Central effects of systemic lidocaine mediated by glycine spinal receptors: an iontophoretic study in the rat spinal cord

The objective of this investigation was to demonstrate the possible interactions of systemic lidocaine (lido) with inhibitory receptors in the spinal cord. In the lumbar dorsal horn of anesthetized and curarized rats, 60 physiologically identified, wide dynamic range (WDR) neurons, were recorded extracellularly. Glutamate, glycine and its selective antagonist, strychnine, were iontophoretically applied onto the neurons either singularly or concurrently. The effects of systemic lido on the drug-induced frequency changes and the interaction with the glycine receptors, using strychnine as a probe, were studied. It was consistently found that (i) lido (3–4 mg/kg) inhibited the excitatory responses to iontophoretic glutamate, (ii) this inhibition was significantly antagonized by concurrent iontophoretic strychnine, (iii) iontophoretic glycine induced comparable glutamate inhibition that was reversed by strychnine. In contrast, no effect on glutamate-induced excitations was observed when lido was applied by micropressure or a different local anesthetic was systemically administered. The results suggest that central inhibitory effects of lido could by mediated by spinal strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors, activated by lido itself or possibly by its glycine residue-bearing metabolites.     

Glycine-like immunoreactivity in synaptic boutons of identified inhibitory interneurons in the mammalian spinal cord

Glycine is thought ti be a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian CNS. Two types of physiologically identified interneurons, Renshaw cells and Ia inhibitory interneurons, were intracellularly staind with horseradish peroxidase, and their axon terminals were studied at the electron microscopic level. Post-embedding immunogold procedures weer used to reveal the presence of glycine-like immunoreactivity. The synaptic terminals of both types of interneuron were significantly enriched with glycine-like immunoreactivity, providing support for the idea that glycine is a mediator of synaptic transmission in the recurrent and reciprocal inhibitory pathways to motoneurons.     

Effects of amino acids on the excitability of respiratory bulbospinal neurons in solitary and para-ambigual regions of medulla in cat

The effects of inhibitory (gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine) and excitatory (L-glutamate and DL-homocysteate, DLH) amino acids on the excitability of respiratory bulbospinal neurons were studied in decerebrate, paralyzed, bilaterally vagotomized, artificially ventilated cats. Unit activities were recorded extracellularly in the medulla in both the ventrolateral portion of the nucleus tractus solitarius and the para-ambigual region in the vicinity of the nucleus ambiguus (dorsal and ventral respiratory groups, respectively). All neurons were bulbospinal since they could be antidromically activated by electrical stimuli to the spinal cord. We used variations in antidromic latency (ADL) as a measure of changes in excitability of the soma. All neurons exhibited variations in ADL related to the respiratory cycle, being shortest (minimum ADL) during neural activity and longest (maximum ADL) in the silent period. Neurons whose discharge frequencies fell during application of putative inhibitory amino acids showed an increase of minimum ADL compared to control, indicating hyperpolarization. Minimum ADL, in some cells, became shorter during application of excitatory amino acids, indicating depolarization; in others, mechanisms secondary to increased neuronal firing likely obscured their effects. The transient maximum ADL usually present at the onset of the silent period was increased by excitatory amino acids and, in some units, was reduced or eliminated by inhibitory amino acids. These effects are discussed in terms of a modulation by synaptic inputs and neurotransmitters of the cumulative afterhyperpolarization which follows bursts of action potentials.     

Effects of glycine and GABA,and blocking actions of strychnine and picrotoxin in the hypoglossus nucleus

Summary Neutral ω-amino acids were applied iontophoretically in the hypoglossus nucleus. Intracellular recordings revealed inhibitory actions involving hyperpolarization and conductance increase of the membrane. The antidromic field potential was reduced most effectively by glycine, as judged by the comparison of iontophoretic currents. Picrotoxin, ejected electrophoretically, clearly interfered with the action of GABA, glycine effects being reduced only with rather high currents. Strychnine had very specific blocking ability against glycine actions. Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Br 242/7).     

甘氨酸对缺氧/复氧离体大鼠心脏功能的作用

目的：观察甘氨酸(glycine, GLY)对缺氧/复氧离体心脏功能的影响，探讨甘氨酸对心肌缺血-再灌注 (ischemia/reperfusion, I/R)损伤的防治作用及其机制。方法：利用Langendorff灌流装置复制心肌缺氧/复氧(hypoxia/reoxygenation, H/R)模型，观察不同浓度GLY处理后心脏左室收缩压（left ventricular systolic pressure, LVSP）、左室舒张末压（left ventricular end diastolic pressure, LVEDP）、左室发展压 (left ventricular developed pressure, LVDP=LVSP-LVEDP)、左室收缩压最大上升/下降速率(the maximum rising and dropping rates of left ventricular pressure, dp/dtmax and dp/dtmin)，并在相应的时点分别测定冠脉流出液中的超氧化物歧化酶(superoxide dismutase, SOD)活性和丙二醛(malondialdehyde, MDA)的水平。结果：H/R后各时点大鼠心功能各指标均低于缺氧前；GLY处理组复氧后心功能各指标均高于H/R组，并拮抗损伤导致的SOD减少和MDA升高。结论：一定浓度的GLY能显著改善缺氧/复氧心肌的舒缩功能，其机制可能与其提高SOD活性抑制脂质过氧化反应有关。     

Colocalization of glutamate and glycine in bipolar cell terminals of the human retina

Human retinae from surgical specimens rapidly fixed in a glutaraldehyde/formaldehyde mixture were subjected to postembedding, immunogold immunocytochemistry of glutamate and glycine, and subsequently analysed in an electron microscope. The two amino acids were visualised in the same tissue sections by the use of two different gold particle sizes. All bipolar cell perikarya and terminals showed significant glutamate labelling with mean gold particle densities 3–4 times higher than those of the retinal, non-neural pigment epithelial and Müller cells. Bipolar cell terminals displayed significantly higher glutamate labelling density than the bipolar cell bodies, as would be expected of glutamatergic neurons. A subpopulation of the glutamate-immunolabelled bipolar cell bodies (18%) and terminals (32%) also exhibited strong glycine labelling (7–8 times that of pigment epithelial and Müller cells). These glutamate-glycine positive terminals established contacts with amacrine cell processes and ganglion cell dendrites and were localised almost exclusively at between 44% and 88% depth of the inner plexiform layer, indicating that they belong to the ON cone bipolar system. This subpopulation of terminals was endowed with significantly higher glycine labelling density than the glycine positive bipolar cell bodies. These results show that human bipolar cell terminals colocalise glutamate and glycine and provide the first direct demonstration of an enrichment of these two amino acids in the same presynaptic element.     

甘氨酸受体在甘氨酸抗心肌细胞缺氧/复氧损伤中的作用机制研究

目的：探讨甘氨酸受体在心脏保护中的作用及甘氨酸受体的性质。方法：利用原代培养的SD大鼠乳鼠心肌细胞建立心肌缺氧/复氧(A/R)模型，并用甘氨酸受体阻断法和消除细胞外氯离子法, 测定各组培养心肌细胞内超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性、丙二醛（MDA）及一氧化氮（NO）的含量、钙离子浓度和心肌细胞凋亡率。结果：A/R组用甘氨酸处理后SOD活性、NO含量升高，MDA含量、［Ca²⁺］_i、细胞凋亡率降低，与A/R组比较显著差异。分别用甘氨酸受体阻断剂士的宁和消除细胞外氯离子处理后，甘氨酸的上述保护作用明显减弱，与A/R组比较无显著差异。结论：甘氨酸能抑制缺氧/复氧乳鼠心肌细胞的自由基生成、抑制钙超载，减轻心肌细胞的凋亡并增加细胞内SOD等保护蛋白和NO的合成而发挥细胞保护作用。甘氨酸的细胞保护作用可能是通过甘氨酸受体发挥作用的，甘氨酸受体的本质可能是甘氨酸门控氯离子通道。     

精-甘-天冬-丝氨酸4肽对肝星状细胞增殖及凋亡的影响

目的: 探讨精-甘-天冬-丝氨酸(RGDS) 4肽对纤维连接蛋白(FN)刺激的肝星状细胞(HSCs)增殖、凋亡及caspase-3表达的影响。方法: 应用体外HSCs培养技术, 采用[³H]-胸腺嘧啶核苷([³H]-TdR)掺入法测定HSCs增殖;膜联蛋白(Annexin-V)/碘化丙啶(PI)双标记流式细胞术、TUNEL、扫描电镜及透射电镜等方法测定HSCs凋亡;采用甲苯胺兰染色方法测定细胞粘附率;应用流式细胞方法测定caspase-3蛋白表达。结果: ①25 mg·L^-1、50mg·L^-1、100mg·L^-1浓度RGDS 4肽剂量、时间依赖性抑制HSCs增殖, P＜0.01。②RGDS 4肽对HSCs凋亡的诱导作用亦呈剂量和时间依赖关系, P＜0.01。扫描电镜、透射电镜观察, RGDS 4肽组出现典型的凋亡征象。③RGDS 4肽作用于HSCs 2 h, 25 mg·L^-1、50mg·L^-1、100mg·L^-1组粘附抑制率分别是8.82%、29.41%、45.59%, 而RGES 4肽组的粘附抑制率仅为4.41%, P＜0.01。④RGDS 4肽处理组caspase-3表达明显高于FN、RGES 4肽组。结论: RGDS 4肽剂量和时间依赖性抑制HSCs增殖并诱导其凋亡。RGDS 4肽抑制增殖及诱导凋亡效应, 依赖于caspase-3, 也与其抗粘附作用有关。     

卵母细胞基因表达系统的应用研究

目的 :建立研究神经生理及药理的卵母细胞表达模型 ,并对鸡脑mRNA在卵母细胞上表达的氨基酸类受体进行研究。方法 :采用盐酸胍或异硫氰酸胍法抽提总RNA ,经寡聚脱氧胸苷 (oligo -dT)纤维素柱纯化得mRNA。mRNA微注射到卵母细胞内进行表达 ,以双电极电压钳技术研究表达的受体。结果 :模型能明显表达外源性mRNA表达的受体 ,而阴性对照无表达。在卵母细胞膜上表达的γ -氨基丁酸 (γ -aminobutyricacid ,GABA) ,甘氨酸(Glycine ,Gly)及红藻氨酸 (Kainate ,KA)受体 ,施加GABA ,Gly及KA均能引起一剂量依赖的内向电流 ,相应的拮抗剂可阻断其电流。剂量效应曲线显示GABA及KA诱导电流的半有效浓度 (EC5 0 )分别为 2 .9× 10 -5mol/L及 6 .3× 10 -5mol/L。结论 :卵母细胞可明显表达鸡脑mRNA编码的KA ,Gly及GABA受体 ,其药理特性与天然受体相似 ,是一个良好的神经生理及药理研究模型。     

The effects of d-cycloserine and MK-801 on the performance of rats in two spatial learning and memory tasks

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of modulation of the (NMDA) receptor on learning and memory. Thus, the performance of rats treated with d-cycloserine, a partial agonist at the glycine recognition site of the NMDA receptor complex, and MK-801, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, either alone or concurrently were assessed in radial arm maze and water maze tasks. Administration of MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) impaired acquisition in the water maze (increased escape latency and distance) and working memory in the radial arm maze (increased re-entries) in rats. Moreover, in the radial arm maze, MK-801 disrupted locomotion (increased latencies and decreased arm entries per minute) and impaired the acquisition of reference memory (increased number of errors) performance of rats. d-Cycloserine (0.03, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0, 10 mg/kg, i.p.) had no effects on acquisition or memory performance of control or MK-801-treated rats in either of these tasks. However, d-cycloserine (0.03, 0.3, 3.0 mg/kg) reversed the MK-801-induced disruption in locomotion. Furthermore, 3.0 mg/kg d-cycloserine increased behavioral activity and also decreased the time needed to complete the task in control animals. To conclude, our results suggest that the consequences of NMDA receptor modulation on learning and memory processes and sensorimotor functions may be functionally different or have distinct anatomical locations.