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Cultured cerebellar granule cells grown in medium containing 10 mM K+ undergo apoptosis after 4-5 days in vitro (DIV), and, at that time, the activity of metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors coupled to polyphosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis begins to decline. In granule cells at 4 DIV, the mGlu receptor subtype mGlu5 was expressed at high levels. The expression of another PI-coupled mGlu receptor, the mGlu1a, was low at 4 DIV but increased during the following days. In cultures at 4-5 DIV, the few cells that already showed an apoptotic phenotype were devoid of mGlu5 receptors, but they all expressed mGlu1a receptors. The development of apoptosis was accelerated after treating the cultures with: (i) mGlu5 antisense oligonucleotides; (ii) the mixed mGlu receptor antagonist, (+)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine; or (iii) the glutamate depleting enzyme, alanine aminotransferase. In contrast, an induced overexpression of mGlu5 receptors protected cultured granule cells against apoptotic death. We suggest that the activity of mGlu5 receptors supports cell survival, and a decline in the expression of mGlu5 receptors gives access to programmed cell death in cerebellar granule cells developing in primary cultures.

Cyclic adenosine diphosphate-ribose (cADPR) and ADPR were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a CarboPac PA-1 column at strong basic pH and quantitated by a pulsed amperometric detector. Although this HPLC method was quite sensitive and highly reproducible, it did not allow the separation of cADPR from guanosine monophosphate (GMP) which, when present, could be removed by ion-affinity chromatography, using gel-immobilized Fe3+ columns. Crude synaptic membranes from rat hippocampi were incubated with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and acidic extracts were subject to HPLC analysis after neutralization. Incubation led to a time-dependent formation of ADPR, which was amplified when membranes were incubated in the presence of guanosine trisphosphate (GTP), guanosine-5'-0-(3-thiotrisphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S) or AlF3. cADPR did not accumulate in detectable amounts and only a minimal proportion (5%) of radioactivity originating from [3H]NAD co-eluted with authentic cADPR in extracts from hippocampal membranes. The simultaneous detection of cADPR and ADPR we have described may help the search for inhibitors of cADPR metabolism, which will allow to measure the cADPR that accumulates under basal conditions or in response to extracellular signals.

Cyclic adenosine diphosphate-ribose (cADPR) and ADPR were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a CarboPac PA-1 column at strong basic pH and quantitated by a pulsed amperometric detector. Although this HPLC method was quite sensitive and highly reproducible, it did not allow the separation of cADPR from guanosine monophosphate (GMP) which, when present, could be removed by ion-affinity chromatography, using gel-immobilized Fe3+ columns. Crude synaptic membranes from rat hippocampi were incubated with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and acidic extracts were subject to HPLC analysis after neutralization. Incubation led to a time-dependent formation of ADPR, which was amplified when membranes were incubated in the presence of guanosine trisphosphate (GTP), guanosine-5'-0-(3-thiotrisphosphate) (GTP-gamma-S) or AlF3. cADPR did not accumulate in detectable amounts and only a minimal proportion (< 5%) of radioactivity originating from [3H]NAD co-eluted with authentic cADPR in extracts from hippocampal membranes. The simultaneous detection of cADPR and ADPR we have described may help the search for inhibitors of cADPR metabolism, which will allow to measure the cADPR that accumulates under basal conditions or in response to extracellular signals.

We have studied the influence of class I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) on excitotoxic neuronal degeneration in cultured murine cortical neurons grown on a monolayer of astrocytes. These cultures expressed high levels of mGluR5 mRNA, which were comparable to those found in RNA extracts from cerebral cortex. Cortical neurons in mixed cultures were heavily stained with antibodies raised against mGluR5 and were also stained—albeit to a much lower extent—with mGluR1a but not with mGluR1b or c antibodies. Preferential agonists of class I mGluRs, such as quisqualate, 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG), and trans-azetidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (t-ADA), as well as the mixed mGluR agonist, 1S, 3R-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (1S,3R-ACPD) all stimulated PPI hydrolysis in cultured cortical cells. The potency of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) in inducing neuronal degeneration was substantially enhanced when the drug was coincubated with quisqualate, DHPG or t-ADA during a 10-min pulse (paradigm of “fast” toxicity). None of the mGluR agonists influenced neuronal viability by itself. The amplification of NMDA toxicity by quisqualate or DHPG was attenuated by a series of protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, suggesting that class I mGluRs operate, at least in part, through activation of PKC. Quisqualate and, in particular, DHPG enhanced excitotoxic neuronal degeneration even when applied after the toxic pulse with NMDA. This action is likely to occur early in the maturation of excitotoxic damage, because the functional activity of class I mGluRs was substantially reduced at 2 or 3 hr after the NMDA pulse. These results suggest that activation of class I mGluRs enhances NMDA-receptor mediated neuronal toxicity and encourage the search for selective antagonists for the experimental therapy of acute or chronic neurodegenerative diseases.

We have studied the expression of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) receptor subunits in cultured cerebellar granule cells [7 days in vitro (DIV)] grown in medium containing different concentrations of K+ (10, 25, or 40 mM) with or without 100 microM N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA; added once after 2 DIV). All these conditions are known to influence maturation and survival of granule cells, as well as the functional expression of NMDA receptors during development in culture. The expression of both glutamate receptor (GluR) subunit 1 mRNA and receptor protein was low in cultures grown in 10 mM K+ (K10) and increased dramatically in cultures grown in 25 mM K+ (K25), with intermediate levels found in cultures grown in K10 and chronically exposed to NMDA (K10 + NMDA). In cultures grown in 40 mM K+ (K40), the expression of GluR1 mRNA and receptor protein was lower than in K25 but still higher than in K10. GluR2 and -3 subunits were differently regulated by growth conditions, with their expression being higher in K10 and progressively reduced to the lowest levels in K40 (both mRNA and receptor proteins). GluR4 mRNA levels did not differ between K10 and K25, although they were reduced by chronic exposure to NMDA. To test how the differential expression of the various subunits affects the functional activity of AMPA receptors, we have measured AMPA-stimulated 45Ca2+ influx and 4 beta-[3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate binding in intact cells. Both functional parameters increased along with the K+ concentration and were maximal in K40, in coincidence with the lowest expression of the GluR2 subunits.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)