METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTORS AND CALCIUM SIGNALING IN DENDRITES OF HIPPOCAMPAL CA1 NEURONS

We have combined patch-clamp recording with confocal microscopy to investigate how the synaptic activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) may participate in the modulation of intracellular free calcium (Ca2+) in the dendrites of single CA1 pyramidal neurones, within hippocampal slices. Tetanic stimulation (100 Hz, 1 sec) of the Schaffer collateral-commissural pathway led to a transient rise in Ca2+ in the dendrites of neurones voltage- clamped at -35 mV, as determined using the fluorescent indicator fluo-3. The specific mGluR antagonist (+)-alpha-methyl-4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG), applied at a concentration of 250 or 500 muM, reduced the size of the Ca2+ transient whilst either producing a small reduction or, more commonly, having no effect on the synaptic current evoked by the tetanus. These data suggest that the synaptic activation of mGluRs can contribute to Ca2+ signalling in hippocampal neurones.