TRANS-ACPD-INDUCED CA2+ SIGNALS IN CEREBELLAR PURKINJE-CELLS

A combination of intracellular recording and fluorometric measurements of cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]i) was used to locate changes in [Ca2+]i induced by the specific metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonist trans-D,L-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (t-ACPD), in Purkinje cells of rat cerebellar slices. Under voltage-clamp conditions, application of t-ACPD (100-mu-M) induced an inward current accompanied by a large increase in [Ca2+]i located primarily in the soma but also, to a lesser degree, in restricted parts of the dendrites. In contrast, elevations of [Ca2+]i associated with calcium spikes were confined to the dendrites and inward currents of a similar amplitude induced by (RS)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), an agonist of ionotropic glutamate receptors, did not raise [Ca2+]i.