μ-Opioid receptor activation inhibits N- and P-type Ca2+ channel currents in magnocellular neurones of the rat supraoptic nucleus

摘要

class="enumerated" style="list-style-type:decimal">The whole-cell voltage-clamp technique was used to examine opioid regulation of Ba²⁺ currents (IBa) through voltage-sensitive Ca²⁺ channels in isolated magnocellular supraoptic neurones (MNCs). The effects of local application of μ-, δ- or κ-opioid receptor selective agonists were examined on specific components of high voltage-activated (HVA) IBa, pharmacologically isolated by use of Ca²⁺ channel-subtype selective antagonists.The μ-opioid receptor selective agonist, DAMGO, suppressed HVA IBa (in 64/71 neurones) in a naloxone-reversible and concentration-dependent manner (EC50 = 170 nm, Emax = 19.5 %). The DAMGO-induced inhibition was rapid in onset, associated with kinetic slowing and voltage dependent, being reversed by strong depolarizing prepulses. Low-voltage activated (LVA) IBa was not modulated by DAMGO.Administration of κ- (U69 593) or δ-selective (DPDPE) opioid receptor agonists did not affect IBa. However, immunostaining of permeabilized MNCs with an antibody specific for κ1-opioid receptors revealed the presence of this opioid receptor subtype in a large number of isolated somata.μ-Opioid-induced inhibition in IBa was largely abolished after blockade of N-type and P-type channel currents by ω-conotoxin GVIA (1 μm) and ω-agatoxin IVA (100 nm), respectively. Quantitation of antagonist effects on DAMGO-induced reductions in IBa revealed that N- and P-type channels contributed roughly equally to the μ-opioid sensitive portion of total IBa.These results indicate that μ-opioid receptors are negatively coupled to N- and P-type Ca²⁺ channels in the somatodendritic regions of MNCs, possibly via a membrane-delimited G-protein-dependent pathway. They also support a scheme in which opioids may act in part to modulate cellular activity and regulate neurosecretory function by their direct action on the neuroendocrine neurones of the hypothalamic supraoptic neucleus.