title: Neuropeptide Y2 receptors inhibit the frequency of spontaneous but not miniature EPSCs in CA3 pyramidal cells of rat hippocampus.
abstract: 1. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) inhibits synaptic excitation in hippocampal area CA3. We studied its site of action with the use of whole cell patch-clamp recordings from CA3 pyramidal cells of rat hippocampal slices in vitro. 2. Spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) were isolated with picrotoxin, to block gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptors, whereas miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) were isolated by additionally treating the slice with tetrodotoxin (TTX) and/or Cd2+, sEPSCs and mEPSCs were eliminated by the excitatory amino acid antagonists 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (10 microM) and DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (50 microM), and were thus solely attributable to glutamate release. 3. The interval and amplitude distributions of sEPSCS and (TTX-isolated) mEPSCS were analyzed. Either NPY or the rapidly reversible, Y2-receptor-selective agonist [6-aminohexanoic5-24] NPY, ([ahx5-24]NPY) sharply increased the inter-sEPSC intervals in 16 of 16 neurons tested. In 11 of these cells, these agonists also simultaneously shifted the sEPSC amplitude distribution to somewhat smaller amplitudes, whereas in the remaining 5 cells, no concurrent effect on amplitudes was observed. By contrast, in 15 separate neurons treated with 1 microM TTX, neither NPY nor [ahx5-24]NPY altered either mEPSC amplitude or interval distributions of the mEPSCs. 4. To directly compare the effects of Y2 receptor activation on sEPSC and mEPSC properties, we applied [ahx5-24]NPY to the same cell in the absence and presence of TTX (n = 7). sEPSC intervals were characteristically increased by the Y2 agonist in all cells; in six of seven cells the sEPSC distribution was also shifted to smaller amplitudes. TTX application reduced the mean amplitude of the synaptic events more than did [ahx5-24]NPY, while increasing their intervals. [ahx5-24]NPY had no effect in TTX. 5. NPY, acting on a Y2 receptor, inhibits impulse-dependent synaptic excitation of CA3 pyramidal cells of the rat hippocampus by an entirely presynaptic action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: McQuiston
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Colmers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D009478:Neuropeptide Y