title: Glycine activates myenteric neurones in adult guinea-pigs.
abstract: 1. We studied the effects of glycine on myenteric neurones and muscle activity in the colon and stomach of adult guinea-pigs. 2. Intracellular recordings revealed that myenteric neurones responded to local microejection of glycine (1 mM) with a fast, transient membrane potential depolarisation (57 % of 191 colonic neurones and 26 % of 50 gastric neurones). Most glycine-sensitive neurones had ascending projections and were choline acetyltransferase immunoreactive. Glycine preferentially activated neurones with a late afterhyperpolarisation (AH-neurones) and tonic spiking neurones with fast synaptic inputs (tonic S-neurones) but less frequently phasic S-neurones and inexcitable (non-spiking) neurones. The depolarisation had a reversal potential at -19 +/- 13 mV, which was increased by 18 +/- 10 % upon lowering extracellular chloride concentration and decreased by 38 +/- 14 % in furosemide (frusemide, 2 mM). 3. Strychnine (300 nM) reversibly abolished the glycine-induced depolarisation and the Cl(-) channel blocker picrotoxin (100 microM) reduced the amplitude of the depolarisation by 55 +/- 5 %. The glycine effect was a postsynaptic response because it was not changed after nerve blockade with tetrodotoxin (1 microM) or blockade of synaptic transmission in reduced extracellular [Ca(2+)]. The effect was specific since the response was not changed by the nicotinic antagonists hexamethonium (200 microM) and mecamylamine (100 microM), the GABA(A) receptor antagonist bicuculline (10 microM), the NMDA antagonist MK-801 (20 microM) or the 5-HT(3) antagonist ICS 205930 (1 microM). 4. Glycine (1 mM) induced a tetrodotoxin- and strychnine-sensitive contractile response in the colon; the contractile response in the stomach was tetrodotoxin insensitive. 5. Glycine activated myenteric neurones in the adult enteric nervous system through strychnine-sensitive mechanisms. The glycine-evoked depolarisation was caused by Cl(-) efflux and the maintenance of relatively high intracellular chloride concentrations involved furosemide-sensitive cation-chloride co-transporters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Bischofsholer Damm 15/102, 30173 Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neunlist
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reiche
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dobreva
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schemann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018118:Chloride Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003106:Colon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000294:innervation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D005998:Glycine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018684:Glycine Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D008845:Microinjections; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000187:drug effects; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013270:Stomach / Q000187:drug effects / Q000294:innervation; D013331:Strychnine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D018118:Chloride Channels; D018756:GABA Antagonists; D005998:Glycine; D018684:Glycine Agents; D010852:Picrotoxin; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D013331:Strychnine