Interaction Between Allopregnanolone and Amiloride Binding Sites on the GABA Receptor.

Allopregnanolone (Allo) is a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA receptor, and amiloride (Ami) is a competitive antagonist of the GABA receptor. The purpose of this work was to study the combined effect of Allo and Ami on functional activity of GABA receptor. The GABA-induced chloride current (I) was measured in isolated Purkinje cells of rat cerebellum using the patch-clamp technique and a system of fast application.

Effect of nootropic dipeptide noopept on CA1 pyramidal neurons involves α7AChRs on interneurons in hippocampal slices from rat.

Noopept (NP) is a proline-containing dipeptide with nootropic and neuroprotective properties. We have previously shown that NP significantly increased the frequency of spontaneous IPSCs in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells mediated by the activation of inhibitory interneurons in stratum radiatum. The cholinergic system plays an important role in the performance of cognitive functions, furthermore multiple behavioral and clinical facts link NP with the cholinergic system.

Positive allosteric modulators of GABA receptor restore chloride current from blockade by competitive antagonists in a ligand-dependent manner.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter. GABA receptor type A (GABAR) possesses binding sites for a large group of pharmacological agents which are supposed to interact allosterically with each other. The aim of this work was to study the interaction between the positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) and the competitive antagonists of GABARs.

Effects of copper on viability and functional properties of hippocampal neurons in vitro.

Copper (Cu) is an essential metal presented in the mammalian brain and released from synaptic vesicles following neuronal depolarization. However, the disturbance of Cu homeostasis results in neurotoxicity. In our study we performed for the first time a combined functional investigation of cultured hippocampal neurons under Cu exposure, its effect on spontaneous spike activity of hippocampal neuronal network cultured on multielectrode array (MEA), and development of long-term potentiation (LTP) in acute hippocampal slices in the presence of Cu.

Glycine receptor in hippocampal neurons as a target for action of extracellular cyclic nucleotides.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) are well known intracellular second messengers. At present study, we describe the effects of extracellularly applied cAMP and cGMP on glycine-induced chloride currents (I(Gly)) in isolated rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons. 50 or 500 μM glycine was applied for 600 ms with 1 min intervals.

Mitochondria-targeted plastoquinone antioxidant SkQ1 prevents amyloid-β-induced impairment of long-term potentiation in rat hippocampal slices.

Bath application of 200 nM amyloid-β1-42 (Aβ) to rat hippocampal slices impairs induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) of the population spike in pyramidal layer of the CA1 field of the hippocampus. Intraperitoneal injection of mitochondria-targeted plastoquinone derivative SkQ1 at very low concentrations (250 nmol/kg body weight) given 24 h before the slice preparation or 1 h treatment of hippocampal slices with 250 nM SkQ1 prevents the deleterious effect of Aβ on LTP. To elucidate which part of the molecule is responsible for this type of neuroprotective activity, the effect of the analog of SkQ1 lacking plastoquinone (C12TPP) was studied.

Novel nootropic dipeptide Noopept increases inhibitory synaptic transmission in CA1 pyramidal cells.

Effects of newly synthesized nootropic and anxiolytic dipeptide Noopept on inhibitory synaptic transmission in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells were investigated using patch-clamp technique in whole-cell configuration. Bath application of Noopept (1 microM) significantly increased the frequency of spike-dependant spontaneous IPSCs whereas spike-independent mIPSCs remained unchanged. It was suggested that Noopept mediates its effect due to the activation of inhibitory interneurons terminating on CA1 pyramidal cells.