N-methyl-D-aspartate evokes the release of somatostatin from striatal interneurons in primary culture.
Indirect immunocytochemistry of striatal neurons in primary culture, generated from the embryonic mouse brain, suggested that 2-4% of the neurons contained somatostatin-like immunoreactivity; the majority of these cells also contained neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity, characteristic of a subset of striatal interneurons. Although 10-15% of cultured striatal neurons showed moderate or intense immunoreactivity for calbindin-D28k, the majority of neurons with somatostatin-like immunoreactivity did not contain calbindin-D28k-like immunoreactivity; parvalbumin immunoreactivity was absent from the culture preparation. A highly sensitive radioimmunoassay was used to examine the actions of depolarizing agents and excitatory amino acids on the release of endogenous somatostatin-like immunoreactivity from striatal interneurons. During a 15 min incubation period, 47 +/- 10 fmol of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity were released from 14 days in vitro striatal neurons, cultured in 35 mm dishes. Depolarization with 56 mM KCl or 10 micrograms/ml veratrine resulted in an additional 105 +/- 9 and 56 +/- 5 fmol, respectively, of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity released; the release evoked by veratrine was blocked by 1 microM tetrodotoxin. In the presence of 100 microM N-methyl-D-aspartate, 112 +/- 21 fmol of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity (above basal) were released (+238%); the N-methyl-D-aspartate-evoked release was dose-dependent (EC50, 20 microM), attenuated in the absence of added Ca2+, potentiated in the absence of added Mg2+ and unaffected by the presence of 1 microM tetrodotoxin. The selective antagonists 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (100 microM) and MK-801 (1 microM) blocked the N-methyl-D-aspartate-evoked release of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity; KCl-evoked release was unaffected. Kainate was slightly more effective, yet five-fold less potent (EC50, 100 microM), than N-methyl-D-aspartate in evoking somatostatin-like immunoreactivity release; quisqualate was marginally effective. The results of this study suggest that N-methyl-D-aspartate and kainate receptors are present on striatal somatostatinergic interneurons in primary culture.
Department of Pathology, University of Calgary, AB, Canada.
J S
JS
Williams
I
I
Berbekar
S
S
Weiss
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism*
D013004:Somatostatin; D016202:N-Methylaspartate