ABSTRACT-We investigated the effects of heavy metal ions on the ATP-induced nonselective cation current through P2X7 receptor (INS·P2X7) in NG108-15 cells using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Cu 2+ inhibited the INS·P2X7 most potently among the metal ions investigated. Other metals such as Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ , Zn 2+ and Co 2+ also inhibited the INS·P2X7 in concentration-dependent manners. The order of potency was Cu 2+ >> Ni 2+ > Cd 2+ > Zn 2+ > Co 2+ with IC50 values of 16 nM, 0.79 mM, 1.2 m M, 3.0 mM and 4.6 mM, respectively. Fe 3+ (10 and 100 mM) and Mn 2+ (10 mM) did not affect the I NS · P2X7 . A high concentration of Mn 2+ (100 m M) slightly inhibited the I NS · P2X7 . When the concentration-response curve of ATP was obtained in the presence of 3 and 10 nM Cu 2+ , the maximal response but not the EC 50 value appeared to be reduced, suggesting that the inhibition is not competitive. These results suggest that under physiological and toxicological conditions, metal ions, such as Cu 2+ , Ni 2+ , Cd 2+ , Zn 2+ and Co 2+ , may modulate P2X 7 receptor channels as inhibitors.
Keywords: ATP, P2X7 receptor, Nonselective cation current, Metal ion, NG108-15 cellThe P2X7 receptor is one of seven subtypes (P2X1 -7) of P2X receptors, which are ligand-gated nonselective cation channels (1, 2). It has unique properties compared to the other P2X receptors (3, 4). The P2X7 receptor requires concentrations of ATP (>0.3 mM) much higher than the other P2X (P2X 1 -6 ) receptors for activation (5). The effective form of ATP for the P2X7 receptor is the free base (ATP 4-) (6), and benzoylbenzoic ATP (BzATP) is a more potent agonist than ATP (7 -9).NG108-15 cells are hybrids of mouse neuroblastoma N18TG-2 and rat glioma C6Bu-1 cells and possess the mouse P2X 7 receptor originating from N18TG-2 cells (10). The cDNA sequence of P2X 7 receptor in NG108-15 cells was almost identical (ref. 10; I. Matsuoka, unpubished result of the full length sequence) to that of mouse P2X7 receptor first cloned by Chessell et al. (11) in NTW8 mouse microglial cells. A high concentration (>0.3 mM), but not a low concentration, of ATP activates a nonselective cation current, indicating that the only functional P2X receptor is the P2X7 receptor in NG108-15 cells (7,12,13). Rat and human P2X7 receptors transform themselves from channels to large pores by prolonged application of ATP (8,14), but this does not occur in mouse P2X7 receptors in NG108-15 cells (15). Therefore, the P2X7 receptors in NG108-15 cells are different from those in rat and human macrophages and glial cells.Metals such as vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and molybdenum (Mo) are essential trace elements utilized as cofactors of various enzymes (16). Metal ions are known to affect various ion channels (17)
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cell cultureNG108-15 cells were grown in high-glucose Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 7% fetal bovine serum, 100 mM hypoxanthine, 0.4 mM aminopterin and 16 mM thymidine...