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Guanine nucleotides block agonist-driven 45Ca2+ influx in chick embryo retinal explants
J S Burgos1, A Barat, G Ramírez
1Centro de Biologia Molecular (CSIC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
AMPA (EC50 = 1.0 x 10(-6) M) and NMDA (EC50 = 1.3 x 10(-4) M) trigger 45Ca2+ influx in 13-day chick embryonic retinal explants. This agonist-driven cationic flux is specifically inhibited by typical competitive antagonists, such as 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX) and 2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoate (AP7), respectively. Guanine nucleotides, with different degrees of phosphorylation, namely 5'-GMP, guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDPbetaS), guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTPgammaS) and 5'-guanylyl-imidodiphosphate (GppNHp), are also efficient blockers of 45Ca2+ influx. These results confirm the antagonistic behavior of guanine nucleotides towards ionotropic glutamate receptors and suggest a convenient experimental approach for screening of novel agonists and antagonists.