title: NMDA-receptor activation increases cytoplasmic calcium concentration in cultured spinal cord neurones.
abstract: Excitatory amino acids act via receptor subtypes in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). The receptor selectively activated by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) has been best characterized using voltage-clamp and single-channel recording; the results suggest that NMDA receptors gate channels that are permeable to Na+, K+ and other monovalent cations. Various experiments suggest that Ca2+ flux is also associated with the activation of excitatory amino-acid receptors on vertebrate neurones. Whether Ca2+ enters through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels or through excitatory amino-acid-activated channels of one or more subtype is unclear. Mg2+ can be used to distinguish NMDA-receptor-activated channels from voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, because at micromolar concentrations Mg2+ has little effect on voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels while it enters and blocks NMDA receptor channels. Marked differences in the potency of other divalent cations acting as Ca2+ channel blockers compared with their action as NMDA antagonists also distinguish the NMDA channel from voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels. However, we now directly demonstrate that excitatory amino acids acting at NMDA receptors on spinal cord neurones increase the intracellular Ca2+ activity, measured using the indicator dye arsenazo III, and that this is the result of Ca2+ influx through NMDA receptor channels. Kainic acid (KA), which acts at another subtype of excitatory amino-acid receptor, was much less effective in triggering increases in intracellular free Ca2+.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D051379:Mice; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000502:physiology*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D002118:Calcium