Abstract
Primary cultures of rat cerebellar granule cells were used to investigate the effects of chronic ethanol exposure (50-100 mM for 3 days) on NMDA receptor functions (Ca2+ fluxes and neurotoxicity), binding parameters of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist [3H]MK-801, relative abundance of mRNAs coding for NMDA receptor subunits, and expression of NMDA receptor subunit proteins. Ethanol exposure caused a marked increase in NMDA-produced neurotoxicity but produced a differential pattern of effects on NMDA-induced Ca2+ fluxes with a marked enhancement of NMDA-stimulated free cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i), but no changes in NMDA-induced 45Ca2+ uptake. As shown by [3H]MK-801 binding experiments, chronic ethanol had no effect on affinity or number of the NMDA receptors. Furthermore, ethanol exposure had no effect on the relative abundance of the mRNAs for any of the NMDA receptor subunits (four splice variants of NR1, or NR2A-C), or on the expression of NMDA receptor subunit proteins. Our data confirm previous observations that chronic ethanol exposure enhances NMDA receptor-mediated neurotoxicity and elevation of [Ca2+]i, but also suggest that the increased responsiveness of NMDA receptors is not necessarily associated with alterations in the subunit composition or the ligand binding properties of NMDA receptors.
Publication types
-
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
-
Analysis of Variance
-
Animals
-
Apoptosis / drug effects
-
Benzothiadiazines
-
Binding, Competitive / drug effects
-
Blotting, Western
-
Calcium / metabolism
-
Cell Survival / drug effects
-
Cells, Cultured
-
Cerebellum / cytology
-
Cerebellum / drug effects*
-
Cerebellum / metabolism
-
DNA Fragmentation / drug effects
-
Diuretics
-
Dizocilpine Maleate / metabolism
-
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
-
Drug Synergism
-
Ethanol / toxicity*
-
Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists / pharmacology
-
Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / pharmacology
-
Intracellular Fluid / metabolism
-
Long-Term Potentiation / drug effects
-
N-Methylaspartate / antagonists & inhibitors
-
N-Methylaspartate / pharmacology
-
Neuroprotective Agents / metabolism
-
RNA, Messenger / metabolism
-
Rats
-
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
-
Receptors, AMPA / metabolism
-
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / drug effects*
-
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / genetics
-
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / metabolism*
-
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
-
Sodium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors / pharmacology
-
Tetrazolium Salts
-
Thiazoles
Substances
-
Benzothiadiazines
-
Diuretics
-
Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists
-
Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists
-
Neuroprotective Agents
-
RNA, Messenger
-
Receptors, AMPA
-
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
-
Sodium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors
-
Tetrazolium Salts
-
Thiazoles
-
Ethanol
-
N-Methylaspartate
-
Dizocilpine Maleate
-
thiazolyl blue
-
Calcium