HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 91/1/248    most recent 00106.2003v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (16) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Jiang, Z. Articles by Ye, J. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Jiang, Z. Articles by Ye, J. H.

Taurine Activates Strychnine-Sensitive Glycine Receptors in Neurons Freshly Isolated From Nucleus Accumbens of Young Rats

Zhenglin Jiang¹, Kresimir Krnjevi², Fushun Wang¹ and Jiang Hong Ye¹

¹ Departments of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology, and Physiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey 07103-2714; ² Anesthesia Research Unit and Physiology Department, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1Y6, Canada

Submitted 4 February 2003; accepted in final form 19 July 2003

Although functional glycine receptors (GlyRs) are present in the mature nucleus accumbens (NAcc), an important area of the mesolimbic dopamine system involved in drug addiction, their role has been unclear because the NAcc contains little glycine. However, taurine, an agonist of GlyRs, is abundant throughout the brain, especially during early development. In the present study on freshly dissociated NAcc neurons from young Sprague-Dawley rats (12- to 21-day old), we found that both glycine and taurine can strongly depolarize NAcc neurons and modulate their excitability. In voltage-clamped NAcc neurons, glycine and taurine elicited chloride currents (I_Gly and I_Tau) with an EC₅₀ of 0.12 and 1.25 mM, respectively. The reversal potential of I_Gly or I_Tau was 0 mV in conventional whole cell mode and –30 mV in gramicidin-perforated mode. At concentrations <1 mM, both glycine and taurine were very effectively antagonized by strychnine and by picrotoxin (with an IC₅₀ of 60 nM and 36.5 µM for I_Gly, and 40 nM and 42.2 µM for I_Tau) but were insensitive to 10 µM bicuculline. The currents elicited by taurine (1 mM) showed complete cross-desensitization with I_Gly, but none with -aminobutyric acid (GABA)-induced currents (I_GABA). However, I_Tau elicited by very concentrated taurine (10 mM) showed partial cross-desensitization with I_GABA, and it was substantially antagonized by 10 µM bicuculline. These results indicate that taurine binds mainly to GlyRs in NAcc, but it could be a partial agonist of GABA_A receptors. By activating GlyRs, taurine may play an important physiological role in the control of NAcc function, especially during development.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Jia, M. Yue, D. Chandra, A. Keramidas, P. A. Goldstein, G. E. Homanics, and N. L. Harrison Taurine Is a Potent Activator of Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors in the Thalamus J. Neurosci., January 2, 2008; 28(1): 106 - 115. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Wang, C. Xiao, and J. H. Ye Taurine activates excitatory non-synaptic glycine receptors on dopamine neurones in ventral tegmental area of young rats J. Physiol., June 1, 2005; 565(2): 503 - 516. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. T. Besson, D. B. Re, M. Moulin, and S. Birman High Affinity Transport of Taurine by the Drosophila Aspartate Transporter dEAAT2 J. Biol. Chem., February 25, 2005; 280(8): 6621 - 6626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]