Generation of a monoclonal antibody against the myelin protein CNP (2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase) suitable for biochemical and for immunohistochemical investigations of CNP.

The functional role of CNP (2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase), a minor component of central and peripheral myelin is still unclear. Here we describe preparation of a monoclonal antibody directed against CNP. The antibody, of the immunoglobulin IgG1 type, raised with a basic 46 kDa membrane-associated protein solubilized from pig cerebellar membranes, can be used to detect immunoreactivity in solubilized brain homogenates from pig, mouse, rat, sheep, cow and man, in cerebrum and cerebellum, but not in other tissues such as liver, skeletal and heart muscle. The antibody recognizes the CNP doublet band and shows no cross-reactivity with any of the other brain proteins solubilized. In tissue sections from paraformaldehyde-fixed rat brain the antigen was localized in oligodendrocytes. In cultured glial cells from newborn mice the antibody stained cells which were identified as oligodendrocytes by co-localization of myelin basic protein. Even cells from a C6 rat glioma cell line, which contain very little of CNP, were labeled by the monoclonal antibody. Thus the monoclonal antibody recognizing CNP from several species is suitable for immunocytochemical investigations and also for biochemical studies of CNP, since the antibody has been employed for immunoprecipitation and immunopurification of CNP in crude brain homogenates.

Ca(2+)-dependent K+ channel activity in rat glioma cells induced by bradykinin stimulation and by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate injection.

1. A glial cell line derived from C6 rat glioma cells has been shown previously to respond to extracellular pulses of bradykinin or intracellular injection of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins-P3) with a slow hyperpolarizing response due to activation of a K+ current (G. Reiser et al., Brain Res. 506, 205-214; 1990). 2. We determined the ensuing single-channel activity, which is most likely caused by Ca2+ released from internal stores after bradykinin stimulation. Bradykinin-activated channels were selectively permeable to K+, but not to Na+ or to Cl-, and exhibited conductances of mainly 40 and 50 pS. In glioma cells the same type of channel was activated by intracellular injection of Ins-P3 and by extracellular bradykinin pulses.

Bradykinin and muscarine induce Ca(2+)-dependent oscillations of membrane potential in rat glioma cells indicating a rhythmic Ca2+ release from internal stores: thapsigargin and 2,5-di(tert-butyl)-1, 4-benzohydroquinone deplete InsP3-sensitive Ca2+ stores in glioma and in neuroblastoma-glioma hybrid cells.

Continuous superfusion of rat glioma cells with medium containing bradykinin (from 0.2 nM) induced a transient hyperpolarization followed by regular hyperpolarizing oscillations of the membrane potential. Similar repetitive hyperpolarizing oscillations were caused by extracellularly applied bradykinin or muscarine or by intracellularly injected GTP-gamma-S. The frequency of the oscillations was 1 per minute at bradykinin concentrations ranging from 0.2 nM to 2 microM, but the amplitude and duration increased with rising peptide concentration. The muscarine-induced oscillations were blocked by atropine. In the presence of extracellular Ca2+, the substances thapsigargin, 2,5-di(tert-butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone (tBuBHQ), and ionomycin reversibly suppressed the bradykinin-induced oscillations. Thapsigargin and tBuBHA, which are known to block the Ca2+ ATPase of endoplasmic reticulum, caused a transient rise in cytosolic Ca2+ activity, monitored with Fura-2, in suspensions of rat glioma cells or of mouse neuroblastoma-rat glioma hybrid cells. After a transient Ca2+ rise caused by thapsigargin, tBuBHQ, or ionomycin, the Ca2+ response to bradykinin which is known to be due to release of Ca2+ from internal stores was suppressed. This indicates that thapsigargin and tBuBHQ deplete internal Ca2+ stores as already seen previously for ionomycin. Thus, the inhibition of the membrane potential oscillations by thapsigargin, tBuBHQ, and ionomycin indicates that the oscillations are associated with activation of InsP3-sensitive Ca2+ stores. In some cells composite oscillation patterns which consisted of two independent oscillations with different amplitudes that overlapped additively were seen. We discuss that this pattern and the concentration dependency of the oscillations could be due to "quantal" Ca2+ release from stores with different inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate sensitivities. Subsidence of the oscillations after omission of extracellular Ca2+ seems to be due to a lack of replenishment of the intracellular stores with Ca2+, which comes from the extracellular compartment.

Postnatal development of dye-coupling among astrocytes in rat visual cortex.

Intercellular coupling among astrocytes was studied in rat visual cortex slices from animals aged 1 week to 4 months. Cell coupling via gap junctions was determined by the dye spread of the low molecular weight dye Lucifer Yellow CH injected into electrophysiologically identified cells to adjacent cells. Coupling among glial cells was first detected at postnatal day 11 and was thereafter consistently observed until adulthood. Dye spread was observed up to 300 microns radially from the injected cell covering multiple cortical layers. Following dye injection into a single cell up to several hundred Lucifer Yellow-positive cells could be observed. Quantitative analysis revealed a similar extent of dye spread at different developmental stages including a quite constant number of dye-coupled astrocytes from the end of the second postnatal week to adulthood. Double labelling of Lucifer Yellow-filled cells with an antiserum against the glial fibrillary acidic protein confirmed the astrocytic nature of the injected and coupled cells. Comparison of the density of dye-coupled cells in a given area and the total number of astrocytes as revealed by immunocytochemical staining suggests that dye-coupling includes the entire local astrocytic population. It is concluded that coupling among astrocytes via gap junctions in rat visual cortex occurs shortly after birth and reflects one of the first steps in astroglial maturation.

Activation of a K+ conductance by bradykinin and by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate in rat glioma cells: involvement of intracellular and extracellular Ca2+.

Extracellular application of bradykinin and injection of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins-P3) induced a hyperpolarization in polyploid rat glioma cells. Ins-1,4,5-P3 and Ins-2,4,5-P3 were effective but not Ins-4,5-P2, Ins-1,3,4,5-P4 and Ins-1,3,4,5,6-P5. The reversal potential of the hyperpolarizing response induced by bradykinin or by Ins-P3 increased to a comparable degree with increasing the extracellular K+ concentration. Certain blockers of K+ channels, for example charybdotoxin (5-50 nM), Ba2+ (5-20 mM), 4-aminopyridine (5-10 mM) and quinidine (0.1-0.5 mM) reversibly suppressed the membrane potential response to bradykinin or to Ins-P3; however, apamin (1 microM) and D-tubocurarine (0.5 mM) had no effect. Intracellular injection of EGTA made the glioma cells unresponsive to bradykinin. Superfusion of the cells with Ca2(+)-free medium gradually and reversibly abolished the response to bradykinin, but only slightly reduced the effect of Ins-P3. The Ca2+ channel blockers Co2+ (1-5 mM), Mn2+ (2-6 mM) and nifedipine (1-20 microM), but not desmethoxyverapamil (100 microM) inhibited the hyperpolarizing effect of bradykinin. The hyperpolarization induced by Ins-P3, however, was not influenced by Mn2+ (1-5 mM) or by Co2+ (7 mM). Injection of Ca2+ into the glioma cells induced a hyperpolarization susceptible to Ba2+ and quinidine. Treatment of glioma cells with an activator or with inhibitors of protein kinase C or with pertussis toxin did not affect the response to bradykinin. Incubation of the cells with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 (0.1-1 microM) made the cells unresponsive to bradykinin and, somewhat less, to Ins-P3. At these concentrations the Ca2+ ionophore primarily depletes intracellular Ca2+ stores. In summary, bradykinin, via B2-receptors (blocked by [Thi5,8, D-Phe7]-bradykinin) activates a K+ conductance in glioma cells following a rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity most likely due to Ins-P3-mediated release of Ca2+ from internal stores. Entry of extracellular Ca2+ appears also to be involved in this process.

Mechanisms for activation and subsequent removal of cytosolic Ca2+ in bradykinin-stimulated neuronal and glial cell lines.

Mechanisms for activation and for removal of cytosolic Ca2+ after stimulation with bradykinin were investigated in two neural cell lines by measuring cytosolic Ca2+ activity and 45Ca2+ fluxes. In the neuronal (neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid) and in the glial (rat glioma) cell lines, the transient, bradykinin-induced rise in cytosolic Ca2+ activity (determined by fura-2 or indo-1 fluorescence) was blocked by a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist. Ca2+ ionophores (ionomycin and 4-Br-A23187) caused a comparable transient rise in cytosolic Ca2+ activity. After addition of ionophores, the Ca2+ response to bradykinin was reduced or completely blocked in both cell lines. At the concentrations used, the ionophores primarily depleted intracellular Ca2+ stores and prevented refilling of the stores. Thus, the bradykinin-induced rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity seems to be mostly due to Ca2+ release from internal stores. In the neuronal but not in the glial cell line, a brief stimulation by bradykinin of 45Ca2+ uptake was followed by a long-lasting inhibition below control values. Thus, in the neuronal cells bradykinin presumably blocks Ca2+ channels by a readily reversible, pertussis toxin-insensitive mechanism. Excess cytosolic Ca2+ of the bradykinin-stimulated cells is mostly not resequestered into the internal Ca2+ pool accessible to bradykinin, but is mainly extruded through the plasma membrane, as indicated by (i) stimulation of 45Ca2+ release by bradykinin, (ii) quick reduction by bradykinin of cellular 45Ca2+ content of cells preequilibrated with 45Ca2+, and (iii) diminution of the ionophore-inducible Ca2+ response after the addition of bradykinin.

Serotonin regulates cytosolic Ca2+ activity and membrane potential in a neuronal and in a glial cell line via 5-HT3 and 5-HT2 receptors by different mechanisms.

The mechanisms of action of two different serotonin receptors, found in a neuronal cell line (neuroblastoma X glioma hybrid cells) and in a non-excitable glioma cell line, were explored. In both cell lines, serotonin induced a dose-dependent, transient rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity (measured by fura-2 or indo-1 fluorescence). Ca2+ channel blockers (Ni2+ and La3+, not nifedipine) suppressed the Ca2+ response to serotonin in the hybrid cells but not in the glioma cells. After application of Ca2+ ionophores (ionomycin and A23187) in order to short-circuit internal Ca2+ stores, serotonin was still able to induce a Ca2+ response in the hybrid cells but not in the glioma cells. Serotonin dose-dependently stimulated the rate of 45Ca2+ uptake several-fold in the hybrid cells, but hardly at all in the glioma cells. Thus, in the neuronal cell line cytosolic Ca2+ activity is raised through enhancement of Ca2+ entry into the cells from the extracellular environment via 5-HT3 receptors (blocked by ICS 205-930, MDL 72222 and GR 38032 F). The depolarization response caused by serotonin in the hybrid cells is due to activation of cation conductance(s), obviously allowing entry of extracellular Ca2+. In contrast to the neuronal cell line, in the glial cell line the rise of Ca2+ activity is mediated by ketanserin-susceptible 5-HT2 receptors (not affected by treatment with pertussis toxin) mainly liberating Ca2+ from internal stores. In the glioma cells the release of Ca2+ from internal stores leads to opening of Ca2+-dependent K+ channels, responsible for the hyperpolarizing response. Thus, the neuronal and the glial cell lines might provide suitable systems in which to study the diverse cellular functions triggered by the rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity, which is caused by different serotonin receptors.

Memantine (1-amino-3,5-dimethyladamantane) blocks the serotonin-induced depolarization response in a neuronal cell line.

The influence of memantine on several properties of a neuronal cell line was tested. The aim was to get some insight into possible mechanisms of action of this drug which is therapeutically applicable in treatment of spasticity, Parkinson's disease, and cerebral coma. In neuroblastoma X glioma hybrid cells, memantine, at micromolar concentrations, blocked the depolarization induced by iontophoretically applied serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT). In the hybrid cells, receptors of the 5-HT3 type mediated the depolarization, which was frequently accompanied by a series of action potentials. The inhibition by memantine of the serotonin response occurred fast and was completely reversible, irrespective of whether the cell showed a stable membrane potential or spontaneous action potentials. However, memantine did not alter spontaneous or electrically evoked action potential activity in the hybrid cells, and apparently did not block the underlying ionic conductances. Furthermore memantine did not affect either the cation permeability activated by substance P in the hybrid cells or the K+ channel triggered by bradykinin in a glioma cell line. Thus, memantine appears specifically to suppress the ion channel opened by serotonin in the hybrid cells. The interaction of memantine with serotonin receptors and the associated ion channels reported here, might give an important clue, as to a site of action of memantine in the nervous system.

The regulatory influence of bradykinin and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate on the membrane potential in neural cell lines.

The effect of bradykinin on membrane potential, level of cyclic nucleotides and of cytosolic Ca2+-activity was determined in neural cell lines. Bradykinin induced a transient hyperpolarization followed by a depolarization in mouse neuroblastoma x rat glioma hybrid cells and in polyploid rat glioma cells. The reversal potential of the hyperpolarizing response depended on the extracellular K+ concentration. The K+ channel blockers, Ba2+, quinidine, and 4-aminopyridine, inhibited the response to bradykinin. This suggests that the hyperpolarization of ca. 1 min duration, which was accompanied by a decreased input resistance, is due to activation of K+ channels. Upon addition of bradykinin to the cells the cytosolic Ca2+-activity increased transiently. Ca2+ was involved in the induction of the hyperpolarization by bradykinin, since both removal of extracellular Ca2+ and injection of EGTA into the cells suppressed the membrane potential response. Bradykinin induced the formation of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3), an agent known to release Ca2+ from intracellular stores, and stimulated the uptake of 45Ca2+ into the cells. Therefore the increased level of intracellular Ca2+ activating the K+ conductance could be due to two components: release from intracellular pools and uptake. IP3 seems to be involved in the membrane potential response, because intracellular injection of either IP3 or Ca2+ into the glioma cells elicited a hyperpolarizing response which resembled that after application of bradykinin and was also susceptible to the K+ channel blocking agents listed above. However, the formation of cyclic GMP by bradykinin apparently plays no role in the membrane potential effect of bradykinin.