OPPOSING MECHANISMS OF REGULATION OF A G-PROTEIN-COUPLED INWARD RECTIFIER K+ CHANNEL IN RAT-BRAIN NEURONS

In locus coeruleus neurons, substance P (SP) suppresses an inwardly rectifying K+ current via a pertussis toxin-insensitive guanine nucleotide binding protein (G protein; G(nonPTX)), whereas somatostatin (SOM) or [Met]enkephalin (MENK) enhances it via a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein (G(PTX)). The interaction of the SP and the SOM (or MENK) effects was studied in cultured locus coeruleus neurons. In neurons loaded with guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTP[gamma S]), application of SOM (or MENK) evoked a persistent increase in the inward rectifier K+ conductance. A subsequent application of SP suppressed this conductance to a level less than that before the SOM (or MENK) application; the final conductance level was independent of the magnitude of the SOM (or MENK) response. This suppression by SP was persistent, and a subsequent SOM (or MENK) application did not reverse it. When SP was applied to GTP[gamma S]-loaded cells first, subsequent SOM elicited only a small response. In GTP-loaded neurons, application of SP temporarily suppressed the subsequent SOM- (or MENK)-induced conductance increase. These results suggest that the same inward rectifier molecule that responds to an opening signal from G(PTX) also responds to a closing signal from G(nonPTX). The closing signal is stronger than the opening signal.