Participation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and beta-adrenergic receptors in the facilitatory effect of noradrenaline on the response of cultured cerebellar neurons to glutamate

Changes in neurotransmitter sensitivity in the mouse neocortical slice following propranolol and theophylline administration

1. The mouse neocortical slice has been used to examine the sensitivity of neurones to isoprenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and adenosine acutely and following chronic treatment of animals with propranolol or theophylline. 2. While having little effect alone, all three agonists enhanced the d.c. depolarizing potential produced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). The effect of (-)-isoprenaline (0.2 microM) was shared by (+)-isoprenaline at the much higher concentration of 10 microM. 3. Superfusion of slices with theophylline or 8-phenyltheophylline blocked responses to adenosine with evidence of selectivity. A single injection of theophylline 24 h before slice preparation did not alter agonist sensitivity, but when administered daily at 100 mg kg-1 for 14 days, the xanthine caused a loss of sensitivity to adenosine and (-)-isoprenaline but not 5-HT. The lower dose of theophylline, 10 mg kg-1 daily, also led to a loss of adenosine responses but no change of sensitivity to the amines. 4. Following the 14 day treatment with theophylline at 100 mg kg-1 daily in two groups of mice, responses to adenosine recovered to control levels after 20 days. 5. Propranolol superfusion blocked responses to both isomers of isoprenaline and 5-HT but did not affect sensitivity to adenosine. 6. Chronic treatment with propranolol at 25 mg kg-1 daily for 14 days induced a loss of sensitivity to (-)-isoprenaline and 5-HT but not adenosine. A lower dose of 5 mg kg-1 daily caused no change in responses to adenosine or 5-HT, but yielded an increased sensitivity to (-)-isoprenaline. 7. The results are discussed with respect to reports of receptor up-regulation in binding studies; caution is clearly required in extrapolating from such work to receptor activity in a functional system, especially in the case of theophylline and adenosine.

Localization of glutamatergic neurons in the dorsolateral pontine tegmentum projecting to the spinal cord of the cat with a proposed role of glutamate on lumbar motoneuron activity

Glutamate is considered to be a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. The presence of glutamate-like immunoreactive neurons in the rodent locus coeruleus has been reported previously. In this study we used both immunohistochemical and electrophysiological techniques to answer two major questions: (1) Is there any glutamate-like immunoreactivity in the catecholaminergic coeruleospinal system of the cat? (2) What is the physiological role, if any, of glutamate in descending locus coeruleus control of spinal motoneurons? Following injections of rhodamine-labeled latex microspheres or Fast Blue into the seventh lumbar segment of the spinal cord of the cat, retrogradely labeled cells were found throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the dorsolateral pontine tegmentum. They were primarily observed in the nucleus locus coeruleus and the Kolliker-Fuse nucleus. Some labeled cells were also present in the nucleus subcoeruleus and, to a lesser extent, in the parabrachial nuclei. Data from immunohistochemical studies indicate that 86% of all dorsolateral pontine tegmentum neurons that project to the spinal cord contain glutamate-like immunoreactivity, and 77% co-contain both glutamate- and tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity. Electrical stimulation (four pulses of 500 microseconds duration at 500 Hz; intensity = 50-200 microA) of the locus coeruleus, in decerebrate cats, consistently induced lumbar motoneuron discharges recordable ipsilaterally as ventral root responses. These motoneuronal responses were reversibly antagonized following chemical inactivation of noradrenergic locus coeruleus neurons by local infusion of the alpha 2-adrenergic agonist clonidine, suggesting the locus coeruleus neurons to be the main source of evoked ventral root responses. Additionally, the evoked ventral root responses were reversibly reduced by 34.20 +/- 4.45% (mean +/- S.E.M.) upon intraspinal injections of the non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione, into the ventral horn of seventh lumbar spinal cord segment (three to four injections, 20 nmol in 0.2 microliter of 0.1 M Tris-buffered saline for each injection). Similar volumes of vehicle injections had no significant effect on the locus coeruleus-evoked ventral root responses. These ventral root responses were also partially blocked (62.30 +/- 11.76%) by intravenous administration of the alpha 1-adrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin (20 micrograms/kg). In the light of several anatomical reports of noradrenergic and glutamatergic terminals in close contact with spinal motoneurons, our present findings suggest that the locus coeruleus-evoked ventral root response probably involves the synaptic release of both norepinephrine and glutamate onto lumbar motoneurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Modulation of GABAA receptor-activated current by norepinephrine in cerebellar Purkinje cells

Previous studies employing extracellular single-unit recording in the intact cerebellum have demonstrated that norepinephrine can potentiate GABA-induced suppression of Purkinje cell spike activity. However, many issues related to the nature of this modulatory phenomenon remain to be resolved. Using whole-cell patch clamp recording, the present study investigated the effect of norepinephrine on GABA-activated membrane currents (IGABA) in solitary Purkinje cells isolated from neonatal rat cerebella following acute dissociation. Exposure of Purkinje cells to norepinephrine at a concentration which, by itself, had no obvious effect on Purkinje cell membrane conductance, consistently augmented IGABA. The catecholamine also potentiated GABA-gated chloride currents as well as muscimol-induced currents in Purkinje cells. Thus, the facilitating effect of norepinephrine on IGABA was attributed to an interaction between norepinephrine and the GABAA receptor-mediated chloride conductance. The effect of norepinephrine could be mimicked by isoproterenol as well as by 8-bromo cAMP, suggesting that a beta-receptor-mediated, cAMP-dependent cascade may underlie the observed heteroreceptor interaction. Our results establish the existence of a postsynaptic mechanism by which norepinephrine, through activation of the beta-adrenoceptor, may modulate GABAA receptor function in cerebellar Purkinje cells. This study provides the groundwork for a detailed investigation into the cascade of membrane and intracellular events underlying such a synergistic modulatory interaction at the cellular and subcellular levels.

Subtypes of adrenergic receptors and intracellular mechanisms involved in modulatory effects of noradrenaline on glutamate

We have previously reported that the response of cultured chick cerebellar neurons to glutamate is enhanced by noradrenaline (NA) or isoproterenol and suppressed by clonidine. The present study was carried out to further specify the adrenergic receptor subtypes involved in the facilitatory effect of NA or isoproterenol and the suppressive effect of clonidine, and to examine the intracellular mechanisms underlying these modulatory effects of NA. The clonidine effect, which was mimicked by NA iontophoresed with large ejecting currents, was blocked by yohimbine and tolazoline (alpha 2 antagonists) and also by dibutyryl cyclic AMP or forskolin which augmented the glutamate response by itself. Prazosin, an alpha 1 receptor antagonist did not block the clonidine effect. NA- or isoproterenol-induced facilitation, which was mimicked by denopamine (beta 1 agonist), was antagonized by acebutolol (beta 1 antagonist) and not by ICI 118,551 (beta 2 antagonist). Pretreatment of neurons with pertussis toxin for more than 24 h blocked the suppressive action of clonidine without affecting the facilitatory action of isoproterenol. Furthermore, intracellular injection of GDP beta S inhibited the modulatory effects of either clonidine or isoproterenol. These results indicate that the facilitatory and inhibitory modulatory effects of NA may be mediated by beta 1 and alpha 2 receptors linked to cAMP systems, respectively, and the former is coupled with the stimulatory G protein (Gs) and the latter is with the inhibitory G protein (Gi).

Adaptive changes in the developing brain during intrauterine stress

Maturation of neurological performance in moderately to severely growth-retarded newborn infants (SGA) can be accelerated by 3 to 4 weeks or more when compared to the development of appropriately grown infants (AGA) of the same gestation. This is particularly the case in multiple pregnancies or pregnancies characterized by maternal hypertension. This clinical finding has been confirmed by neurophysiological studies on the maturation of brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs). The possible mechanisms which underly this phenomenon are not yet elucidated. Glucocorticoids, other steroid hormones and catecholamines are elevated in pregnancies with placental dysfunction, and it is known that these substances have multiple actions on neuronal maturation, particularly on mechanisms of release of neurotransmitters. These observations suggest that the acceleration of brain maturation, and lung maturation, in SGA infants reflects an adaptation of the fetus to early extrauterine life. However, if the placental dysfunction progresses, these mechanisms of adaptation will be overwhelmed by severe malnutrition and anoxia which result in cerebral lesions and risk of death. The clinical goal at the present time for obstetric management of these risk pregnancies is to distinguish between these two periods.