title: Differential control of two forms of glutamate release by group III metabotropic glutamate receptors at rat entorhinal synapses.
abstract: Neurotransmitter release at CNS synapses occurs via both action potential-dependent and independent mechanisms, and it has generally been accepted that these two forms of release are regulated in parallel. We examined the effects of activation of group III metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) on stimulus-evoked and spontaneous glutamate release onto entorhinal cortical neurones in rats, and found a differential regulation of action potential-dependent and independent forms of release. Activation of presynaptic mGluRs depressed the amplitude of stimulus-evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents, but concurrently enhanced the frequency of spontaneous excitatory currents. Moreover, these differential effects on glutamate release were mediated by pharmacologically separable mechanisms. Application of the specific activator of adenylyl cyclase, forskolin, mimicked the effect of mGluR activation on spontaneous, but not evoked release, and inhibition of adenylyl cyclase with 9-tetrahydro-2-furanyl)-9H-purin-6-amine (SQ22536) blocked mGluR-mediated enhancement of spontaneous release, but not depression of evoked release. Occlusion studies with calcium channel blockers suggested that the group III mGluRs might depress evoked release through inhibition of both N and P/Q, but not R-type calcium channels. We suggest that the concurrent depression of action potential-evoked, and enhancement of action potential-independent glutamate release operate through discrete second messenger/effector systems at excitatory entorhinal terminals in rat brain.
authors.affiliation: Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK. g.l.woodhall@aston.ac.uk
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Woodhall
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ayman
authors.forename: R S G
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000067956:Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015290:Second Messenger Systems / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000067956:Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D018094:Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate; C102718:metabotropic glutamate receptor 3; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases