Summary
Quantitative autoradiography has been used to characterize l-[3H] glutamate binding sites and to describe their distribution in frozen sections of rat vestibular nuclei. Scatchard plots and Hill coefficients of glutamate binding suggest that glutamate interacts with a single population of sites having a KD of about 126 nM and a capacity of 2.5 pmol/mg of protein. Although the level of glutamate binding was not very high compared to the highest levels described for some other brain regions, it was nonetheless substantial. The sites were distributed unevenly in the four vestibular nuclei and their distribution correlated well with the projection areas of the vestibular nerve, which has been described as a glutamate-mediated pathway. The highest numbers of glutamate binding sites were observed in the medial vestibular nuclei. This technique provides a very sensitive assay for characterizing the pharmacological subtypes of glutamate binding in the vestibular nuclei and for analyzing changes in these sites during development or after deafferentation of the vestibular nuclei.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Biziere K, Thompson H, Coyle JT (1980) Characterization of specific high affinity binding sites for l-[3H] glutamic acid in rat brain membranes. Brain Res 183: 421–433
Bridges RJ, Kesslak JP, Nieto-Sampedro M, Broderick JT, Yu J, Cotman CW (1987) A l-[3H]glutamate binding site on glia: an autoradiographic study on implanted astrocytes. Brain Res 415:163–168
Cochran SL, Kasik P, Precht W (1987) Pharmacological aspects of excitatory synaptic transmission to second order vestibular neurons in the frog. Synapse 1:102–123
Collingridge GL, Kehl SJ, McLennan H (1983) Excitatory amino acids in synaptic transmission in the Schaffer collateral-commissural pathway of the rat hippocampus. J Physiol Lond 334:33–46
Collins GGS, Anson J, Surtees L (1983) Presynaptic kainate and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors regulate excitatory amino acid release in the olfactory cortex. Brain Res 265:157–159
Demêmes D, Raymond J, Sans A (1984) Selective retrograde labeling of neurons in the cat vestibular with 3HD-aspartate. Brain Res 304:188–191
Drescher MJ, Drescher DG, Hatfield JS (1987) Potassium-evoked release of endogenous primary amine-containing compounds from the trout saccular macula and saccular nerve in vitro. Brain Res 417:39–50
Fagg GE, Foster AC, Mena EE, Cotman CW (1982) Chloride and calcium ions revealed a pharmacologically distinct population of L-glutamate binding sites in synaptic membranes: correspondence between biochemical and electrophysiological data. J Neurosci 2:958–964
Fagg GE, Matus A (1984) Selective association of N-methyl aspartate and quisqualate types of l-glutamate receptor with brain postsynaptic densities. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 81:6876–6880
Fagg GE, Riederer B, Matus A (1984) Sodium ions regulate a specific population of acidic amino acid receptors in synaptic membranes. Life Sci 34:1739–1745
Fonnum F (1984) Glutamate: a neurotransmitter in mammalian brain. J Neurochem 42:1–11
Foster AC, Roberts PJ (1978) High affinity l-3H-glutamate binding to postsynaptic receptor sites on rat cerebellar membranes. J Neurochem 31:1467–1477
Gallagher JP, Lewis MR, Gallagher PS (1985) An electrophysiological investigation of the rat medial vestibular nucleus in vitro. In: Contemporary sensory neurobiology. Alan R. Liss, New York, pp 293–304
Greenamyre JT, Young AB, Penney JB (1984) Quantitative autoradiographic distribution of l-[3H]glutamate-binding sites in rat central nervous system. J Neurosci 4:2133–2144
Greenamyre JT, Olsen JMM, Penny JS Jr, Young AB (1985) Autoradiographic characterization of N-methyl-D-aspartate-, quisqualate- and kainate-sensitive glutamate binding sites. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 233:254–2663
Halpain S, Wieczorek CM, Rainbow TC (1984) Localization of l-glutamate receptors in rat brain by quantitative autoradiography. J Neurosci 4:2247–2258
Lynch MA, Errington ML, Bliss TVP (1985) Long-term potentiation and the sustained increase in glutamate release which follow tetanic stimulation of the perforant path are both blocked by D(-)aminophosphonovaleric acid. Soc Neurosci Abstr 11:834
McLennan H (1981) On the nature of the receptors for various excitatory amino acids in the mammalian central nervous system. In: Di Chiara G, Gessa GL (eds) Advances in bio-chemical psychopharmacology, Vol 27. Glutamate as neurotransmitter. Raven Press, New York, pp 253–262
Mena EE, Fagg GE, Cotman CW (1982) Chloride ions enhance l-glutamate binding to rat brain synaptic membranes. Brain Res 243:378–381
Monaghan DT, Holets VR, Toy DW, Cotman CW (1983) Anatomical distribution of four pharmacologically distinct [3H]-l-glutamate binding sites. Nature 306:176–179
Ogita K, Yoneda Y (1986) Characterization of Na+-dependent binding sites of [3H]glutamate in synaptic membranes from rat brain. Brain Res 397:137–144
Olson JMM, Greenamyre JT, Penney JB, Young AB (1987) Autoradiographic localization of cerebellar excitatory amino acid binding sites in the mouse. Neuroscience 22:913–923
Paxinos G, Watson C (1982) The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates. Academic Press Inc, New York
Raymond J, Nieoullon A, Demêmes D, Sans A (1984) Evidence for glutamate as a neurotransmitter in the cat vestibular nerve. Exp Brain Res 56:523–531
Raymond J, Demêmes D, Nieoullon A (1988) Neurotransmitters in vestibular pathways. In: Pompeiano O (ed) Vestibulo-spinal control of posture and movement. Progress in Brain Research. Elsevier, North Holland New York, 76, pp 29–43
Recasens M, Pin JP, Bockaert J (1987) Chloride transport blockers inhibit the chloride-dependent glutamate binding to rat brain membranes. Neurosci Lett 74:211–216
Werman R (1966) Criteria for identification of a central nervous system transmitter. Comp Biochem Physiol 18:745–766
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Touati, J., Raymond, J. & Demêmes, D. Quantitative autoradiographic characterization of l-[3H] glutamate binding sites in rat vestibular nuclei. Exp Brain Res 76, 646–650 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248920
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248920