A site-directed anti-peptide antibody (anti-CNA1) directed against the alpha 1 subunit of class A calcium channels (alpha 1A) recognized a protein of approximately 190-200 kDa in immunoblot and immunoprecipitation analyses of rat brain glycoproteins. Calcium channels recognized by anti-CNA1 were distributed throughout the brain with a high concentration in the cerebellum. Calcium channels having alpha 1A subunits were concentrated in presynaptic terminals making synapses on cell bodies and on dendritic shafts and spines of many classes of neurons and were especially prominent in the synapses of the parallel fibers of cerebellar granule cells on Purkinje neurons where their localization in presynaptic terminals was confirmed by double labeling with the synaptic membrane protein syntaxin or the microinjected postsynaptic marker Neurobiotin. They were present in lower density in the surface membrane of dendrites of most major classes of neurons. There was substantial labeling of Purkinje cell bodies, but less intense staining of the cell bodies of hippocampal pyramidal neurons, layer V pyramidal neurons in the dorsal cortex, and most other classes of neurons in the forebrain and cerebellum. Scattered cell bodies elsewhere in the brain were labeled at low levels. These results define a unique pattern of localization of class A calcium channels in the cell bodies, dendrites, and presynaptic terminals of most central neurons. Compared to class B N-type calcium channels, class A calcium channels are concentrated in a larger number of presynaptic nerve terminals implying a more prominent role in neurotransmitter release at many central synapses.

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Glucocorticoids (GCs) compromise the ability of hippocampal neurons to survive various insults, and do so, at least in part, by exacerbating steps in the glutamate/N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)/calcium cascade of damage. As evidence, GCs impair uptake of glutamate by hippocampal astrocytes, the GC endangerment of the hippocampus is NMDA receptor dependent, and GCs exacerbate kainic acid (KA)-induced calcium mobilization. These observations predict that GCs should also exacerbate KA-induced accumulation of extracellular glutamate and aspartate. To test this, adrenalectomized rats were given replacement GCs in either the low or high physiological range. Three days later, rats were anesthetized and 1 mM KA was infused through a dialysis probe placed in the dorsal hippocampus. Extracellular amino acid concentrations in the dialysate were then assessed by HPLC. After KA infusion, high-GC rats (30 +/- 3 micrograms/dl) had significantly elevated concentrations of glutamate and aspartate compared with low-GC rats (all less than 0.95 micrograms/dl). The glutamate accumulation was due to GCs raising pre-KA concentrations, whereas the aspartate accumulation was due to GCs exacerbating the KA-induced rise. Glutamine concentrations were unaffected by KA, whereas the high-GC regimen elevated glutamine concentrations both before and after KA. Taurine concentrations rose after infusion of KA, but were unaffected by GC regime, whereas alanine concentrations were unaffected by either manipulation. Serine concentrations were unaffected by KA, but were depressed both before and after KA in high-GC rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Multiple subtypes of voltage-gated calcium channels are differentially localized in brain neurons suggesting that they serve distinct roles in neuronal excitation and signaling. In organotypic hippocampal slice cultures, class D (L-type) calcium channels are predominantly located in the cell bodies of CA3 neurons while class B (N-type) and class A (P or Q-type) are localized in dendrites and associated presynaptic terminals with relatively low somal expression. Using specific antagonists to inhibit calcium transients recorded in CA3 neuronal cell bodies, we found that L-type calcium channels have a predominant role in somal calcium transients elicited by trains of strong stimuli applied to either the soma or the distal apical dendrite while class A calcium channels make a smaller contribution. Presynaptic class B (N-type) and class A (P- and/or Q-type) calcium channels are critical for glutamate-mediated synaptic transmission onto the dendrites of CA3 neurons. Postsynaptic class A and B calcium channels detected on the dendritic shaft by immunocytochemistry were not found to contribute substantially to somal calcium transients during repetitive stimulation of distal dendrites, but sodium channels were required for calcium transients elicited by somatic or dendritic stimulation. Our results show that the different calcium channel subtypes serve distinct roles in cellular activation and transmission of signals in CA3 neurons, consistent with their differential subcellular localization.

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