title: Calcium-dependent effects of melatonin inhibition of glutamatergic response in rat striatum.
abstract: The effects of melatonin, amlodipine, diltiazem (L-type Ca2+ channel blockers) and omega-conotoxin (N-type Ca2+ channel blocker) on the glutamate-dependent excitatory response of striatal neurones to sensory-motor cortex stimulation was studied in a total of 111 neurones. Iontophoresis of melatonin produced a significant attenuation of the excitatory response in 85.2% of the neurones with a latency period of 2 min. Iontophoresis of either L- or N-type Ca2+ channel blocker also produced a significant attenuation of the excitatory response in more than 50% of the recorded neurones without significant latency. The simultaneous iontophoresis of melatonin + amlodipine or melatonin + diltiazem did not increase the attenuation produced by melatonin alone. However, the attenuation of the excitatory response was significantly higher after ejecting melatonin + omega-conotoxin than after ejecting melatonin alone. The melatonin-Ca2+ relationship was further supported by iontophoresis of the Ca2+ ionophore A-23187, which suppressed the inhibitory effect of either melatonin or Ca2+ antagonists. In addition, in synaptosomes prepared from rat striatum, melatonin produced a decrease in the Ca2+ influx measured by Fura-2AM fluorescence. Binding experiments with [3H]MK-801 in membrane preparations from rat striatum showed that melatonin did not compete with the MK-801 binding sites themselves although, in the presence of Mg2+, melatonin increased the affinity of MK-801. The results suggest that decreased Ca2+ influx is involved in the inhibitory effects of melatonin on the glutamatergic activity of rat striatum.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Fisiología, Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Escames
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Macías
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: León
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khaldy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vives
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acuña-Castroviejo
mesh_terms: D017311:Amlodipine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000001:Calcimycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004110:Diltiazem / Q000494:pharmacology; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007476:Ionophores / Q000494:pharmacology; D007478:Iontophoresis; D008297:Male; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D014316:Tritium; D020960:omega-Conotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D007476:Ionophores; D020960:omega-Conotoxins; D014316:Tritium; D017311:Amlodipine; D000001:Calcimycin; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D004110:Diltiazem; D008550:Melatonin; D002118:Calcium