Intracellular alkalinization potentiates slow inward current and prolonged bursting in a molluscan neuron

Na(+)/K(+) pump interacts with the h-current to control bursting activity in central pattern generator neurons of leeches

The dynamics of different ionic currents shape the bursting activity of neurons and networks that control motor output. Despite being ubiquitous in all animal cells, the contribution of the Na(+)/K(+) pump current to such bursting activity has not been well studied. We used monensin, a Na(+)/H(+) antiporter, to examine the role of the pump on the bursting activity of oscillator heart interneurons in leeches. When we stimulated the pump with monensin, the period of these neurons decreased significantly, an effect that was prevented or reversed when the h-current was blocked by Cs(+). The decreased period could also occur if the pump was inhibited with strophanthidin or K(+)-free saline. Our monensin results were reproduced in model, which explains the pump's contributions to bursting activity based on Na(+) dynamics. Our results indicate that a dynamically oscillating pump current that interacts with the h-current can regulate the bursting activity of neurons and networks.

The hypoxia-induced facilitation of augmented breaths is suppressed by the common effect of carbonic anhydrase inhibition

The typical respiratory response to hypoxia includes a dramatic facilitation of augmented breaths (ABs) or 'sighs' in the breathing rhythm. We recently found that when acetazolamide treatment is used to promote CO(2) retention and counteract alkalosis during exposure to hypoxia, then the hypoxia-induced facilitation of ABs is effectively prevented. These results indicate that hyperventilation-induced hypocapnia/alkalosis is an essential factor involved in the hypoxia-induced facilitation of augmented breaths. However, acetazolamide is also known to decrease the sensitivity of the arterial chemoreceptors. Therefore, the question remains as to whether acetazolamide prevents the facilitation of ABs during hypoxia by offsetting the effects of respiratory alkalosis, or alternatively by suppressing carotid body afferent activity. In the present study, we addressed this question by studying the effects of treatment with an alternative carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, methazolamide, which has been reported to leave carotid body responsiveness to hypoxia intact. Respiratory variables were monitored before, during and after 2 days of methazolamide treatment (10 mg kg(-1) IP, bid) in unsedated and unrestrained adult male rats. Pre-treatment, the number of ABs observed in a 5 min observation window was 1.2 + or - 0.8 and 17.4 + or - 3.8 in room air and hypoxia, respectively. During methazolamide treatment, the facilitation of ABs in hypoxia was rapidly and reversibly suppressed such that ABs we no longer significantly more frequent than they were in room air. The present results demonstrate that the hypoxia-induced facilitation of ABs can be suppressed via the general effects of carbonic anhydrase inhibition, which are common to both acetazolamide and methazolamide. We discuss these results as they pertain to the mechanisms regulating augmented breath production, and the possible association between hypocapnia/alkalosis and sleep disordered breathing.

Intracellular pH-dependent peroxynitrite-evoked synergistic death of glucose-deprived astrocytes

Previously, we reported that glucose-deprived astrocytes were highly vulnerable to peroxynitrite (ONOO-). Here we demonstrate that the increased vulnerability caused by glucose deprivation and ONOO- depends on intracellular pH. The ONOO- releasing reagent 3-morpholinosydnonimine (SIN-1) markedly induced the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, the marker of cytotoxicity) in glucose-deprived astrocytes. Morphological studies and caspase activity assay showed that astrocytes treated together with glucose deprivation and ONOO- died mostly in a necrotic mode. Alkalinization of pH from 7.4 to 7.8 increased LDH release, whereas acidification from pH 7.4 to 7.0 decreased it. However, intracellular pH (pHi), not extracellular pH (pHe), appeared to play a critical role in the synergistic death. Thus, without a change in pHe (7.4) cytosolic acidification by a weak acid salt, sodium acetate, and a Na+/H+ antiporter inhibitor, amiloride, reduced LDH release. In contrast, a weak base, NH4Cl, and a Na+/H+ antiporter stimulator, monensin, increased pHi and greatly enhanced LDH release. The augmented death was found to be due, in part, to the preceding decrease in the level of reduced glutathione, the ONOO- scavenger, and collapse of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential at alkaline pH.

Effect of acute exposure to ammonia on glutamate transport in glial cells isolated from the salamander retina

A rise of brain ammonia level, as occurs in liver failure, initially increases glutamate accumulation in neurons and glial cells. We investigated the effect of acute exposure to ammonia on glutamate transporter currents in whole cell clamped glial cells from the salamander retina. Ammonia potentiated the current evoked by a saturating concentration of L-glutamate, and decreased the apparent affinity of the transporter for glutamate. The potentiation had a Michaelis-Menten dependence on ammonia concentration, with a K(m) of 1.4 mM and a maximum potentiation of 31%. Ammonia also potentiated the transporter current produced by D-aspartate. Potentiation of the glutamate transport current was seen even with glutamine synthetase inhibited, so ammonia does not act by speeding glutamine synthesis, contrary to a suggestion in the literature. The potentiation was unchanged in the absence of Cl(-) ions, showing that it is not an effect on the anion current gated by the glutamate transporter. Ammonium ions were unable to substitute for Na+ in driving glutamate transport. Although they can partially substitute for K+ at the cation counter-transport site of the transporter, their occupancy of these sites would produce a potentiation of < 1%. Ammonium, and the weak bases methylamine and trimethylamine, increased the intracellular pH by similar amounts, and intracellular alkalinization is known to increase glutamate uptake. Methylamine and trimethylamine potentiated the uptake current by the amount expected from the known pH dependence of uptake, but ammonia gave a potentiation that was larger than could be explained by the pH change, and some potentiation of uptake by ammonia was still seen when the internal pH was 8.8, at which pH further alkalinization does not increase uptake. These data suggest that ammonia speeds glutamate uptake both by increasing cytoplasmic pH and by a separate effect on the glutamate transporter. Approximately two-thirds of the speeding is due to the pH change.

Burst firing of action potentials in central snail neurons elicited by d-amphetamine: effect of anticonvulsants

The effect of anticonvulsants on the burst firing of action potentials in snail central neuron elicited by d-amphetamine was studied in the identified RP4 neuron of the African snail, Achatina fulica Ferussac. Oscillation of membrane potential and burst firing of action potentials were elicited by d-amphetamine in a concentration-dependent manner. Voltage clamped studies revealed that d-amphetamine elicited a negative slope resistance (NSR) in steady-state I-V curve between - 40 and - 10 mV. The burst firing of action potentials was alleviated following extracellular application of phenytoin, but was not affected after ethosuximide, carbamazepine, and valproic acid. The NSR elicited by d-amphetamine was blocked by phenytoin. However, the NSR was not altered if carbamazepine was added. These results suggest that of the four anticonvulsants tested, only phenytoin could alleviate the burst firing of action potentials elicited by d-amphetamine in snail neuron.

CO2/HCO3(-)-withdrawal from the bath medium of hippocampal slices: biphasic effect on intracellular pH and bioelectric activity of CA3-neurons

Many studies analyzing interactions of pH and bioelectric activity focus on changes of the extracellular pH, whereas data concerning central neuronal excitability and intracellular pH (pHi) are rare. Here, we report on the spontaneous bioelectric activity and epileptiform activity of CA3-neurons during a procedure which changed pHi. As monitored in BCECF-AM loaded cells, the change from a CO2/HCO3(-)-buffered to a HEPES-buffered medium (CO2/HCO3(-)-withdrawal, hereafter termed W) was associated with a transient intracellular alkalosis (delta pH = 0.2 +/- 0.04) which preceded a sustained intracellular acidosis (delta pH = 0.4 +/- 0.04). Coinciding with this W-induced biphasic shift of pHi a biphasic alteration of spontaneous bioelectric activity was recorded: as a rule, an up to 30 min lasting increase (excitatory phase) preceded a typical sustained suppression (inhibitory phase). This biphasic action was also observed using various in vitro-epilepsy-models (bicuculline, penicillin, caffeine): epileptiform discharges were completely suppressed after an initial increase in frequency. This modulation of bioelectric activity was unlikely due to alterations of the postsynaptic GABA-system as hyperpolarizing GABAA- and GABAB-responses of CA3-neurons were hardly affected. In the majority of the neurons, the initial increase of spontaneous bioelectric activity (excitatory phase) culminated in transient burst periods lasting 5-30 min. These transient burst periods were blocked by NMDA- or AMPA-antagonists: DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV, 50 microM) or 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 50 microM). The calcium-antagonist verapamil (50 microM) reduced amplitudes of depolarizations and duration of the transient burst periods. The results suggest that the biphasic alteration of pHi modulates the susceptibility of glutamate receptors and voltage-gated calcium-channels, which leads to respective changes of bioelectric activity.

An investigation of the effect of amtizol on the plastic properties of the membrane of the Retzius neuron of the leech

The effect of amtizol, a blocker of the inactivation of calcium-dependent potassium channels of the outward current, on the spontaneous and evoked impulse activity of these cells was investigated in experiments on Retzius neurons of the leech. It was demonstrated that the extracellular application of amtizol induces a decrease in the amplitude and an increase in the duration of evoked AP, while not exerting a perceptible influence on the form of the spontaneous AP. In addition, disruption of the development of the process of habituation that develops in the norm during high-frequency synaptic activation of the neuron is observed in a solution containing amtizol.

A change from HCO3(-)-CO2- to hepes-buffered medium modifies membrane properties of rat CA1 pyramidal neurones in vitro

1. Intracellular recordings were obtained from CA1 pyramidal neurones in rat hippocampal slices. Perfusion with a HCO3(-)-CO2-free, HEPES-buffered medium at pH 7.4 produced a wide variety of reversible effects on neuronal excitability, compared to responses obtained under standard (21 mM-HCO3-, 5% CO2, pH 7.4) conditions. 2. Introduction of HCO3(-)-CO2-free medium most commonly elicited, within 5-20 min, a fall in resting membrane potential (Vm), a rise in threshold for Na(+)-dependent action potential generation, and a reduction in input resistance. Anomalous inward rectification in the hyperpolarizing direction and subthreshold inward rectification were commonly reduced in HEPES-buffered medium. More prolonged exposure (> or = 25 min) to HCO3(-)-CO2-free medium produced, on occasion, Na+ spike inactivation. 3. The amplitudes of the fast and medium after-hyperpolarizations (AHPs) following a single depolarizing current-evoked action potential were attenuated during perfusion with HEPES-buffered medium at pH 7.4, as was the composite AHP following a train of action potentials. 4. Perfusion with HEPES-buffered medium at pH 7.4 reduced the degree of spike frequency adaptation and abolished depolarizing current-evoked burst-firing behaviour when this was present under standard conditions. 5. In tetrodotoxin (TTX)- and tetraethylammonium (TEA)-poisoned neurones, perfusion with HCO3(-)-CO2-free medium at pH 7.4 slightly raised the threshold for activation of Ca(2+)-dependent potentials and slightly reduced their duration, compared to responses obtained in HCO3(-)-CO2-buffered medium at the same pH. The AHP following the Ca2+ spike was, however, markedly attenuated. 6. Perfusion with a low-pH HCO3(-)-CO2-buffered medium (7 mM-HCO3-, 5% CO2, pH 6.9) produced changes qualitatively similar to those observed during perfusion with HEPES-buffered medium at pH 7.4. Raising the pH of the HEPES-buffered medium to 7.8 or 7.9 reversed inconsistently and then only in part the changes noted on the transition from a HCO3(-)-CO2- to a HEPES-buffered medium at the same pH (7.4). 7. The effects noted are unlikely to be due to a direct action of HEPES itself on neuronal membrane conductances. Rather, I suggest that they are likely to be caused by intracellular acidosis consequent upon the omission of HCO3- and CO2 from the extracellular medium.

Dynamics of interstitial and intracellular pH in evolving brain infarct

We examined the relationships between intracellular pH (pHi) and interstitial pH (pHe) in a rat model of focal ischemia. Interstitial pH was measured with pH-sensitive microelectrodes, and the average tissue pH was measured with the [14C]dimethadione method in rats subjected to occlusion of the right middle cerebral and common carotid arteries (MCA-CCAO). In normal cortex, pHe and pHi were 7.24 +/- 0.97 and 7.01 +/- 0.13 (means +/- SD, n = 6), respectively. In the ischemic cortex, pHe fell to 6.43 +/- 0.13, whereas pHi decreased only to 6.86 +/- 0.11 (n = 5) 1 h after MCA-CCAO. After 4 h of ischemia, the pHe was 6.61 +/- 0.09 and pHi was 6.62 +/- 0.20 (n = 4). Treatment with glucose before ischemia markedly lowered the pHe (5.88 +/- 0.17) but not pHi (6.83 +/- 0.03, n = 4) measured 1 h after ischemia. In the ischemic cortex of animals made hypoglycemic by pretreatment with insulin, neither pHe (7.25 +/- 0.06) nor pHi (6.99 +/- 0.13, n = 4) decreased. The demonstrated difference in pHi and pHe indicates that some cells remained sufficiently functional to maintain a plasma membrane gradient of protons within the evolving infarct. If the calculated pHi values accurately reflect the true pHi of cells within zones of severe focal ischemia, then cerebral infarction can proceed at pHi levels not greatly altered from normal.

pH-sensitive, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent phosphorylation of unique protein in molluscan nervous system

Intracellular pH and Ca2+ are prominent co-regulators of neuron excitability that act on ion channels. In looking for a possible mechanism of their action, we tested their combinatorial effect on the phosphorylation state of nervous system proteins. 32PO4 labelling in endogenous phosphorylation reactions of homogenates of nervous tissue of the sea-slug Pleurobranchaea showed steep pH sensitivity in protein migrating at a molecular mass of 108 kDa with pI 6.9-7.0 (pp108). Phosphorylation of pp108 was highest below reaction pH 7.0 and declined steeply as pH rose to 7.4 pp108 phosphorylation was Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent. pp108 constituted a significant part of the total protein (0.15%) and phosphoprotein (8.9%) of the nervous system. The specifically and uniquely combinatorial pH and Ca2+ sensitivity of the phosphorylation of pp108, and its relative abundance, suggest that it could mediate integrated actions of H+ and Ca2+ in the molluscan neuron.

Concentration of carbon dioxide, interstitial pH and synaptic transmission in hippocampal formation of the rat

1. Interstitial pH (pHo) was measured with ion-selective microelectrodes in the fascia dentata of rats anaesthetized with urethane, while CO2 levels were controlled by varying pulmonary ventilation and CO2 content of inspired air. In the CA1 sector of hippocampal tissue slices in vitro pHo was similarly measured and altered by varying CO2 in the gas phase, or by adding HCl or NaOH to the artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) of the bath, or by changing the concentration of HCO3-. 2. Orthodromically evoked compound action potentials ('population spikes') were depressed in hypercapnia and increased in hypocapnia. In the fascia dentata of intact brains the population spike of the granule cells varied on average by more than 40% of control amplitude for each 0.1 change of pHo. In the CA1 zone of tissue slices in vitro, the change of population spike amplitude was approximately 30% per pH change of 0.1 caused by altered CO2 or HCO3- concentration, but only about 15% per pH change of 0.1 when HCl or NaOH were administered. 3. In anaesthetized rats the focal synaptic potential (FEPSP) evoked by a given stimulus intensity was weakly influenced by varying [CO2]; in tissue slices weak effects on FEPSP were inconsistent. In hippocampus both in situ and in vitro the population spike triggered by a given magnitude of FEPSP increased in hypocapnia and decreased in hypercapnia. This suggests that the main effect of CO2 is on the electric excitability of postsynaptic cells, with minor or no effect on transmitter release and on the interaction of the transmitter with its receptors. 4. Hypercapnia of anaesthetized rats was usually associated with a slight increase of [K+]o in the fascia dentata. Tissue [Ca2+]o changed little and not consistently. Neither of these two ions, nor concomitant changes of blood pressure or tissue partial pressure of oxygen, (Pt, O2), could account for the effects of pH on neuronal excitability. 5. The results show that increasing the extracellular concentration of H+ ions has a moderately depressant effect on the firing threshold of hippocampal neurones. The more powerful effects of elevated [CO2] and of lowered [HCO3-] may probably be explained by a direct effect on the neuronal membrane. The brain, by regulating breathing, controls its own excitability.

Calcium dependence of voltage sensitivity in adenosine 3',5'-cyclic phosphate-stimulated sodium current in Pleurobranchaea

1. Ionophoretic injection of cyclic AMP into a voltage-clamped molluscan neurone caused a transient slow inward current (Isi) whose amplitude was enhanced by depolarization. Na+-replaced salines abolished the current, placing it with cyclic AMP-stimulated Na+ currents of other gastropod species. 2. Isi amplitude was suppressed by extracellular Ca2+. The amplitude increased up to 4-fold at holding potentials of -50 mV in nominally Ca2+-free saline. Ion substitutions showed that Ca2+ suppressed Isi more effectively than Mg2+, Co2+, Cd2+, Mn2+, Ba2+ or Sr2+. 3. Voltage sensitivity of Isi was abolished by low-Ca2+ salines, by the Ca2+ current blocker Co2+ and by substitution of Ba2+ or Sr2+ as Ca2+ channel current carriers. In such salines Isi showed no appreciable change in amplitude at holding potentials between -70 and -25 mV. 4. Intracellular injection of the Ca2+ chelator EGTA both augmented the amplitude of the current and its duration. EGTA injection failed to suppress the Ca2+-dependent voltage sensitivity of Isi. Intracellular injection of concentrated 3-N-(morpholino) propanesulphonic acid (MOPS) pH buffer to inhibit secondary, Ca2+-dependent intracellular acidification also failed to suppress the voltage sensitivity, as did injections of a mixed EGTA and MOPS solution. 5. While the data indicate a requirement for extracellular Ca2+ in conferring voltage sensitivity, they do not support a role for an intracellular action. An extracellular binding site for Ca2+ could mediate the voltage sensitivity, either by local depolarization-dependent changes in extracellular Ca2+ concentration or through direct voltage-sensitive block of the Isi channel.

pH sensitivity of calmodulin distribution in nervous tissue fractions

Alkalinization of nervous system extracts of the mollusk, Pleurobranchaea, from pH 7.0 to 8.0 markedly increases the ratio of soluble to total calmodulin. This effect is independent of pH effects on free Ca2+ concentration and is pronounced at micromolar (near intracellular) levels of Ca2+. These data may relate to recent evidence that Ca2+/calmodulin-activated cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase mediates the effects of small changes in intracellular pH (0.1-0.2 units) on the electrical activity of neurons. Calmodulin redistribution could reflect altered availability to stimulate phosphodiesterase activity and supports a role for calmodulin in mediating effects of intracellular pH fluxes on cellular activity.

Patch- and voltage-clamp analysis of cyclic AMP-stimulated inward current underlying neurone bursting

The second messenger cyclic AMP has been variously reported to affect the electrical activity of different neurones by decreasing outward potassium current, increasing outward current and increasing inward current. The recently developed patch clamp method of recording single ionic channels allows direct measurement of the action of cyclic AMP on membrane conductances. Using the patch clamp, the closure of potassium channels by cyclic AMP has previously been documented on the single channel level. We report here that in a bursting molluscan neurone, intracellular iontophoresis of cyclic AMP under voltage clamp elicits an inward current of maximal amplitude in the pacemaker voltage region. Patch-clamp analysis reveals inward channels whose opening frequency is augmented by cyclic AMP stimulation and whose activity accompanies burst episodes. Channel opening frequency is significantly increased by depolarization of the whole soma, but not by focal depolarization of the patch; this may reflect the action of another second messenger that acts in concert with cyclic AMP to confer voltage sensitivity.

Phenothiazines mimic the action of cAMP in potentiating slow inward current in a bursting molluscan neuron

Trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine, blockers of calmodulin action, potentiate slow inward current in molluscan neurons identically to the action of cAMP. The sulfoxide derivative of chloropromazine does not appreciably bind to calmodulin and also fails to enhance the inward current. The likelihood that these effects are mediated by cAMP via inhibition of a Ca2+-calmodulin-activated phosphodiesterase is discussed and related to other data.

Ca2+ activated and pH sensitive cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase in the nervous system of the mollusc Pleurobranchaea

Regulation of cyclic AMP through its synthesis is known to be important in modulating the activity of molluscan neurons; however, no data exists regarding the regulation of cyclic AMP degradation. We find that cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity in homogenates of the nervous system of the mollusc Pleurobranchaea is significantly stimulated by calcium ion. Ca2+ stimulation is suppressed by the calmodulin antagonist trifluoperazine (TFP), indicating resemblance to the Ca2+-calmodulin PDEs of mammalian neurons. Ca2+ also accentuates the pH sensitivity of PDE. The qualities of Ca2+ and pH sensitivity of PDE are fitted into a model for cAMP regulation of neuronal activity in an identified feeding command neuron; the postulated role of PDE is consistent with effects of cAMP, TFP, and pH on the neuron's activity.