Neuroprotection via strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors during post-ischemic recovery of excitatory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus.

Recent evidence indicates that strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors are located in upper brain regions including the hippocampus. Because of excitatory effects of glycine via facilitation of NMDA-receptor function, however, the net effects of increased extracellular glycine on neuronal excitability in either physiological or pathophysiological conditions are mostly unclear. Here, we addressed the potential neuroprotective effect of either exogenous application of glycine and taurine, which are both strychnine-sensitive glycine-receptor agonists, or an endogenous increase of glycine via blockade of glycine transporter 1 (GlyT1) by assessing their ability to facilitate the functional recovery of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) after termination of brief oxygen/glucose deprivation (OGD) in the CA1 region in mouse hippocampal slices.