Halothane inhibits spontaneous calcium oscillations via adenosine A1 receptors.

Primary rat hippocampal neurons show spontaneous [Ca(2+)(i)]-oscillations in Mg(2+)-free medium, which depend on excitatory signal transmission by N-methyl-D-aspartate /[alpha]-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate receptors modulated by inhibitory [gamma]-amino-n-butyric acid type A receptors. Volatile anesthetics depress these oscillations by potentiating the inhibitory action of [gamma]-amino-n-butyric acid type A receptors, and as shown recently, indirectly by activation of adenosine A1-receptors. The purpose of this investigation was to study whether inactivation of adenosine A1-receptors can prevent the anesthetic-induced inhibition. Pretreatment of the hippocampal cultures with pertussis toxin prevents the inhibitory action of a specific adenosine A1-receptor agonist on the Ca(2+)-oscillations and also prevents the inhibition of the Ca(2+)-oscillations by halothane. This clearly shows the involvement of adenosine A1-receptors in the anesthetic-induced inhibition of the spontaneous calcium oscillations.