effects of Crom and of 2 min periods of anoxia were compared in 12 cells: unlike anoxia, Cromproduced no consistent increases in GN; the currents evoked in the same cells by anoxia differed significantly from those evoked by Crom (by 150 +/- 60 pA); the directions of current changes induced byCrom and anoxia respectively were not significantly correlated. Crom strongly depressed anoxic outward currents (by 80 +/- 12%, n = 4).8 Some Crom-induced effects (increases in D-like current and the outward current elicited at V>- 20 mV) were always reversed by tolbutamide (1 mM), but much less consistently by glibenclamide(10-30 microM).9 In conclusion, the effects of Crom, recorded with intracellular electrodes in CA1 neurones in slices,show little resemblance to the effects of activation of ATP-sensitive K channels.

Guanosine diphosphate is required for activation of a glyburide, ATP and cromakalim-sensitive outward current in rat hippocampal neurones

Voltage-dependent outward currents were examined in CA1 neurones by whole-cell recording in slices. Nine cells were recorded with the 'standard' internal solution (KMeSO4, HEPES, EGTA, CaCl2, and MgCl2) and held a potential (-54 +/- 3 mV) at which there was no significant outward current. Cromakalim (CROM, 100 microM) reduced both input conductance (GN) (by 14 +/- 4%) and outward currents, evoked over a wide range of potentials by brief depolarizing pulses: at -4.0 +/- 3.0 mV, currents diminished by 30 +/- 10%. When 1 mM GDP was added to the standard internal solution, there was a significant outward current at approximately -54 mV; and CROM greatly increased outward currents near -4.0 mV (by 99 +/- 26.4%, n = 10). The enhanced outward currents were reduced by CROM washout (in two cells) and by 10 microM glyburide (GLYB, in four cells). When six other cells were recorded with electrodes containing both ATP (5 mM) and GDP (1 mM), there was no net outward current at approximately -54 mV and CROM reduced outward currents (at approximately 0 mV, by 37.5 +/- 10.9%). We conclude that GDP in hippocampal neurones appears to activate an ATP- and GLYB-sensitive outward current, which is much potentiated by CROM.

Anoxia selectively depresses excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampal slices

EPSPs/IPSPs were recorded with intracellular electrodes from CA1 neurons close to site of stimulation. Brief anoxia (3 min) abolished EPSPs but reduced IPSPs by 64.8 +/- 4.0% (n = 10); the remaining IPSP was presumed to be monosynaptic. The effects of anoxia on purely monosynaptic IPSPs were examined after pharmacological blockade of excitatory synaptic transmission with 2 mM kynurenate or 20 microM CNQX + 20 microM APV. In these tests, after 3 min of anoxia the slopes of IPSPs vs. membrane potential were reduced by only 38.2 +/- 4.3% (n = 12). The present study demonstrates that, contrary to previous reports, inhibitory synaptic transmission is quite resistant to anoxia.

Diazoxide suppresses slowly-inactivating outward and inward currents in CA1 hippocampal neurones

Diazoxide (DZX) opens ATP-sensitive K (KATP) channels in muscle and other cells. In whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings in slices, in the presence of kynurenate and bicuculline to minimize indirect effects, DZX (0.65 mM) did not increase input conductance; but it sharply reduced persistent inward and outward currents. An inward current (peak near -20 mV) was especially clear in the presence of K channel blockers; was fully evident in Ca-channel blocking medium; but was abolished by tetrodotoxin. The main direct effects of DZX on these neurones are thus mediated not by activation of KATP channels, but rather by modulation of voltage-dependent channels, including a TTX-sensitive persistent NA current and possibly a Ca current.

Tolbutamide suppresses anoxic outward current of hippocampal neurons

In hippocampal slices, 2-3 min of hypoxia often evokes a hyperpolarisation or outward current. In the presence of tetrodotoxin and kynurenic acid (to minimize indirect effects of the drugs), we applied two sulphonylureas to detect a possible involvement of ATP-sensitive K (KATP) channels. In all 9 cells tested, tolbutamide (TOLB, 0.1-1 mM) greatly reduced both the hypoxic current (by 81.3 +/- 9.4%) and the conductance increase (by 77.2 +/- 10.2%). By contrast, glibenclamide (GLIB, 10-30 microM) tested on 5 cells, had no comparable effects. We therefore conclude that if KATP channels play a role in the hypoxic response, they are likely to be of the low affinity type found in neocortical and hypothalamic neurons.

Sulphonylureas reduce the slowly inactivating D-type outward current in rat hippocampal neurons

1. Using intracellular recording in hippocampal slices, we have examined, in CA3 pyramidal neurons, the effects of sulphonylureas (blockers of ATP-sensitive K+ channels) on the slowly inactivating D-type K+ current (ID). 2. In the presence of TTX (1 microM) to block Na+ currents, ID had the following characteristics: activation by large depolarizing pulses from membrane potentials negative to -75 mV, slow inactivation kinetics, high sensitivity to 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 3-40 microM), insensitivity to tetraethylammonium (TEA, 10 mM), Cs+ (3 mM) and carbachol (50 microM). 3. Applications of glibenclamide (10 microM) did not modify the input conductance of the cell, but reduced the amplitude of ID by 31.2 +/- 5.6% (n = 16), without altering its voltage dependence and inactivation kinetics. The effects were usually reversible. 4. Glibenclamide also reduced ID in the presence of TEA (10 mM), Cs+ (3 mM) and carbachol (50 microM), to block several K+ currents (IK, IC, IQ, IM), as well as kynurenate (1 mM) and bicuculline (10 microM) to block on-going synaptic currents mediated by activation of non-NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) and GABA (gamma-aminobutyrate)-A receptors, respectively. 5. Comparable depressions of ID were produced by two other sulphonylureas: gliquidone (10 microM), 42.6 +/- 7.9% (n = 13) and tolbutamide (500 microM), 39.1 +/- 12.8 (n = 8). 6. It is concluded that, in the central nervous system, sulphonylureas can modulate K+ currents which are not generated by ATP-sensitive K+ channels.

Adenosine release is a major cause of failure of synaptic transmission during hypoglycaemia in rat hippocampal slices

Glucose-free medium (aglycaemia) caused a complete failure of CA1 population spikes (after 14.5 +/- 0.8 min) and field EPSPs (after 18.1 +/- 0.5 min). In the presence of the selective adenosine A1 antagonist, 8-(p-sulfophenyl)theophylline (10 microM), population spikes and EPSPs were decreased by only 13.8 +/- 11.9% and 32.4 +/- 11.6% at the end of 17.0 +/- 3.0 min and 19.8 +/- 1.7 min of aglycaemia, respectively. A similar effect was produced by caffeine (0.2 mM). The ATP-sensitive K+ channel blockers tolbutamide (1 mM) and glibenclamide (10 microM) had no significant effect on aglycaemic suppression of synaptic transmission. These observations indicate that endogenous adenosine, but not ATP-sensitive K+ conductance, plays a major role in hypoglycaemia failure of transmission.

Effects of trifluoperazine on synaptically evoked potentials and membrane properties of CA1 pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampus in situ and in vitro

The effects of trifluoperazine (TFP), a phenothiazine antipsychotic, on hippocampal activity were studied in the CA1 subfield, both in situ and in slices. In the extracellular studies in situ and in vitro, both somatic population spikes and dendritic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) fields were depressed reversibly by TFP, applied by microiontophoresis or in the bath (50-100 microM). Similar effects were also seen during iontophoretic applications of sphingosine in situ. Like TFP (at micromolar concentrations) sphingosine is a dual Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor. In intracellular recordings from slices, 50-100 microM TFP induced a slow depolarization and a decrease in input resistance (RN), probably through a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated increase in Cl- conductance (GCl). TFP also reduced the slow afterhyperpolarization (AHP) as well as electrically evoked inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs), but EPSPs were augmented in both amplitude and duration. When CA1 neurons were voltage clamped, TFP elicited a corresponding inward current (consistent with depolarization), increased the leak conductance, and enhanced excitatory synaptic currents; whereas inhibitory synaptic currents and high-threshold Ca2+ currents were reduced. In conclusion, these effects of TFP--which cannot be readily explained by its potent antidopamine action--are in keeping with other evidence that both Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase and PKC can modulate GCl-conductance and high-threshold Ca(2+)-conductance, as well as inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic currents.

Modulation of high-threshold Ca current and spontaneous postsynaptic transient currents by phorbol 12,13-diacetate, 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methyl piperazine (H-7), and monosialoganglioside (GM1) in CA1 pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampus in vitro

Phorbol esters, which activate protein kinase C (PKC), enhance synaptic transmission in the CA1 subfield of hippocampus, both in situ and in vitro. The increase in synaptic transmission could be the consequence of enhanced Ca influx into nerve terminals, and perhaps a more general increase in voltage-dependent Ca currents. The effects of phorbol 12,13-diacetate (PDAc) on the high-voltage activated (HVA) Ca currents, as well as spontaneous transient currents were therefore investigated by intracellular recording in hippocampal slices. PDAc selectively augmented, by 45% +/- 10%, the early peak of the HVA Ca current (but not its sustained component), and also spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents. The inactive phorbol ester, 4 alpha-PDAc, had no comparable effects. The actions of PDAc were reversible on prolonged washing, and they were antagonized by the PKC inhibitors (1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methyl piperazine (H-7) and monosialoganglioside (GM1). In addition, GM1, which also activates the Ca/calmodulin-dependent kinase, enhanced spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents, while inhibiting the IPSCs. It is concluded that activation of PKC increases HVA (probably N-type) Ca current and facilitates ongoing GABAergic IPSCs.

Whole-cell recording of anoxic effects on hippocampal neurons in slices

1. In 400-microns-thick slices from young adult Sprague-Dawley rats, CA1 pyramidal layer neurons were studied by the whole-cell recording technique. The patch pipettes were filled most often with (in mM) 140 potassium gluconate, 2 MgCl2, and 0.2 guanosine triphosphate (GTP): in many cases, 2 mM ATP and/or 1.1 mM EGTA and 0.1 mM Ca were added. The slices were kept at 30-32 degrees C. 2. Cells recorded with ATP-containing electrodes had a much higher input resistance (RN, 101 +/- 5.6 M omega, mean +/- SE) and somewhat less negative resting potentials (Vm; -59.8 +/- 1.1 mV) than cells recorded with ATP-free electrodes (71 +/- 2.7 M omega and -63.1 +/- 0.8 mV). The presence or absence of ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) or the substitution of KCl for potassium gluconate did not significantly affect Vm or RN. 3. Overall changes in Vm and RN elicited by anoxia (95% N2-5% CO2 for 3-6 min) were much less pronounced than those seen previously with intracellular electrodes: instead of a hyperpolarization and a approximately 50% fall in RN, there was only a minor depolarization (by 2.4 +/- 0.7 mV) and a small reduction in RN (by 12 +/- 2.4%). During voltage clamp, at holding potentials approximately -35 mV, anoxia evoked only very small outward currents, especially when we recorded with ATP-containing electrodes. 4. The remaining anoxic changes in RN (but not Vm) were very significantly smaller (P < 0.001) when recorded with ATP-containing electrodes (-6 +/- 1.4%) than with ATP-free electrodes (-19 +/- 2.7%). The presence of internal EGTA (1.1-11 mM) was associated with significantly smaller (P < 0.05) anoxic changes in RN: -9.7 +/- 2.0% versus -17 +/- 3.1% in its absence. EGTA also reduced slow afterhyperpolarizations by 80%, though even 11 mM EGTA did not abolish them. However, EGTA had no significant effect on anoxic changes in Vm and did not suppress voltage sags observed during applications of hyperpolarizing current pulses. 5. Judging by these observations, it appears that 1) the much greater anoxic changes in Vm and RN recorded with intracellular electrodes are probably mediated by a diffusible cytosolic agent and 2) during whole-cell recording, both resting RN and the anoxic fall in RN are more strongly determined by cytosolic [ATP] than [Ca]. How ATP affects RN and anoxic changes in RN remains to be established.

Cellular and synaptic actions of general anaesthetics

1. This paper briefly reviews mechanisms by which such widely-used volatile anaesthetics as halothane and isoflurane suppress neural function in the brain. 2. In general, anaesthetics tend to depress neuronal firing and excitatory synaptic transmission, and potentiate synaptic inhibition. 3. According to recent evidence, a particular important action of anaesthetics is to inactivate a variety of both voltage-dependent and agonist-triggered Ca-currents. 4. Activation of K outward currents and Na inward currents probably occurs only with higher doses of anaesthetics. 5. How anaesthetics interfere with Ca-channels remains largely a matter of speculation--though some evidence favours a Ca-mediated action, following Ca2+ release from internal stores, that may account also for potentiation of IPSPs by prolonging the opening of GABA-activated Cl- channels. 6. Whatever its precise underlying mechanism, a suppression of Ca-influx into pre-synaptic terminals could well account for the depression of excitatory synaptic transmission.

Developmental and regional differences in the vulnerability of rat hippocampal slices to lack of glucose

Field excitatory postsynaptic potentials were recorded in stratum radiatum of CA1 and CA3 in submerged hippocampal slices from adult or newborn (postnatal days 5-25) Wistar rats. In adult slices, excitatory postsynaptic potentials were depressed by glucose removal ("aglycemia") more rapidly and to a greater extent in CA1 than in CA3 [respective mean times to 50% reduction in peak amplitude were 7.5 +/- 0.83 (standard error) min and 12.5 +/- 0.27 (standard error) min]. Subsequent recovery of excitatory postsynaptic potentials in normoglycemic medium was correspondingly quicker in CA3 than in CA1. Transmission failure at the synapses was indicated by the preservation of the afferent volley, and sharp depression of synaptic input-output plots. In the early postnatal period, CA1 excitatory postsynaptic potentials were much more resistant to aglycemia, substantially persisting for as long as 75 min, with full subsequent recovery in normoglycemic medium. The higher resistance of slices from newborn rats progressively disappeared over the first two postnatal weeks.

Glibenclamide depresses the slowly inactivating outward current (ID) in hippocampal neurons

Sulphonylurea drugs, such as glibenclamide and tolbutamide, are widely used as selective blockers of adenosine triphosphate-sensitive K channels. In experiments on hippocampal slices (from Wistar rats) glibenclamide (and possibly gliquidone and tolbutamide) significantly reduced the highly voltage-dependent, 4-aminopyridine-sensitive D-type outward current of CA3 neurons. Judging by these observations, the sulphonylureas may not be as selective as generally believed.

Persistent pulsatile release of glutamate induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate in neonatal rat hippocampal neurones

1. Intracellular recordings were made from CA3 hippocampal neurones in vitro, during the first ten days of postnatal life and in adulthood. 2. Repeated (three to six) applications of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), in the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1-3 microM) and K+ channel blockers (tetraethylammonium chloride or bromide (TEA), 10 mM, and Cs+, 2 mM; or 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), 30-50 microM, and Cs+, 2 mM) induced in neonatal but not in adult neurones, periodic inward currents (PICs) which persisted for several hours after the last application of NMDA. 3. PICs which were due to non-specific cation currents had a frequency of 0.10 +/- 0.04 Hz, and an amplitude of 1.1 +/- 0.28 nA at holding potentials between -40 and -50 mV. The amplitude was a linear function of the membrane potential over the range -70 to +20 mV. They reversed polarity at 4.1 +/- 9.8 mV. 4. K+ channel blockers alone failed to induce PICs. Repeated (three to six) brief applications of high (12 mM) K+ medium also induced PICs. The frequency and amplitude of K(+)-induced PICs were however considerably reduced by concomitant applications of the NMDA receptor antagonist D,L-3-[( +/- )-2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl-]propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP, 20 microM). PICs could be induced also by caffeine (1 mM) in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine (IBMX, 200 microM), TTX, TEA and Cs+. 5. Intracellular injection of the calcium chelator 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA) did not prevent the induction of PICs by NMDA. However PICs were blocked by removal of the external calcium and by the calcium antagonists cobalt (2 mM) and cadmium (50 microM). 6. In spite of blockade of propagated synaptic activity by TTX, PICs were synchronous in a pair of intracellularly recorded cells. They were also synchronous with extracellular spikes recorded by electrodes located into stratum pyramidal or stratum radiatum. 7. Once established, PICs were unaffected by NMDA receptor antagonists D(-)2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (AP-5, 50 microM), CPP (20 microM) and the NMDA channel blocker ketamine (10 microM). They were reversibly blocked by the broad spectrum excitatory amino acid antagonist kynurenic acid (1 mM) and by the selective non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 10 microM). 8. It is concluded that PICs are generated in neonatal neurones by a synchronous, pulsatile release of glutamate from presynaptic nerve terminals, secondary to oscillations in intracellular calcium.

Anoxic block of GABAergic IPSPs

In rat hippocampal slices GABAergic IPSPs are very rapidly suppressed by anoxia (in less than 2 min). Both early (GABAA) and late (GABAB) components are affected. After reoxygenation, the IPSPs recover, but only slowly and not always completely. Iontophoretic applications of GABA or baclofen indicated no major depression of responses during anoxia. It is therefore unlikely that the anoxic suppression of IPSPs is caused by desensitizations of GABA receptors. A more probable explanation is a failure of GABAergic neurons to release GABA from inhibitory nerve terminals.