Functional characterization of a heteromeric NMDA receptor channel expressed from cloned cDNAs.

The glutamate receptor (GluR) channel plays a key part in brain function. Among GluR channel subtypes, the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor channel which is highly permeable to Ca2+ is essential for the synaptic plasticity underlying memory, learning and development. Furthermore, abnormal activation of the NMDA receptor channel may trigger the neuronal cell death observed in various brain disorders. A complementary DNA encoding a subunit of the rodent NMDA receptor channel (NMDAR1 or zeta 1) has been cloned and its functional properties investigated. Here we report the identification and primary structure of a novel mouse NMDA receptor channel subunit, designated as epsilon 1, after cloning and sequencing the cDNA. The epsilon 1 subunit shows 11-18% amino-acid sequence identity with rodent GluR channel subunits that have been characterized so far and has structural features common to neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. Expression from cloned cDNAs of the epsilon 1 subunit together with the zeta 1 subunit in Xenopus oocytes yields functional GluR channels with high activity and characteristics of the NMDA receptor channel. Furthermore, the heteromeric NMDA receptor channel can be activated by glycine alone.     

Regulation of NMDA receptor desensitization in mouse hippocampal neurons by glycine

Responses to the excitatory amino acid N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) are markedly potentiated by nanomolar concentrations of glycine. This is due to the action of glycine at a novel strychnine-resistant binding site with an anatomical distribution identical to that for NMDA receptors, suggesting that the NMDA receptor channel complex contains at least two classes of amino-acid recognition site. Antagonists at the glycine-binding site associated with NMDA receptors act as potent non-competitive antagonists, but do not alter the mean open time or conductance, as estimated by fluctuation analysis. The mechanisms by which glycine acts on NMDA receptors are unknown, but single-channel recording experiments show an increase in opening frequency with no change in mean open time or conductance, suggesting that glycine could regulate transitions to states that are intermediate between binding of NMDA receptor agonists and ion-channel gating. It has been suggested that glycine acts as a co-agonist at the NMDA receptor, and that responses to NMDA cannot be obtained in the complete absence of glycine, but in these experiments the response to NMDA was measured at equilibrium, and it is unlikely that sufficient temporal resolution was achieved to detect rapid alterations in receptor gating. Using a fast perfusion system we find that glycine regulates desensitization at NMDA receptors; this has a major effect on the response to NMDA measured at equilibrium, as would occur with slower applications of agonist. Reduction of NMDA receptor desensitization by glycine provides an example of a novel mechanism for regulation of ion-channel activity.     

Protein kinase C reduces Mg2+ block of NMDA-receptor channels as a mechanism of modulation.

The roles of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and protein kinase C (PKC) are critical in generating and maintaining a variety of sustained neuronal responses. In the nociceptive (pain-sensing) system, tissue injury or repetitive stimulation of small-diameter afferent fibres triggers a dramatic increase in discharge (wind-up) or prolonged depolarization of spinal cord neurons. This central sensitization can neither be induced nor maintained when NMDA receptor channels are blocked. In the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (a centre for processing nociceptive information from the orofacial areas), a mu-opioid receptor agonist causes a sustained increase in NMDA-activated currents by activating intracellular PKC. There is also evidence that PKC enhances NMDA-receptor-mediated glutamate responses and regulates long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission. Despite the importance of NMDA-receptors and PKC, the mechanism by which PKC alters the NMDA response has remained unclear. Here we examine the actions of intracellularly applied PKC on NMDA-activated currents in isolated trigeminal neurons. We find that PKC potentiates the NMDA response by increasing the probability of channel openings and by reducing the voltage-dependent Mg2+ block of NMDA-receptor channels.     

Potentiation of NMDA receptor currents by arachidonic acid.

Arachidonic acid is released by phospholipase A2 when activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors by neurotransmitter glutamate raises the calcium concentration in neurons, for example during the initiation of long-term potentiation and during brain anoxia. Here we investigate the effect of arachidonic acid on glutamate-gated ion channels by whole-cell clamping isolated cerebellar granule cells. Arachidonic acid potentiates, and makes more transient, the current through NMDA receptor channels, and slightly reduces the current through non-NMDA receptor channels. Potentiation of the NMDA receptor current results from an increase in channel open probability, with no change in open channel current. We observe potentiation even with saturating levels of agonist at the glutamate- and glycine-binding sites on these channels; it does not result from conversion of arachidonic acid to lipoxygenase or cyclooxygenase derivatives, or from activation of protein kinase C. Arachidonic acid may act by binding to a site on the NMDA receptor, or by modifying the receptor's lipid environment. Our results suggest that arachidonic acid released by activation of NMDA (or other) receptors will potentiate NMDA receptor currents, and thus amplify increases in intracellular calcium concentration caused by glutamate. This may explain why inhibition of phospholipase A2 blocks the induction of long-term potentiation.     

Identification by mutagenesis of a Mg(2+)-block site of the NMDA receptor channel.

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channel is highly permeable to Ca2+ but is blocked by Mg2+ in a voltage-dependent manner. These characteristics are essential for the NMDA receptor channel to mediate the induction of long-term potentiation of synaptic efficacy, a form of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory, learning and development. Recent studies have revealed the molecular and functional diversity of the NMDA receptor channel subunits, which are classified into the epsilon and zeta families according to the amino-acid sequence homology. Here we report that replacement by glutamine of asparagine 598 in putative transmembrane segment M2 of the zeta 1 subunit, strongly reduces the sensitivity of the heteromeric epsilon 2/zeta 1 NMDA receptor channel to Mg2+ block. The corresponding mutation of the epsilon 2 subunit has a similar effect. Furthermore, the heteromeric epsilon 2/zeta 1 NMDA receptor channel with the mutation on both subunits shows greatly reduced sensitivity to MK-801, a channel blocker of the NMDA receptor channel, but is still susceptible to inhibition by Zn2+. These findings suggest that the conserved asparagine residue in segment M2 constitutes a Mg(2+)-block site of the NMDA receptor channel, and that the MK-801 site overlaps the Mg2+ site.     

NMDA receptors are expressed in developing oligodendrocyte processes and mediate injury

Injury to oligodendrocyte processes, the structures responsible for myelination, is implicated in many forms of brain disorder. Here we show NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor subunit expression on oligodendrocyte processes, and the presence of NMDA receptor subunit messenger RNA in isolated white matter. NR1, NR2A, NR2B, NR2C, NR2D and NR3A subunits showed clustered expression in cell processes, but NR3B was absent. During modelled ischaemia, NMDA receptor activation resulted in rapid Ca2+-dependent detachment and disintegration of oligodendroglial processes in the white matter of mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) specifically in oligodendrocytes (CNP-GFP mice). This effect occurred at mouse ages corresponding to both the initiation and the conclusion of myelination. NR1 subunits were found mainly in oligodendrocyte processes, whereas AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid)/kainate receptor subunits were mainly found in the somata. Consistent with this observation, injury to the somata was prevented by blocking AMPA/kainate receptors, and preventing injury to oligodendroglial processes required the blocking of NMDA receptors. The presence of NMDA receptors in oligodendrocyte processes explains why previous studies that have focused on the somata have not detected a role for NMDA receptors in oligodendrocyte injury. These NMDA receptors bestow a high sensitivity to acute injury and represent an important new target for drug development in a variety of brain disorders.     

Long-term potentiation of NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission in the hippocampus.

Neurotransmission at most excitatory synapses in the brain operates through two types of glutamate receptor termed alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors; these mediate the fast and slow components of excitatory postsynaptic potentials respectively. Activation of NMDA receptors can also lead to a long-lasting modification in synaptic efficiency at glutamatergic synapses; this is exemplified in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, where NMDA receptors mediate the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP). It is believed that in this region LTP is maintained by a specific increase in the AMPA receptor-mediated component of synaptic transmission. We now report, however, that a pharmacologically isolated NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic response can undergo robust, synapse-specific LTP. This finding has implications for neuropathologies such as epilepsy and neurodegeneration, in which excessive NMDA receptor activation has been implicated. It adds fundamentally to theories of synaptic plasticity because NMDA receptor activation may, in addition to causing increased synaptic efficiency, directly alter the plasticity of synapses.     

NMDA-receptor activation increases cytoplasmic calcium concentration in cultured spinal cord neurones

Excitatory amino acids act via receptor subtypes in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). The receptor selectively activated by N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) has been best characterized using voltage-clamp and single-channel recording; the results suggest that NMDA receptors gate channels that are permeable to Na+, K+ and other monovalent cations. Various experiments suggest that Ca2+ flux is also associated with the activation of excitatory amino-acid receptors on vertebrate neurones. Whether Ca2+ enters through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels or through excitatory amino-acid-activated channels of one or more subtype is unclear. Mg2+ can be used to distinguish NMDA-receptor-activated channels from voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels, because at micromolar concentrations Mg2+ has little effect on voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels while it enters and blocks NMDA receptor channels. Marked differences in the potency of other divalent cations acting as Ca2+ channel blockers compared with their action as NMDA antagonists also distinguish the NMDA channel from voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channels. However, we now directly demonstrate that excitatory amino acids acting at NMDA receptors on spinal cord neurones increase the intracellular Ca2+ activity, measured using the indicator dye arsenazo III, and that this is the result of Ca2+ influx through NMDA receptor channels. Kainic acid (KA), which acts at another subtype of excitatory amino-acid receptor, was much less effective in triggering increases in intracellular free Ca2+.     

Postsynaptic NMDA receptor-mediated calcium accumulation in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell dendrites

In the CA1 hippocampal region, intracellular calcium is a putative second messenger for the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), a persistent increase of synaptic transmission produced by high frequency afferent fibre stimulation. Because LTP in this region is blocked by the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor antagonist AP5 (DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid) and the calcium permeability of NMDA receptors is controlled by a voltage-dependent magnesium block, a model has emerged that suggests that the calcium permeability of NMDA receptor-coupled ion channels is the biophysical basis for LTP induction. We have performed microfluorometric measurements in individual CA1 pyramidal cells during stimulus trains that induce LTP. In addition to a widespread component of postsynaptic calcium accumulation previously described, we now report that brief high frequency stimulus trains produce a transient component spatially localized to dendritic areas near activated afferents. This localized component is blocked by the NMDA receptor antagonist AP5. The results directly confirm the calcium rise predicted by NMDA receptor models of LTP induction.     

Cloning of cDNA for the glutamate-binding subunit of an NMDA receptor complex.

The amino acids L-glutamic and L-aspartic acids form the most widespread excitatory transmitter network in mammalian brain. The excitation produced by L-glutamic acid is important in the early development of the nervous system, synaptic plasticity and memory formation, seizures and neuronal degeneration. The receptors activated by L-glutamic acid are a target for therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases, brain ischaemia and epilepsy. There are two types of receptors for the excitatory amino acids, those that lead to the opening of cation-selective channels and those that activate phospholipase C (ref. 11). The receptors activating ion channels are NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) and kainate/AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate)-sensitive receptors. The complementary DNAs for the kainate/AMPA receptor and for the metabotropic receptor have been cloned. We report here on the isolation and characterization of a protein complex of four major proteins that represents an intact complex of the NMDA receptor ion channel and on the cloning of the cDNA for one of the subunits of this receptor complex, the glutamate-binding protein.     

NMDA application potentiates synaptic transmission in the hippocampus

The NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) class of glutamate receptor plays a critical role in a variety of forms of synaptic plasticity in the vertebrate central nervous system. One extensively studied example of plasticity is long-term potentiation (LTP), a remarkably long-lasting enhancement of synaptic efficiency induced in the hippocampus by brief, high-frequency stimulation of excitatory synapses. LTP is a strong candidate for a cellular mechanism of learning and memory. The site of LTP induction appears to be the postsynaptic cell and induction requires both activation of NMDA receptors by synaptically released glutamate and depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane. It is proposed that this depolarization relieves a voltage-dependent Mg2+ block of the NMDA receptor channel, resulting in increased calcium influx which is the trigger for the induction of LTP. This model predicts that application of a large depolarizing dose of NMDA should be sufficient to evoke LTP. In agreement with a previous study, we have found that NMDA or glutamate application does potentiate synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. This agonist-induced potentiation is, however, decremental and short-lived, unlike LTP. It is occluded shortly after the induction of LTP and a similar short-term potentiation can be evoked by synaptically released glutamate. We thus propose that LTP has two components, a short-term, decremental component which can be mimicked by NMDA receptor activation, and a long-lasting, non-decremental component which, in addition to requiring activation of NMDA receptors, requires stimulation of presynaptic afferents.     

Glycine potentiates the NMDA response in cultured mouse brain neurons

Transmitters mediating 'fast' synaptic processes in the vertebrate central nervous system are commonly placed in two separate categories that are believed to exhibit no interaction at the receptor level. The 'inhibitory transmitters' (such as glycine and GABA) are considered to act only on receptors mediating a chloride conductance increase, whereas 'excitatory transmitters' (such as L-glutamate) are considered to activate receptors mediating a cationic conductance increase. The best known excitatory receptor is that specifically activated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) which has recently been characterized at the single channel level. The response activated by NMDA agonists is unique in that it exhibits a voltage-dependent Mg block. We report here that this response exhibits another remarkable property: it is dramatically potentiated by glycine. This potentiation is not mediated by the inhibitory strychnine-sensitive glycine receptor, and is detected at a glycine concentration as low as 10 nM. The potentiation can be observed in outside-out patches as an increase in the frequency of opening of the channels activated by NMDA agonists. Thus, in addition to its role as an inhibitory transmitter, glycine may facilitate excitatory transmission in the brain through an allosteric activation of the NMDA receptor.     

Interaction with the NMDA receptor locks CaMKII in an active conformation.

Calcium- and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and glutamate receptors are integrally involved in forms of synaptic plasticity that may underlie learning and memory. In the simplest model for long-term potentiation, CaMKII is activated by Ca2+ influx through NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors and then potentiates synaptic efficacy by inducing synaptic insertion and increased single-channel conductance of AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptors. Here we show that regulated CaMKII interaction with two sites on the NMDA receptor subunit NR2B provides a mechanism for the glutamate-induced translocation of the kinase to the synapse in hippocampal neurons. This interaction can lead to additional forms of potentiation by: facilitated CaMKII response to synaptic Ca2+; suppression of inhibitory autophosphorylation of CaMKII; and, most notably, direct generation of sustained Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-independent (autonomous) kinase activity by a mechanism that is independent of the phosphorylation state. Furthermore, the interaction leads to trapping of CaM that may reduce down-regulation of NMDA receptor activity. CaMKII-NR2B interaction may be prototypical for direct activation of a kinase by its targeting protein.     

Glycine enhances NMDA-receptor mediated synaptic potentials in neocortical slices

One class of excitatory amino-acid receptors, the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, mediates transmission at a small, but important, group of synapses in the neocortex. These receptors are implicated in neuronal plasticity during development in young mammals and in memory acquisition in adults. Recently, responses of isolated membrane patches to NMDA were shown to be greatly enhanced by glycine. This, together with the demonstration that the strychnine-insensitive glycine-binding site is distinct from, but linked to, the NMDA receptor has excited intense interest in glycine as a synaptic modulator. Before proposing a physiological function, however, it is important to determine whether glycine could enhance synaptic responses to NMDA receptor activation in intact, adult tissue. An earlier study failed to demonstrate enhancement of NMDA responses when glycine was applied and it was proposed that in intact tissue the high-affinity glycine site was already saturated by endogenous glycine. It remained possible that glycine concentrations can be maintained at low levels close to synaptic receptors. We have examined responses of neurons in slices of adult neocortex to focal applications of excitatory amino acids and glycine and report enhancement by glycine of NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic potentials.     

Hippocampus-dependent learning facilitated by a monoclonal antibody or D-cycloserine.

Persistent neuronal plasticity, including that observed at some hippocampal synapses, requires N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-mediated transmission. NMDA receptor activation may be necessary for hippocampus-dependent learning as antagonists block acquisition in many such tasks. The behavioural effects of NMDA agonists are less well defined. We have shown that a monoclonal antibody (B6B21) displaced [3H]-glycine that was bound specifically to the NMDA receptor, and enhanced the opening of its integral cation channel in a glycine-like fashion, effects that were competitively antagonized by 7-chlorokynurenic acid. B6B21 also enhanced long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices. We report here that intraventricular infusions of B6B21 significantly enhances acquisition rates in hippocampus-dependent trace eye blink conditioning in rabbits, halving the number of trials required to reach a criterion of 80% conditioned responses. Peripheral injections of D-cycloserine, a partial agonist of the glycine site on the NMDA receptor which crosses the blood-brain barrier, also doubles rabbits' learning rates. Pseudoconditioning control experiments indicated a lack of nonspecific behavioural sensitization effects. Our data suggest that enhanced activation of the glycine coagonist site on the NMDA receptor/channel complex facilitates one form of associative learning and may be used in other learning tasks.     

Dual-component NMDA receptor currents at a single central synapse

Present thinking about the way that the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) class of glutamate receptor operates at central synapses relies mainly on information obtained from single-channel and whole-cell recordings from cultured neurons stimulated by exogenous NMDA receptor agonists. The mechanisms that operate in the postsynaptic membrane of a normal neuron following release of the natural transmitter are far less clear. An important problem is that most normal neurons receive many excitatory synapses (10(3)-10(5) per cell) and these synapses are located on slender dendritic elements far away from the somatic recording site, making the study of discrete synaptic events difficult. Typically, when populations of synapses are activated, NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic potentials appear as slowly rising, long-lasting waves superimposed on faster, non-NMDA-receptor potentials. Although believed to be critical for NMDA receptor function, this slow time-course would not be predicted from single-channel kinetics and its origin remains puzzling. We have now analysed the events occurring at the level of a single excitatory synapse using a simple, small, neuron--the cerebellar granule cell--which has an unusually simple glutamatergic input. By applying high-resolution whole-cell recording techniques to these cells in situ, we were able to study the nature of elementary NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents. Contrary to expectations, the prominent currents are fast but are followed by slow ones. Both types of current are strongly voltage-dependent but differ subtly in this respect. Furthermore, the currents are absent unless glycine is provided.     

Channel kinetics determine the time course of NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents

Synaptic release of glutamate results in a two component excitatory postsynaptic current (e.p.s.c.) at many vertebrate central synapses. Non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors mediate a component that has a rapid onset and decay while the component mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors has a slow rise-time and a decay of several hundred milliseconds, 100 times longer than the mean open time of NMDA channels. The slow decay of the NMDA-mediated e.p.s.c. could be due to residual glutamate in the synaptic cleft resulting in repeated binding and activation of NMDA receptors. However, in cultured hippocampal neurons, we find that the NMDA receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoate has no effect on the slow e.p.s.c. when rapidly applied after activation of the synapse, suggesting that rebinding of glutamate does not occur. In addition, a brief pulse of glutamate to an outside-out membrane patch results in openings of NMDA channels that persist for hundreds of milliseconds, indicating that glutamate can remain bound for this period. These results imply that a brief pulse of glutamate in the synaptic cleft is sufficient to account for the slow e.p.s.c.     

GABA autoreceptors regulate the induction of LTP.

Understanding the mechanisms involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) should provide insights into the cellular and molecular basis of learning and memory in vertebrates. It has been established that in the CA1 region of the hippocampus the induction of LTP requires the transient activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor system. During low-frequency transmission, significant activation of this system is prevented by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) mediated synaptic inhibition which hyperpolarizes neurons into a region where NMDA receptor-operated channels are substantially blocked by Mg2+ (refs. 5, 6). But during high-frequency transmission, mechanisms are evoked that provide sufficient depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane to reduce this block and thereby permit the induction of LTP. We now report that this critical depolarization is enabled because during high-frequency transmission GABA depresses its own release by an action on GABAB autoreceptors, which permits sufficient NMDA receptor activation for the induction of LTP. These findings demonstrate a role for GABAB receptors in synaptic plasticity.     

Proton inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in cerebellar neurons.

Mammalian neurons contain at least three types of excitatory amino-acid receptors, selectively activated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or aspartate, (S)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole proprionate ((S)-AMPA) and kainate. An important aspect of NMDA receptors is their regulation by a variety of factors such as glycine, Mg2+ and Zn2+ that are present in vivo. We show here that NMDA receptor responses are selectively inhibited by protons, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) that is close to physiological pH, implying that NMDA receptors are not fully active under normal conditions. (S)-AMPA and kainate responses remain unchanged at similar pH levels. Proton inhibition is voltage-insensitive and does not result either from fast channel block, a change in channel conductance, or an increase in the 50% excitatory concentration (EC50) of aspartate/NMDA or glycine. Instead, protons seem to decrease markedly the opening frequency of 30-50 pS NMDA channels, and reduce the relative proportion of longer bursts. This feature of NMDA receptors could be relevant to neurotoxic activation of NMDA receptors during ischaemia, as well as to seizure generation, as extracellular proton changes occur during both of these pathological situations. Furthermore, these results may have implications for normal NMDA receptor function as transient changes in extracellular protons occur during synaptic transmission.     

Multiple-conductance channels activated by excitatory amino acids in cerebellar neurons

In the mammalian central nervous system amino acids such as L-glutamate and L-aspartate are thought to act as fast synaptic transmitters. It has been suggested that at least three pharmacologically-distinguishable types of glutamate receptor occur in central neurons and that these are selectively activated by the glutamate analogues N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), quisqualate and kainate. These three receptor types would be expected to open ion channels with different conductances. Hence if agonists produce similar channel conductances this would suggest they are acting on the same receptor. Another possibility is suggested by experiments on spinal neurons, where GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid) and glycine appear to open different sub-conductance levels of one class of channel while acting on different receptors. By analogy, several types of glutamate receptor could also be linked to a single type of channel with several sub-conductance states. We have examined these possibilities in cerebellar neurons by analysing the single-channel currents activated by L-glutamate, L-aspartate, NMDA, quisqualate and kainate in excised membrane patches. All of these agonists are capable of opening channels with at least five different conductance levels, the largest being about 45-50 pS. NMDA predominantly activated conductance levels above 30 pS while quisqualate and kainate mainly activated ones below 20 pS. The presence of clear transitions between levels favours the idea that the five main levels are all sub-states of the same type of channel.