title: Nitrous oxide inhibits glutamatergic transmission in spinal dorsal horn neurons.
abstract: The effects of nitrous oxide (N2O) are thought to be mediated by several pharmacological pathways at different levels of the central nervous system. Here, we focus on excitatory glutamatergic transmission in the superficial dorsal horn of the spinal cord with respect to its importance for the nociceptive processing. The effects of 50% N2O on electrically evoked and spontaneous excitatory glutamatergic transmission and on the response to exogenous administration of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor agonists were examined in lamina II neurons of adult rat spinal cord slices using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Peak amplitudes of Adelta- and C-fiber evoked monosynaptic NMDA- and AMPA-receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were decreased in the presence of N2O. N2O reduced the peak amplitude and integrated area of exogenous NMDA- and AMPA-induced currents. Moreover N2O changed the distribution of miniature EPSC amplitude, but not frequency distribution in most neurons. N2O inhibits glutamatergic transmission in the superficial dorsal horn by modulating the NMDA- and AMPA-receptors. Our findings raise the possibility that the antinociceptive effect of N2O may be directly mediated at the level of the spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: Division of Anesthesiology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi, Niigata 951-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Stefan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Georgiev
authors.forename: Tatsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kohno
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikoma
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamakura
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baba
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000502:physiology*; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000494:pharmacology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D009609:Nitrous Oxide