title: Intercellular Ca(2+) waves in rat hippocampal slice and dissociated glial-neuron cultures mediated by nitric oxide.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) may participate in cell-cell communication in the brain by generating intercellular Ca(2+) waves. In hippocampal organotypic and dissociated glial-neuron (>80% glia) cultures local applications of aqueous NO induced slowly propagating intercellular Ca(2+) waves. In glial cultures, Ca(2+) waves and Mn(2+) quench of cytosolic fura-2 fluorescence mediated by NO were inhibited by nicardipine, indicating that NO induces Ca(2+) influx in glia which is dihydropyridine-sensitive. As NO treatments also depolarised the plasma membrane potential of glia, the nicardipine-sensitive Ca(2+) influx might be due to the activation of dihydropyridine-sensitive L-type Ca(2+) channels. Both nicardipine-sensitive intercellular Ca(2+) waves and propagating cell depolarisation induced by mechanical stress of individual glia were inhibited by pretreating cultures with either an NO scavenger or N(G)-methyl-L-arginine. Results demonstrate that NO can induce Ca(2+) waves in hippocampal slice cultures, and that Ca(2+) influx coupled to NO-mediated membrane depolarisation might assist in fashioning their spatio-temporal dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, SE5 8AF, London, UK. n.j.willmott@qmw.ac.uk
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Willmott
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Strong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000032:analysis; D006096:Gramicidin / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009529:Nicardipine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D019323:omega-N-Methylarginine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; D006096:Gramicidin; D019323:omega-N-Methylarginine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D009529:Nicardipine; D002118:Calcium