title: Dopamine enhances glutamate-activated currents in spinal motoneurons.
abstract: In cultured embryonic chick motoneurons, glutamate-activated currents rise quickly and then decay rapidly to relatively small steady-state current levels. Dopaminergic modulation of these receptors was studied using patch-clamp recording techniques. At concentrations > or = 10 nM, dopamine enhanced glutamate-activated currents by about 200%. This enhancement was diminished by the nonspecific dopamine receptor antagonist S(+)-apomorphine and the more specific D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390, and it was mimicked by the D1 partial agonist SKF38393. Glutamate receptor desensitization rate was not altered in the presence of dopamine. Enhancement was specific to the kainate component. Current-variance analysis indicated that in the presence of dopamine the conductances of glutamate-activated channels were not altered but that the relative fraction of kainate-type channels activated by glutamate increased. Intracellular cAMP levels increased by 33% following exposure to 100 microM dopamine. The effects of elevated cAMP or protein kinase A (PKA) were tested by including 100 microM cAMP or PKA, respectively, in the recording pipette solution. This increased the kainate-activated currents specifically. Dopaminergic enhancement was not observed when a PKA inhibitor was in the pipette. mRNA encoding D1 was detected in the spinal cord by a reverse transcription, polymerase chain-reaction amplification procedure. Thus, dopamine is acting most probably on an avian homolog of the D1 receptor family. We conclude that dopamine causes cAMP to increase, which results in increased activation of kainate-gated channels during glutamate-mediated transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706, USA.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Temkin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hatt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000494:pharmacology; D002642:Chick Embryo; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism*; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D004298:Dopamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D015870:Gene Expression; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D007700:Kinetics; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000494:pharmacology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D018350:alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D001552:Benzazepines; D017931:DNA Primers; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D007473:Ion Channels; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D018350:alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D001058:Apomorphine; D007608:Kainic Acid; D004298:Dopamine