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In order to investigate whether changes in acetylcholine (ACh) release induced by GABA receptors are due to a direct or indirect effect on cholinergic neurons in the striatum, GABAA and GABAB receptor bindings were assayed in the striatum microinjected with ethylcholine mustard aziridinium ion (AF64A), a cholinergic neurotoxin. Intra-striatal injection of a selective concentration of AF64A (10 nmol) reduced GABAA receptor binding without significantly altering GABAB receptor binding. Treatment with a higher, less selective concentration of AF64A (20 nmol) reduced all markers examined. These results suggest that GABAA, but not GABAB receptors, are located on cholinergic neurons in the striatum, and that GABA can directly modulate ACh release through stimulation of GABAA receptors. Findings further suggest that GABA can also indirectly modulate ACh release through stimulation of GABAB receptors located on non-cholinergic neuronal elements in the striatum., (Copyright 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.)

Effect of nitric oxide (NO) on striatal acetylcholine (ACh) release induced by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) was investigated in freely moving rats by means of microdialysis. NMDA caused a significant increase in ACh release in the striatum, which was blocked by the specific NMDA receptor antagonists, (+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP) and (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801), indicating that agonist-evoked increase in ACh release in the striatum was through an NMDA receptor-mediated mechanism. NG-monomethyl-L-arginine acetate salt (L-NMMA; a NO synthase inhibitor) facilitated NMDA-evoked increase in ACh release, while L-arginine (the precursor of NO) inhibited the ACh release. The increase by L-NMMA of ACh release induced by the NMDA was also blocked by L-arginine. These results suggest that NO induced by NMDA receptor-mediated mechanism in cholinergic neurons may mediate an inhibitory regulation of ACh release.

The aziridinium ion of ethylcholine (AF64A), a cholinergic neurotoxin, was injected into the right striatum of a rat. The unilateral injection of 10 nmol AF64A reduced the activity of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) and the tissue content of acetylcholine (ACh) in the striatum. The striatal contents of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were unchanged. These results suggest that the cholinospecificity in the striatal lesion was induced by the 10 nmol dose of AF64A. The number of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors in the striatum treated with 10 nmol AF64A was determined by a specific binding assay using [3H](+/-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid ([3H]CPP), a selective ligand for NMDA receptors. The number of the NMDA receptors decreased significantly in the injected area. On the other hand, in a microdialysis using normal rats, the perfusion of 50 microM NMDA into the striatum increased ACh release. The perfusion of 100 microM MK801 which is the specific and non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, decreased the basal levels of ACh release and blocked NMDA-elicited ACh release. Taken together, the present results strongly suggest that a population of NMDA receptors exists on cholinergic interneurons within the striatum, and it directly regulates ACh release., (Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.)