Premium
N ‐Methyl‐D‐Aspartate Receptor Activation and Ca 2+ Account for Poor Pyramidal Cell Structure in Hippocampal Slices
Author(s) -
Feig Sherry,
Lipton Peter
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1990.tb04160.x
Subject(s) - pyramidal cell , hippocampal formation , nmda receptor , biophysics , receptor , chemistry , in vitro , neuroscience , biology , biochemistry
The CA1 pyramidal cells appear damaged in micrographs of guinea pig hippocampal slices incubated in normal physiological buffer at 36–37°C. This is remedied if slices are incubated in modified buffers for the first 45 min. Cell morphology is improved if this buffer is devoid of added Ca 2+ and much improved if it contains N ‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists or 0 m M Ca 2+ and 10 m M Mg 2+ . The cells then appear similar to CA1 pyramidal cells in situ. These findings support the notion that NMDA receptor activation and Ca 2+ , acting in the period immediately after slice preparation, permanently damage CA1 pyramidal cells in vitro.