title: The magnitude of alpha7 nicotinic receptor currents in rat hippocampal neurons is dependent upon GABAergic activity and depolarization.
abstract: Hippocampal alpha7(*) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors modulate the release of GABA and glutamate. The control of functional receptor pools by cell firing or synaptic activity could therefore allow for a local adjustment of the sensitivity to cholinergic input upon changes in neuronal activity. We first investigated whether tonic depolarization or cell firing affected the function of alpha7(*). The amplitude of alpha7(*)-gated whole-cell currents in cultured rat hippocampal neurons exposed to high-extracellular K(+) (40 mM KCl) for 24 to 48 h increased 1.3 to 5.5 times. The proportion of alpha7(*)-responsive neurons (99%), the potency of acetylcholine, and the sensitivity to nicotinic antagonists were all unaffected. In contrast, block of spontaneous cell firing with tetrodotoxin for 24 h led to a 37% reduction in mean current amplitude. Reduced alpha7(*) responses were seen after a 24-h blockade of N-type calcium channels but not of L-type calcium channels, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA), or non-NMDA receptor channels, protein kinase C, or calcium-calmodulin kinases II and IV. The N-type or L-type calcium channel antagonists omega-conotoxin GVIA and nifedipine did not prevent the current-potentiating effect of KCl. The GABA(A) antagonist picrotoxin led to a 44% reduction of the currents, despite increasing action potential firing, and also reversed the potentiating effect of KCl. Treatment with GABA, midazolam, or a GABA uptake blocker led to increased currents. These data indicate that alpha7(*)-gated currents in hippocampal neurons are regulated by GABAergic activity and suggest that depolarization-induced GABA release may underlie the effect of increased extracellular KCl.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Farmacologia Básica e Clínica, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hélio R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Helizane S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Setti-Perdigão
authors.forename: Edson X
authors.initials: EX
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
authors.forename: Newton G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Castro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000502:physiology; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; C579165:Chrna7 protein, rat; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D002118:Calcium