Calcium-mediated damage following hypoxia in cerebral cortex ex vivo studied by NMR spectroscopy. Evidence for direct involvement of voltage-gated Ca2+-channels

Abstract

Calcium plays a prominent role in the neuronal degeneration which accompanies stroke and there has been much conjecture about the possible source of this Ca2+. The transmembrane Ca2+ transporting processes are considered likely candidates for the ischemia-induced rise in intracellular Ca2+. In the present paper we have monitored metabolism in the cerebral cortex in vitro before, during and after aglycaemic hypoxia using 31P and 1H NMR spectroscopy. We used the recovery of cellular metabolites phosphocreatine, ATP, lactate, glutamate and N-acetyl aspartate determined by NMR as an indicator of cell damage caused by hypoxia. Phosphocreatine concentration recovered to only approximately 58% of its control level following 15 min of aglycaemic hypoxia in the presence of 1.2 mM Ca2+. The ratios of phosphocreatine/ATP, lactate/N-acetyl aspartate and glutamate/N-acetyl aspartate did not differ at 1 h of recovery from the prehypoxia levels showing that the hypoxia resistant cells were metabolically viable. In the absence of external Ca2+, phosphocreatine recovery improved to approximately 80%. Ten mM Mg2+ or 25 microM diltiazem in the presence of 1.2 mM Ca2+ improved recovery of phosphocreatine to approximately 85%. Two other antagonists of L-type voltage-gated Ca(2+)-channels, verapamil and nifedipine, did not protect the cerebral cortex from hypoxic damage. N-methyl-D-aspartate (100 microM) applied during hypoxia with 1.2 mM Ca2+ did not augment the loss of phosphocreatine indicating that the cellular damage was not potentiated by the drug, even when 30 mM K+ was present. The presence of N-methyl-D-aspartate did not weaken the protective effect of diltiazem. Blockade of N-methyl-D-aspartate or non-N-methyl-D-aspartate channels did not alleviate cellular damage caused by hypoxic insult. The present results suggest that the immediate, Ca(2+)-mediated neuronal damage in the cerebral cortex may be mediated by Ca2+ influx through L-type voltage-gated Ca(2+)-channels.