| 12352624 |
Miyakawa N, Uchino S, Yamashita T, Okada H, Nakamura T, Kaminogawa S, Miyamoto Y, Hisatsune T: A glycine receptor antagonist, strychnine, blocked NMDA receptor activation in the neonatal mouse neocortex. Neuroreport. 2002 Sep 16;13(13):1667-73.
The NMDA receptor (NMDAR) is a Ca (2+)-permeable cation channel that plays a critical role in neural network formation during brain development. Since it is blocked in a voltage-dependent manner by extracellular Mg (2+), in order for the NMDA to be activated, the membrane must be strongly depolarized. Immature neurons in the developing neocortex can be depolarized by ligand-gated Cl (-) channels, such as the glycine receptor (GlyR) or GABA (A) receptor (GABA (A) R). We here assess the contribution of GlyRs to Ca (2+) influx via NMDARs in neonatal mouse cortical neurons. The GlyR antagonist, strychnine, was more effective in suppressing postsynaptic Ca (2+) influx than the GABA (A) R antagonist, picrotoxin, suggesting greater potentiation of NMDARs by GlyRs than by GABA (A) Rs. The GlyR, known to be endogenously activated at this stage, may play a critical role in neocortical development. |
82(1,1,1,2) |