title: Membrane insertion of new AMPA receptors and LTP induced by glycine is prevented by blocking NR2A-containing NMDA receptors in the rat visual cortex in vitro.
abstract: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDA-Rs) activation has been implicated in various forms of synaptic plasticity depending on the receptor subtypes involved. However, the contribution of NR2A and NR2B subunits in glycine-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) in layer II/III pyramidal neurons of the rat visual cortex remains unclear. The present study used whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in vitro to investigate the role of NR2A-containing and NR2B-containing NMDA-Rs in glycine-induced LTP in visual cortical slices from 13-15 day old rats. We found that glycine-induced LTP of mEPSCs was readily induced in layer II/III pyramidal neurons of the rat visual cortex with glycine. D-APV, a selective NMDA-R antagonist, blocked the glycineinduced LTP. Moreover, the selective NR2B-containing NMDA-R antagonists (Ro 25-6981) displayed no influence on the glycine-induced LTP. However, Zn2+, a voltage-independent NR2A-containing NMDA-R antagonist, prevented glycine-induced LTP. These results suggest that the glycine-induced LTP in layer II/III pyramidal neurons of the rat visual cortex is NMDA-R-dependent and requires NR2A-containing NMDA-Rs, not NR2B-containing NMDA-Rs.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, and Research Center of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China. liyanhai@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Yan-Hai
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005998:Glycine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D010636:Phenols / Q000494:pharmacology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; C120997:NR2A NMDA receptor; D010636:Phenols; D010880:Piperidines; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; C109643:Ro 25-6981; D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; D005998:Glycine