INOSITOL INCORPORATION INTO PHOSPHOINOSITIDES IN RETINAL HORIZONTAL CELLS OF XENOPUS-LAEVIS - ENHANCEMENT BY ACETYLCHOLINE, INHIBITION BY GLYCINE

The absorption of light by photoreceptor cells leads to an increased incorporation of [2-3H]inositol into phosphoinositides of horizontal cells in the retina of Xenopus laevis in vitro. Several retinal neurotransmitters that are involved in regulating this response were identified. Incubation with glycine, the neurotransmitter of an interplexiform cell that has direct synaptic input onto horizontal cells, abolishes the light effect. This inhibition is reversed by preincubation with strychnine. Acetylcholine added to the culture medium enhances the incorporation of [2-3H]inositol into phosphoinositides in horizontal cells when retinas are incubated in the dark. This effect is inhibited by preincubation with atropine. Atropine alone does not inhibit the light-enhanced incorporation of [2-3H]inositol into phosphoinositides in the retina. GABA, the neurotransmitter of retinal horizontal cells in X. laevis, as well as dopamine and norepinephrine, have no effect on the incorporation of [2-3H]inositol into phosphoinositides. The light-enhanced incorporation of [2-3H]inositol into phosphoinositides of retinal horizontal cells is regulated by specific neurotransmitters, and there are probably several synaptic inputs into horizontal cells which control this process.