Sulfamethoxazole induces zinc changes at hippocampal mossy fiber synapses from pregnant rats.

The accumulation of intracellular ionic zinc and pharmaceutical compounds, like the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, may contribute to various neuropathologies. Sulfamethoxazole and the drug trimethoprim, are inhibitors of enzymes involved in the synthesis of tetrahydrofolate and also of carbonic anhydrases. The inhibition of the latter enzymes, which are localized both intra- and extracellularly and have a key role in pH regulation, causes alkalinization that is associated with higher spontaneous transmitter release. Intense synaptic stimulation causes the entry of released zinc into postsynaptic neurons, through glutamate receptor channels or voltage dependent calcium channels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of sulfamethoxazole (180 µM) on basal postsynaptic zinc and to compare it with that caused by two depolarizing media, containing high potassium or tetraethylammonium, which may induce long term synaptic plasticity. The studies were performed in brain slices from gestating rats, at the mossy fiber synapses from hippocampal CA3 area, using the zinc indicator Newport Green. In the presence of KCl (20 mM) and sulfamethoxazole (180 µM) the zinc signals were enhanced, unlike in tetraethylammonium (25 mM). After sulfamethoxazole the tetraethylammonium evoked zinc signal had reduced amplitude. Thus, the data suggests that sulfamethoxazole enhances transmitter release affecting synaptic zinc physiology.

Effect of tolbutamide on tetraethylammonium-induced postsynaptic zinc signals at hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 synapses.

The application of tetraethylammonium (TEA), a blocker of voltage-dependent potassium channels, can induce long-term potentiation (LTP) in the synaptic systems CA3-CA1 and mossy fiber-CA3 pyramidal cells of the hippocampus. In the mossy fibers, the depolarization evoked by extracellular TEA induces a large amount of glutamate and also of zinc release. It is considered that zinc has a neuromodulatory role at the mossy fiber synapses, which can, at least in part, be due to the activation of presynaptic ATP-dependent potassium (KATP) channels. The aim of this work was to study properties of TEA-induced zinc signals, detected at the mossy fiber region, using the permeant form of the zinc indicator Newport Green. The application of TEA caused a depression of those signals that was partially blocked by the KATP channel inhibitor tolbutamide. After the removal of TEA, the signals usually increased to a level above baseline. These results are in agreement with the idea that intense zinc release during strong synaptic events triggers a negative feedback action. The zinc depression, caused by the LTP-evoking chemical stimulation, turns into potentiation after TEA washout, suggesting the existence of a correspondence between the observed zinc potentiation and TEA-evoked mossy fiber LTP.