Pharmacological evidence for the involvement of calcium/calmodulin in serotonin 5-HT3 receptor-mediated cation permeability in NG 108-15 cells

5-HT(3) receptor mediates the dose-dependent effects of citalopram on pentylenetetrazole-induced clonic seizure in mice: involvement of nitric oxide

Citalopram is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), widely used in the treatment of depressive disorders. It has been shown that citalopram affects seizure susceptibility. Although the exact mechanism of these effects are not yet fully understood, recent data suggest that 5HT(3) receptors and nitric oxide (NO) might participate in the central effects of SSRIs. In this study in a mouse model of clonic seizure induced by pentylenetetrazole we investigated whether 5-HT(3) receptors are involved in the effects of citalopram on seizure threshold. In our experiments, citalopram at lower doses (0.5 and 1mg/kg, i.p) significantly increased the seizure threshold and at higher doses (≥25mg/kg) showed proconvulsive effects. Moreover, mCPBG (a 5-HT(3) receptor agonist) at low and non-effective doses augmented while non-effective doses of tropisetron prevented the anticonvulsive properties of citalopram. On the other hand, Low doses of nitric oxide synthase inhibitors l-NAME and 7-NI alone or in combination with lower doses of 5-HT(3) receptor agonist enhanced the anticonvulsive property of citalopram, while l-arginine (NO precursor) alone or in combination with tropisetron blocked the protective effect of citalopram. In summary, our findings demonstrate that 5-HT(3) receptor mediates the anticonvulsant properties of low doses of citalopram, whereas it seems that the proconvulsive effect is mostly mediated through the NO pathway and can be totally blocked by NOS inhibitors. This could propose a new approach toward finding the mechanism of citalopram activity, curtailing the adverse effects of citalopram and perhaps managing the convulsions as a vicious consequence of citalopram overdose.

Alteration in voltage-dependent calcium channels in dog basilar artery after subarachnoid hemorrhage

Object

The L-type Ca++ channel antagonists like nimodipine have limited efficacy against vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The authors tested the hypothesis that this is because SAH alters these channels, rendering them less responsible for contraction.

Methods

Basilar artery smooth muscle cells were isolated 4, 7, and 21 days after SAH in dogs, and Ca++ channel currents were recorded in 10-mmol/L barium. Proteins for α1 subunits of L-type Ca++ channels were measured by immunoblotting and isometric tension recordings done on rings of the basilar artery.

Results

High voltage–activated (HVA) Ca++ channel currents were significantly decreased and low voltage–activated (LVA) currents increased during vasospasm 4, 7, and 21 days after SAH (p < 0.05). Vasospasm was associated with a significant decrease in the number of cells with negligible LVA current while the number of cells in which the LVA current formed greater than 50% of the maximal current increased (p < 0.01). Window currents through LVA and HVA channels were significantly reduced. All changes correlated with the severity of vasospasm. There was an increase in protein for Cav3.1 and Cav3.3 α1 subunits that comprise T-type Ca++ channels, a decrease in L-type (Cav1.2 and Cav1.3) and an increase in R-type (Cav2.3) Ca++ channel α1 subunits. Functionally, however, isometric tension studies showed vasospastic arteries still relaxed with nimodipine.

Conclusions

Voltage-dependent Ca++ channels are altered in cerebral arteries after SAH. While decreased L-type channels may account for the lack of efficacy of nimodipine clinically, there may be other reasons such as inadequate dose, effect of nimodipine on other cellular targets, and mechanisms of vasospasm other than smooth muscle contraction mediated by activation of L-type Ca++ channels.

A distinct distribution of functional presynaptic 5-HT receptor subtypes on GABAergic nerve terminals projecting to single hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons

5-HT is known to modify the excitability of GABAergic interneurons projecting to hippocampal CA1 neurons. In this study we investigate the presence and functionally characterize the 5-HT receptor subtypes found on the presynaptic nerve terminals of these GABAergic neurons. Using conventional whole-cell patch recording, we confirmed that the 5-HT(1A) agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-dipropylaminotetralin, presynaptically decreased electrically evoked GABA release while the 5-HT(3) agonist, m-chlorophenylbiguanide (mCPBG), presynaptically facilitated release. Using the 'synaptic bouton preparation', where CA1 neurons are acutely isolated with functional nerve terminals/boutons remaining adherent, we next showed that these receptor subtypes are found presynaptically. We next used the technique of focal stimulation of a single bouton in this preparation to further investigate the distribution of these 5-HT receptor subtypes. We found that all boutons contained inhibitory 5-HT(1A) receptors while a subset of boutons showed both 5-HT(1A) and excitatory 5-HT(3) receptors. No boutons were detected which contained only 5-HT(3) receptors. Our studies show that presynaptic 5-HT receptor subtypes are found presynaptically and are not uniformly distributed. This provides another potential mechanism whereby 5-HT can modulate GABA release and hence the excitability of hippocampal neurons.

Presynaptic 5-HT3 receptor-mediated modulation of synaptic GABA release in the mechanically dissociated rat amygdala neurons

Nystatin-perforated patch recordings were made from mechanically dissociated basolateral amygdala neurons with preserved intact native presynaptic nerve terminals to study the mechanism of 5-HT3 receptor-mediated serotonergic modulation of GABAergic inhibition. The specific 5-HT3 agonist mCPBG (1 microM) rapidly facilitated the frequency of GABAergic miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) and this facilitation desensitized within 1 min. Tropisetron (30 nM), a specific 5-HT3 antagonist, blocked the mCPBG effect. mCPBG augmented mIPSC amplitude. However, no direct postsynaptic serotonergic currents were evoked by mCPBG. Neither GABA-evoked current amplitude nor the kinetics of individual GABAergic mIPSCs were affected by mCPBG. Therefore, the augmentation is unlikely to be due to postsynaptic effects evoked by mCPBG. At higher concentrations mCPBG produced shorter-duration facilitation of miniature events. While mCPBG increased the mIPSC frequency in calcium-containing solution with Cd2+, this increase was absent in Ca2+-free external solution. It appears that the Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent calcium channels was not as crucial as that through 5-HT3 receptors for synaptic GABA release. When two pulses of mCPBG (each 1 microM, 1 min) were given, the response to the second pulse elicited full recovery when the interval between pulses was at least 9 min. Protein kinase A (PKA) activation by 8-Br-cAMP (300 microM) shortened and PKA inhibition by Rp-cAMP (100 microM) prolonged the recovery time. PKA activity did not affect the time course of fast desensitization. Our results suggest that a 5-HT3-specific agonist acts on presynaptic nerve terminals facilitating synaptic GABA release without postsynaptic effects. The facilitation requires calcium influx through presynaptic 5-HT3 receptors. PKA modulates the recovery process from desensitization of presynaptic 5-HT3 receptor-mediated regulation of synaptic GABA release.

5-HT3 receptor-channels coupled with Na+ influx in human T cells: role in T cell activation

The study was conducted on a human (Jurkat) T cell line, loaded with a Na+ fluorescent probe, SBFI/AM. Serotonin and an agonist of 5-HT3 receptor-channels, 2-methyl-5HT, evoked Na+ influx, whereas the agonists of other serotonergic receptor subtypes, i.e., 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors, failed to induce Na+ influx in these cells. By using 3H-BRL43694, an agonist of 5-HT3 receptor-channels, we characterized 5-HT3 lymphocyte receptors which exhibited a density (Bmax) of 300 +/- 20 fmol/10(6) cells and a Kd of 30 nM in Jurkat T cells. The T-cell 5-HT3 receptor-channel is not regulated either by the protein kinase C or by the free intracellular calcium concentrations as the agents known to activate the PKC and to induce increases in intracellular free calcium concentrations failed to influence the free intracellular Na+ concentrations, [Na+]i, in these cells. Furthermore, an increase in [Na+]i, induced by 2-methyl-5HT, via 5-HT3 receptor-channels seems to stimulate T-cell activation by facilitating the progression of T cells from S to G2/M phase of the cell cycle.

Identification of lymphocyte 5-HT3 receptor subtype and its implication in fish T-cell proliferation

In the present study, we identified the serotonergic receptor of type 3 (5-HT3) on the lymphocytes of a teleost fish, Oncorhynchus mykiss. In the pharmacological studies on the binding of [3H]serotonin to membrane receptor sites, 2-methyl-5-HT, an agonist of 5-HT3 receptors, displaced the binding of [3H]serotonin to fish lymphocytes, indicating the presence of 5-HT3 receptors on these cells. The known antagonists of the mammalian 5-HT3 receptor, ICS-205-930 and metoclopramide, failed to displace [3H]serotonin binding to lymphocytes during the period of association equilibrium (8 min); however, these antagonists progressively displaced [3H]serotonin binding from 10 to 40 min of incubation. These results suggest that fish 5-HT3 lymphocyte receptors may differ pharmacologically from mammalian receptors. As mammalian 5-HT3 receptors are coupled with Na+ inward movements, we undertook a study on Na+ influx by using SBFI/AM, a fluorescent probe. In SBFI/AM loaded fish lymphocytes, 2-methyl-5-HT leaked Na+ inward movements. Prior incubation of lymphocytes for 30 min in the presence of 5-HT3 antagonists, ICS-205-930, metoclopramide and MDL-72222, curtailed significantly the Na+ influx evoked by 2-methyl-5-HT, demonstrating that Na+ is leaked into fish lymphocytes via the 5-HT3 receptor-channel whose functioning is blocked by these antagonists. Furthermore, 2-methyl-5-HT exerted immunosuppressive effects in a dose dependent manner on fish T-lymphocytes stimulated by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA). Serotonin and 2-methyl-5-HT blocked the cell cycle progression of PHA-stimulated T-cells from G0/G1 to S phase. The immunosuppressive effects of 2-methyl-5-HT on T-cells were partially reversed by the antagonists, metoclopramide and ICS-205-930; however, the latter antagonist at high concentrations synergized with the immunosuppressive effects of 2-methyl-5-HT. These results demonstrate that the fish lymphocyte 5-HT3 receptor, which may be pharmacologically different from mammalian receptor subtype, is functionally implicated in fish T-cell proliferation.

Facilitation by substance P and inhibition by (+)-tubocurarine of the 5-HT3 receptor-mediated Bezold-Jarisch reflex in rats

The influence of substance P 3 (microgram/kg) and (+)-tubocurarine (850 micrograms/kg) on the Bezold-Jarisch reflex in urethane-anaesthetized rats was studied. The Bezold-Jarisch reflex was induced by the 5-HT3 receptor agonist phenylbiguanide (0.3, 1, 3 and 10 micrograms/kg i.v.) and by capsaicin (10 micrograms/kg i.v.). The 5-HT3 receptor antagonist ondansetron (10 micrograms/kg) abolished the phenylbiguanide- but not the capsaicin-stimulated bradycardia, indicating that phenylbiguanide and capsaicin act via different trigger mechanisms (5-HT3 receptor-dependent and -independent, respectively). Substance P significantly potentiated the phenylbiguanide- but not the capsaicin-induced decrease in heart rate. Also, when the phenylbiguanide-induced response was amplified by substance P, it was abolished by ondansetron. (+)-Tubocurarine inhibited the phenylbiguanide-induced bradycardia, but did not affect the capsaicin-stimulated decrease in heart rate. Our results demonstrate that substance P potentiates but (+)-tubocurarine inhibits the 5-HT3 receptor-mediated Bezold-Jarisch reflex. Both effects are probably due to direct influences of the drugs on the 5-HT3 receptors on sensory vagal nerves in the heart.