Abstract
Tricyclic antidepressants, in particular amitriptyline (ATL) and desipramine (DES), are currently used to treat depression and chronic pain of various origins, in which NMDA receptor dysfunctions play an important role. The effect of therapeutic concentrations of ATL on calcium-dependent desensitization of NMDA receptors, driven by the level of free calcium in the cytoplasm, is well-known. In addition, in cardiomyocytes, ATL and DES can cause the release of calcium into the cytoplasm from intracellular stores by opening inositol-3-phosphate (IP3R) and / or ryanodine receptors (RyR) channels. The aspect of the effect of these drugs on neurons remains poorly understood. We studied the dependence of the calcium response to DES and ATL on the activation of IP3R and RyR of the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria using rat neocortex neurons in primary culture. Short-term (30 s) paired (5 min interval) applications of 200 μM DES or 200 μM ATL induce similar magnitude calcium responses in cortical neurons. The use of RyR and IP3R antagonists showed that responses to ATL are blocked by the IP3R antagonist 2-APB (100 μM), while responses to DES are blocked by ryanodine, the RyR antagonist (100 nM). Since intracellular distribution of RyR and IP3R is not homogenous, it can be assumed that DES and ATL stimulate calcium release from different calcium depots, representing segments of the reticulum or mitochondria. In addition, ATL and DES, being channel blockers of NMDA receptors, inhibited calcium entry from outside the cell via activated NMDA receptors. Considering the high concentrations of DES and ATL (more than 100 μM) required to stimulate the release of deposited calcium in neurons, it seems unlikely that such effects participate their therapeutic action. However, the found specificity of DES and ATL for RyR and IP3R, respectively, can be used as a tool for experimental purposes.
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