title: Osmosensitive response of glutamate in the substantia nigra.
abstract: Previous studies have suggested the increase of extracellular glutamate (GLU) in the substantia nigra (SN) as a cause of dopamine-cell degeneration (excitotoxicity) in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the mechanisms involved in this increase remain unknown. The present work studied osmoregulation as a cause of GLU release in the SN. Microdialysis was used to change extracellular osmolarity, to administer drugs and to quantify the extracellular non-synaptic GLU (EnS-GLU). Two osmolarity modifications were performed, a moderate decrease (5%) resembling physiological modifications and a substantial decrease (>or=20% decrease) similar to that observed under pathological conditions. Hypo-osmolarity induced a dose-response (285-80 mOsm) increase of EnS-GLU which was detected after small osmolarity modifications (15 mOsm) and which was very marked (>1000%) after more intense osmolarity changes. This response disappeared after pre-treating rats with a P2 purinergic-receptor antagonist (pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulphonic acid; 1 mM) suggesting ATP involvement in the osmosensitive EnS-GLU response. The EnS-GLU increase observed after administration of ATP (0.1-100 microM) and 2-methylthioadenosine triphosphate tetrasodium (P2-receptor agonist; 100 microM) and the lack of effects of adenosine administration (1 mM) suggest that the ATP action on P2 receptors is an amplificatory mechanism in the osmosensitive EnS-GLU response. The marked action of osmolarity on extracellular Glu suggests osmolarity regulation as a possible source for excitotoxicity in the SN.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurobiology and Experimental Neurology, Department of Physiology Faculty of Medicine, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moráles
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Hernandez
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D017551:Microdialysis; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D058919:Purinergic P2 Receptor Antagonists; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018048:Receptors, Purinergic P2 / Q000502:physiology; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D058919:Purinergic P2 Receptor Antagonists; D018048:Receptors, Purinergic P2; C077792:pyridoxal phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate