Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, where its toxic build-up leads to synaptic dysfunction and excitotoxic cell death that underlies many neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, efforts have been made to understand the regulation of glutamate transporters, which are responsible for the clearance of extracellular glutamate. We now report that adenosine A(2A) receptors (A(2A) R) control the uptake of D-aspartate in primary cultured astrocytes as well as in an ex vivo preparation enriched in glial plasmalemmal vesicles (gliosomes) from adult rats, whereas A(1) R and A(3) R were devoid of effects. Thus, the acute exposure to the A(2A) R agonist, CGS 21680, inhibited glutamate uptake, an effect prevented by the A(2A) R antagonist, SCH 58261, and abbrogated in cultured astrocytes from A(2A) R knockout mice. Furthermore, the prolonged activation of A(2A) R lead to a cAMP/protein kinase A-dependent reduction of GLT-I and GLAST mRNA and protein levels, which leads to a sustained decrease of glutamate uptake. This dual mechanism of inhibition of glutamate transporters by astrocytic A(2A) R provides a novel candidate mechanism to understand the ability of A(2) (A) R to control synaptic plasticity and neurodegeneration, two conditions tightly associated with the control of extracellular glutamate levels by glutamate transporters.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive cognitive impairment tightly correlated with the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides (mainly Aβ(1-42)). There is a precocious disruption of glutamatergic synapses in AD, in line with an ability of Aβ to decrease astrocytic glutamate uptake. Accumulating evidence indicates that caffeine prevents the burden of AD, likely through the antagonism of A(2A) receptors (A(2A)R) which attenuates Aβ-induced memory impairment and synaptotoxicity. Since A(2A)R also modulate astrocytic glutamate uptake, we now tested if A(2A)R blockade could prevent the decrease of astrocytic glutamate uptake caused by Aβ. In cultured astrocytes, Aβ(1-42). (1 μM for 24 hours) triggered an astrogliosis typified by an increased density of GFAP, which was mimicked by the A(2A)R agonist, CGS 26180 (30 nM), and prevented by the A(2A)R antagonist, SCH 58261 (100 nM). Aβ1-42 also decreased D-aspartate uptake by 28 ± 4%, an effect abrogated upon genetic inactivation or pharmacological blockade of A(2A)R. In accordance with the long term control of glutamate transporter expression by A(2A)R, Aβ(1-42). enhanced the expression and density of astrocytic A(2A)R and decreased GLAST and GLT-I expression in astrocytes from wild type, but not from A(2A)R knockout mice. This impact of Aβ(1-42). on glutamate transporters and uptake, dependent on A(2A)R function, was also confirmed in an ex vivo astrocyte preparation (gliosomes) from rats intracerebroventricularly (icv) injected with Aβ(1-42). . These results provide the first demonstration for a direct key role of astrocytic A(2A)R in the ability of Aβ-induced impairment of glutamate uptake, which may underlie glutamatergic synaptic dysfunction and excitotoxicity in AD.

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