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Membrane currents and cytoplasmic sodium transients generated by glutamate transport in Bergmann glial cells

  • Cellular Neurophysiology
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Abstract

Effects of glutamate and kainate (KA) on Bergmann glial cells were investigated in mouse cerebellar slices using the whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique combined with SBFI-based Na+ microfluorimetry. l-Glutamate (1 mM) and KA (100 μM) induced inward currents in Bergmann glial cells voltage-clamped at −70 mV. These currents were accompanied by an increase in intracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]i) from the average resting level of 5.2 ± 0.5 mM to 26 ± 5 mM and 33 ± 7 mM, respectively. KA-evoked signals (1) were completely blocked in the presence of 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 10 μM), an antagonist of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)/KA ionotropic glutamate receptors; (2) reversed at 0 mV, and (3) disappeared in Na+-free, N-methyl-D-glucamine (NMDG+)-containing solution, but remained almost unchanged in Na+-free, Li+-containing solution. Conversely, l-glutamate-induced signals (1) were marginally CNQX sensitive (∼10% inhibition), (2) did not reverse at a holding potential of +20 mV, (3) were markedly suppressed by Na+ substitution with both NMDG+ and Li+, and (4) were inhibited by d,l-threo-β-benzyloxyaspartate. Further, d-glutamate, l-, and d-aspartate were also able to induce Na+-dependent inward current. Stimulation of parallel fibres triggered inward currents and [Na+]i transients that were insensitive to CNQX and MK-801; hence, we suggested that synaptically released glutamate activates glutamate/Na+ transporter in Bergmann glial cells, which produces a substantial increase in intracellular Na+ concentration.

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Acknowledgment

The authors’ research was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the National Institute of Health, and the Alzheimer Research Trust (UK).

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  1. Sergei Kirischuk

    Present address: Institute of Neurophysiology, Johannes Müller Center for Physiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Delbruck-Centre for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rossle-Strasse 10, 13122, Berlin-Buch, Germany

    Sergei Kirischuk & Helmut Kettenmann

  2. Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, 1.124 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK

    Alexei Verkhratsky

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Correspondence to Alexei Verkhratsky.

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Kirischuk, S., Kettenmann, H. & Verkhratsky, A. Membrane currents and cytoplasmic sodium transients generated by glutamate transport in Bergmann glial cells. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 454, 245–252 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-007-0207-5

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