Distinct pharmacological and functional properties of NMDA receptors in mouse cortical astrocytes

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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Astrocytes of the mouse neocortex express functional NMDA receptors, which are not blocked by Mg2+ ions. However, the pharmacological profile of glial NMDA receptors and their subunit composition is far from complete.EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH We tested the sensitivity of NMDA receptor-mediated currents to the novel GluN2C/D subunit-selective antagonist UBP141 in mouse cortical astrocytes and neurons. We also examined the effect of memantine, an antagonist that has substantially different affinities for GluN2A/B and GluN2C/d-containing receptors in physiological concentrations of extracellular Mg2+.KEY RESULTS UBP141 had a strong inhibitory action on NMDA receptor-mediated transmembrane currents in the cortical layer II/III astrocytes with an IC50 of 2.29 M and a modest inhibitory action on NMDA-responses in the pyramidal neurons with IC50 of 19.8 M. Astroglial and neuronal NMDA receptors exhibited different sensitivities to memantine with IC50 values of 2.19 and 10.8 M, respectively. Consistent with pharmacological differences between astroglial and neuronal NMDA receptors, NMDA receptors in astrocytes showed lower Ca2+ permeability than neuronal receptors with PCa/PNa ratio of 3.4.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The biophysical and pharmacological properties of the astrocytic NMDA receptors strongly suggest that they have a tri-heteromeric structure composed of GluN1, GluN2C/D and GluN3 subunits. The substantial difference between astroglial and neuronal NMDA receptors in their sensitivity to UBP141 and memantine may enable selective modulation of astrocytic signalling that could be very helpful for elucidating the mechanisms of neuron-glia communications. Our results may also provide the basis for the development of novel therapeutic agents specifically targeting glial signalling.

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关键词：

Memantine UBP141 NMDA receptor GluN3A subunit calcium permeability neuron-glia communication GluN3B mouse cortex