INTERLEUKIN-2 MODULATES CALCIUM CURRENTS IN DISSOCIATED HIPPOCAMPAL CA1 NEURONS

INTERLEUKIN-2 and its receptors are present in hippocampal structures, particularly the pyramidal cell layer. In the present study, we examined the interaction between recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2) and the voltage-dependent calcium (Ca2+)current using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. RhIL-2 depressed a fraction of the inward Ca2+ current in acutely dissociated guinea-pig hippocampal CA1 neurons. This depression is rapid, dose-dependent with 0.001-1.0 ng rhIL-2/10 mul (6.8 x 10(-12) to 6.8 x 10(-9) M) and reversible in > 80% of the neurons. Heat-inactivated rhIL-2 had no effect. The application of anti-rhIL-2 monoclonal antibody inhibited the rhIL-2-induced depression of the Ca2+ current. The depression of the Ca2+ current by IL-2 may play a role in the induction and/or progression of neuropathological processes of immunological origin, and in the induction of neurological manifestations during IL-2 immunotherapy.