Abstract
The excitatory and inhibitory actions of metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonists were investigated in acutely dissociated rat hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons, using the conventional whole-cell and nystatin-perforated patch recording configurations under the voltage-clamp condition. With the conventional whole-cell recording, glutamate (Glu) and quisqualic acid (QA) induced only ionotropic inward currents accompanied by increased membrane conductance at a holding potential (VH) of -45 mV. The response was reversibly blocked in the presence of D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (d-AP5) and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), the antagonists ofN-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and non-NMDA receptor, respectively. With nystatin-perforated patch recording, mGlu responses insensitive to bothd-AP5 and CNQX were observed. Fifty-five % of the cells responded by a slow inward current accompanied by conductance decrease (ImGlui) at aVH of −44 mV. One % of the neurons showed an outward current with conductance increase (ImGluo), and 34% of the neurons showedImGluo followed byImGlui. The onset ofImGluo occurred approximately 900 ms after the response to 30 mM K+. The time to peak ofImGluo were 32- to 79-times longer than those of ionotropic responses.ImGlui appeared at lower concentrations than ionotropic Glu responses, whereasImGluo appeared at similar concentrations as ionotropic responses. The rank order of affinity was QA > Glu > (±)-1-aminocyclopentane-trans-1,3-dicar☐ylic acid (tACPD) for bothImGlui andImGluo. Half-maximal effective concentrations (EC50) and the threshold concentrations for the three agonists were four- to tenfold lower forImGlui than forImGluo. The current-voltage relationship showed that the reversal potentials ofImGlui andImGluo shifted 55 and 59 mV, respectively, for a tenfold change in extracellular K+ concentration, indicating that K+ is the charge carrier of both mGlu responses. DuringImGlui, both the leakage current and muscarine-sensitive voltage-dependent K+ current (M current) were suppressed.ImGluo induced by 10−4 M tACPD was abolished by 3 · 10−7 M charybdotoxin and 10−6 M ryanodine. These results show that there are two components of mGlu responses in CA3 pyramidal neurons and thatImGlui andImGluo show different pharmacological properties.
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