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Characteristics of AMPA receptor-mediated responses of cultured cortical and spinal cord neurones and their correlation to the expression of glutamate receptor subunits, GluR1-4.

ABSTRACT: Electrophysiological recordings have been used to characterize responses mediated by AMPA receptors expressed by cultured rat cortical and spinal cord neurones. The EC(50) values for AMPA were 17 and 11 microM, respectively. Responses of cortical neurones to AMPA were inhibited competitively by NBQX (pK(i)=6.6). Lower concentrations of NBQX (< or =1 microM) also potentiated the plateau responses of spinal cord neurones to AMPA, which could be attributed to a depression of desensitization to AMPA. GYKI 52466 inhibited responses of spinal cord neurones to AMPA to about twice the extent of responses of cortical neurones. Blockade of AMPA receptor desensitization by cyclothiazide (CTZ) potentiated responses of spinal cord neurones (6.8 fold) significantly more than responses of cortical neurones (4.8 fold). Responses of cortical neurones to KA were potentiated 3.5 fold by CTZ, while responses of spinal cord neurones were unaffected. Ultra-fast applications of AMPA to outside-out patches showed responses of spinal cord neurones desensitized by 97.5% and exhibit marked inward rectification, whereas cortical neurones desensitized by 91% and exhibited slight outward rectification. The time constants of deactivation and desensitization were about twice as fast in spinal cord than cortical neurones. In cortical neurones, single-cell RT - PCR showed GluR2 and GluR1 accounted for 91% of all subunits and were expressed together in 67% of neurones, predominantly as the flip variants (78%). GluR2 was detected alone in 24% of neurones. GluR3 and GluR4 were present in only 14 and 29% of neurones, respectively. For spinal cord neurones, GluR4(o) was detected in 81% of neurones, whereas predominantly flop versions of GluR1, 2 and 3 were detected in 38, 13 and 13% of neurones, respectively. These expression patterns are related to the respective pharmacological and mechanistic properties.

SUBMITTER: Dai WM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1572730 | biostudies-other | 2001 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Glutamate receptors of the AMPA type (AMPArs) mediate fast excitatory transmission in the dorsal horn and are thought to underlie perception of both acute and chronic pain. They are tetrameric structures made up from 4 subunits (GluR1-4), and subunit composition determines properties of the receptor. Antigen retrieval with pepsin can be used to reveal the receptors with immunocytochemistry, and in this study we have investigated the subunit composition at synapses within laminae I-III of the dorsal horn. In addition, we have compared staining of AMPArs with that for PSD-95, a major constituent of glutamatergic synapses. We also examined tissue from knock-out mice to confirm the validity of the immunostaining. RESULTS:As we have shown previously, virtually all AMPAr-immunoreactive puncta were immunostained for GluR2. In laminae I-II, approximately 65% were GluR1-positive and approximately 60% were GluR3-positive, while in lamina III the corresponding values were 34% (GluR1) and 80% (GluR3). Puncta stained with antibody against the C-terminus of GluR4 (which only detects the long form of this subunit) made up 23% of the AMPAr-containing puncta in lamina I, approximately 8% of those in lamina II and 46% of those in lamina III. Some overlap between GluR1 and GluR3 was seen in each region, but in lamina I GluR1 and GluR4 were present in largely non-overlapping populations. The GluR4 puncta often appeared to outline dendrites of individual neurons in the superficial laminae. Virtually all of the AMPAr-positive puncta were immunostained for PSD-95, and 98% of PSD-95 puncta contained AMPAr-immunoreactivity. Staining for GluR1, GluR2 and GluR3 was absent in sections from mice in which these subunits had been knocked out, while the punctate staining for PSD-95 was absent in mice with a mutation that prevents accumulation of PSD-95 at synapses. CONCLUSION:Our results suggest that virtually all glutamatergic synapses in laminae I-III of adult rat spinal cord contain AMPArs. They show that synapses in laminae I-II contain GluR2 together with GluR1 and/or GluR3, while the long form of GluR4 is restricted to specific neuronal populations, which may include some lamina I projection cells. They also provide further evidence that immunostaining for AMPAr subunits following antigen retrieval is a reliable method for detecting these receptors at glutamatergic synapses.

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Characteristics of AMPA receptor-mediated responses of cultured cortical and spinal cord neurones and their correlation to the expression of glutamate receptor subunits, GluR1-4.

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