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Volatile anesthetics affect neuronal signaling by poorly understood mechanisms. Activation of central dopaminergic pathways has been implicated in emergence from general anesthesia. The volatile anesthetic isoflurane differentially inhibits glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis by reducing presynaptic Ca2+influx without affecting the Ca2+-exocytosis relationship, but its effects on dopaminergic exocytosis are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that isoflurane inhibits exocytosis in dopaminergic neurons. We used electrical stimulation or depolarization by elevated extracellular KCl to evoke exocytosis measured by quantitative live-cell fluorescence imaging in cultured rat ventral tegmental area neurons. Using trains of electrically evoked action potentials (APs), isoflurane inhibited exocytosis in dopaminergic neurons to a greater extent (30 ± 4% inhibition;p< 0.0001) than in non-dopaminergic neurons (15 ± 5% inhibition;p= 0.014). Isoflurane also inhibited exocytosis evoked by elevated KCl in dopaminergic neurons (35 ± 6% inhibition;p= 0.0007), but not in non-dopaminergic neurons (2 ± 4% inhibition). Pharmacological isolation of presynaptic Ca2+channel subtypes showed that isoflurane inhibited KCl-evoked exocytosis mediated exclusively by either CaV2.1 (P/Q-type Ca2+channels; 30 ± 5% inhibition;p= 0.0002) or by CaV2.2 (N-type Ca2+channels; 35 ± 11% inhibition;p= 0.015). Additionally, isoflurane inhibited single AP-evoked Ca2+influx by 41 ± 3% and single AP-evoked exocytosis by 34 ± 6%. Comparable reductions in exocytosis and Ca2+influx were produced by lowering extracellular [Ca2+]. Thus, isoflurane inhibits exocytosis from dopaminergic neurons by a mechanism distinct from that in non-dopaminergic neurons involving reduced Ca2+entry through CaV2.1 and/or CaV2.2.

ARPP-21 (cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, Mr = 21,000 as determined by SDS-PAGE) is a major cytosolic substrate for cAMP-stimulated protein phosphorylation in dopamine-innervated regions of the rat CNS. It has recently been purified to homogeneity from bovine caudate nucleus and characterized (Hemmings and Greengard, 1989). ARPP-21 is isolated as 2 isoforms, ARPP-21A and ARPP-21B. The amino acid sequence of purified bovine ARPP-21B has now been determined by gas-phase sequencing. The S- 14C-carboxymethylated protein was subjected to enzymatic cleavage with trypsin, chymotrypsin, subtilisin, and endoproteinase Lys-C. The resulting peptides were purified by high-performance liquid chromatography, and selected peptides were subjected to amino acid analysis and/or amino acid sequencing by automated Edman degradation. ARPP-21B consists of a single NH2-terminal blocked polypeptide chain of 88 residues, with a calculated molecular mass of 9561 Da, including an NH2-terminal acetyl group inferred by deblocking with an acylaminopeptidase. This molecular mass is significantly lower than earlier estimates based on SDS-PAGE or hydrodynamic measurements. The seryl residue phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (Hemmings et al., 1989) is located at position 55. The molecule contains 1 cysteinyl residue, at position 71, and contains no methionyl, tyrosyl, phenylalanyl, tryptophanyl, or histidinyl residues. Determination of the primary structure of ARPP-21, one of several phosphoproteins localized to dopaminoceptive neurons in the basal ganglia, provides a framework for further investigations into the molecular mechanisms involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission.

The development of a dopamine- and adenosine 3′:5′-monophosphate- regulated phosphoprotein with an apparent Mr of 32,000 (DARPP-32) has been investigated in the central nervous system of the prenatal and newborn rat by immunocytochemical methods. DARPP-32 first appears in the rat brain at day 14 of gestation, in the anlage of the primary olfactory cortex and the caudate nucleus. Over the next few days, the number of immunoreactive cell bodies in these 2 areas, and in the olfactory tubercle and frontal cortex, increases rapidly. By the day of birth, most of the brain regions that will ultimately contain DARPP-32- positive somata already display a disposition toward DARPP-32-like immunoreactivity similar to that observed in the adult animal. In addition to the nuclei mentioned above, DARPP-32-containing cell bodies also appear over the intervening period in the olfactory nucleus, nucleus accumbens, central amygdaloid nucleus, lateral funiculus, and the choroid plexus and ependymal layers of the third, fourth, and lateral ventricles and the Sylvian aqueduct. Many of these immunoreactive cells disappear during subsequent postnatal maturation. DARPP-32-immunoreactive fibers were also observed in the prenatal and newborn rat CNS. As in the adult, the processes were observed in known target areas of the DARPP-32-containing neurons, namely, the globus pallidus, ventral pallidum, internal capsule, and substantia nigra. The ontogeny of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-like immunoreactivity was analyzed simultaneously. Of particular interest was the observation that the arrival within a given brain region of the presumed dopaminergic, TH-containing innervation, part of whose postsynaptic function is putatively mediated by DARPP-32, was preceded by at least 2 d by the appearance of the DARPP-32-containing cells. Moreover, the subsequent reorganization of the DARPP-32-positive somata within the caudate nucleus into distinct clumps also predated by 1 or 2 d the aggregation of the TH fibers into the same microzones. The development of DARPP-32-like immunoreactivity is mostly complete by the day of birth, and is consistent with its playing a role in mediating some of the postsynaptic actions of dopamine pathways. The appearance of this protein does not seem to be dependent on the presence of a dopaminergic innervation.

ARPP-21, a cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, has been studied by immunocytochemistry to determine its cellular and regional distribution in rat brain. This study demonstrates that ARPP-21 immunoreactivity is present throughout the cytoplasm of immunoreactive neurons and that most of the immunoreactivity is associated with the basal ganglia. Within the caudatoputamen (CP), nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and portions of the amygdaloid complex, ARPP-21 is present in neuronal somata and dendrites. In brain regions known to receive projections from these nuclei, immunoreactivity is present in puncta (presumed axons and axon terminals). These regions include the globus pallidus, ventral pallidum, entopeduncular nucleus, lateral preoptic area, and substantia nigra. Within the basal ganglia, ARPP-21 immunoreactivity is most intense in the olfactory tubercle, nucleus accumbens, medial portion of the CP, and the ventral retrochiasmatic pocket of the CP. These same areas comprise the limbic striatum, and ARPP-21 is the first substance found to be specifically enriched therein. The possibility is discussed that ARPP-21 mediates effects of multiple first messengers, including dopamine and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, that act through cAMP.

DARPP-32 is a neuronal phosphoprotein of Mr = 32,000, originally identified in rat brain (Walaas, S.I., D.W. Aswad, and P. Greengard (1983) Nature 301: 69–72). This protein has now been identified in bovine caudate nucleus cytosol and purified 435-fold to apparent homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purification procedure involved acid extraction at pH 2, CM-cellulose chromatography, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, hydroxylapatite chromatography, and gel filtration on Ultrogel AcA 44. The purified catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalyzed the incorporation of 0.96 mol of phosphate/mol of purified DARPP-32. Phosphorylation occurred exclusively on threonine. The isoelectric point of dephospho-DARPP-32 was 4.7, and that of phospho- DARPP-32 was 4.6. The amino acid composition showed a high content of glutamate/glutamine and proline, and a low content of hydrophobic amino acids. DARPP-32 was found to have a Stokes radius of 34 A and a sedimentation coefficient of 2.05 S, indicating that it exists as an elongated monomer.

ARPP-21 (cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, Mr = 21,000 as determined by SDS/PAGE) is a major cytosolic substrate for cAMP-stimulated protein phosphorylation in dopamine-innervated regions of rat CNS (Walaas et al., 1983c). This acidic phosphoprotein has now been identified in bovine caudate nucleus cytosol and purified to homogeneity from this source. The purification procedure involved diethylaminoethyl-cellulose chromatography, ammonium sulfate fractionation, phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B chromatography, and fast protein liquid chromatography using Mono Q anion-exchange resin. Two isoforms of ARPP-21 (ARPP-21A and ARPP-21B) were obtained, which were present in approximately equal amounts in the starting material. ARPP-21A was purified 2610-fold with a final yield of 20% and ARPP-21B was purified 2940-fold with a final yield of 21%. The purified preparations of both isoforms were judged to be homogenous by SDS/PAGE. ARPP-21A and ARPP-21B yielded identical 2-dimensional thin- layer tryptic phosphopeptide maps, identical amino acid compositions and closely related, but distinct, reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatograms of tryptic digests. The amino acid composition of ARPP-21 showed a high content of glutamic acid/glutamine, and no methionine, tryptophan, tyrosine, phenylalanine, or histidine. ARPP-21 was stable to heat denaturation and to 50% (vol/vol) ethanol treatment and was partially soluble at pH 2. The Mr determined for ARPP-21 by SDS/PAGE was 21,000. The Stokes radius of ARPP-21 was 26.3 A, and the sedimentation coefficient of ARPP-21 was 1.3 S; these values yield a calculated molecular mass of 13,700 Da and a frictional ratio of 1.7, indicative of an elongated tertiary structure. ARPP-21 was an excellent substrate for cAMP-dependent protein kinase and was either not phosphorylated or only poorly phosphorylated by cGMP-dependent protein kinase, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase I, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, casein kinase II, or protein kinase C. The purified catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalyzed the incorporation of 1.2 mol phosphate/mol purified ARPP-21. Phosphorylation occurred exclusively on seryl residues. Phospho-ARPP-21 was dephosphorylated effectively by protein phosphatase-1 or -2A, but not by protein phosphatase-2B or -2C. Rabbit polyclonal and mouse monoclonal antibodies were prepared to purified ARPP-21. These antibodies specifically immunoprecipitated ARPP-21, which was found to be highly enriched in the caudate nucleus and putamen of monkey brain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Immunocytochemical studies have been carried out to determine the regional and cellular distribution of DARPP-32, a protein the phosphorylation of which can be regulated by dopamine and cAMP in intact cells. These immunocytochemical studies indicate tha DARPP-32 is localized primarily in those brain regions enriched in dopaminergic nerve terminals. Moreover, the staining pattern supports the conclusion that the DARPP-32 is present in dopaminoceptive neurons, i.e., neurons that receive a dopamine input, and that it is absent from the dopaminergic neurons themselves. Within the caudatoputamen, nucleus accumbens, olfactory tubercle, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and portions of the amygdaloid complex, all of which receive a strong dopamine input, DARPP-32 immunoreactivity is present in neuronal cell bodies and dendrites. In brain regions that are known to receive projections from these nuclei, puncta (presumed nerve terminals) are strongly immunoreactive for DARPP-32 but indigenous cell bodies and dendrites are not immunoreactive. These target areas include the globus pallidus, ventral pallidum, entopeduncular nucleus, and the pars reticulata of the substantia nigra. No immunoreactivity is detected in neuronal cell bodies or dendrites in any of the dopaminergic nuclei. Furthermore, nerve terminals immunoreactive for DARPP-32 do not resemble dopaminergic varicosities in either their morphology or their pattern of distribution. Many neurons are weakly immunoreactive for DARPP-32 and some of these are found in areas that apparently lack a dopaminergic input: weakly labeled neuronal cell bodies and dendrites were found throughout the neocortex, primarily in layer VI, and in the Purkinje neurons of the cerebellum. DARPP-32 immunoreactivity is also present in certain glial cells, especially in the median eminence, arcuate nucleus, and medial habenula. The present immunocytochemical studies, taken together with biochemical studies (Hemmings, H.C., Jr., A.C. Nairn, D.W. Aswad, and P. Greengard (1984) J. Neurosci. 4: 99–110; Walaas, S.I., and P. Greengard (1984) J. Neurosci. 4: 84–98) on DARPP- 32, indicate that DARPP-32, is present in the subclass of dopaminoceptive neurons containing D-1 receptors (dopamine receptors coupled to adenylate cyclase). DARPP-32 may be an effective marker for certain of the actions of dopamine that are mediated through cAMP and its associated protein kinase.