Potentiation of neuronal activity by tonic GluD1 current in brain slices

EMBO Rep. 2023 Jul 5;24(7):e56801. doi: 10.15252/embr.202356801. Epub 2023 May 8.

Abstract

Ion channel function of native delta glutamate receptors (GluDR ) is incompletely understood. Previously, we and others have shown that activation of Gαq protein-coupled receptors (GqPCR) produces a slow inward current carried by GluD1R . GluD1R also carries a tonic cation current of unknown cause. Here, using voltage-clamp electrophysiological recordings from adult mouse brain slices containing the dorsal raphe nucleus, we find no role of ongoing G-protein-coupled receptor activity in generating or sustaining tonic GluD1R currents. Neither augmentation nor disruption of G protein activity affects tonic GluD1R currents, suggesting that ongoing G-protein-coupled receptor activity does not give rise to tonic GluD1R currents. Further, the tonic GluD1R current is unaffected by the addition of external glycine or D-serine, which influences GluD2R current at millimolar concentrations. Instead, GqPCR-stimulated and tonic GluD1R currents are regulated by physiological levels of external calcium. In current-clamp recordings, block of GluD1R channels hyperpolarizes the membrane by ~7 mV at subthreshold potentials, reducing excitability. Thus, GluD1R carries a G-protein-independent tonic current that contributes to subthreshold neuronal excitation in the dorsal raphe nucleus.

Keywords: G protein; GluD; cation channel; delta glutamate; tonic current.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain
  • Glutamate Dehydrogenase
  • Ion Channels*
  • Membrane Potentials / physiology
  • Mice
  • Neurons* / physiology
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled

Substances

  • Ion Channels
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • GluD1 protein, mouse
  • Glutamate Dehydrogenase