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Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 15, 5334-5345, Copyright © 1995 by Society for Neuroscience
Neurotransmitter receptors of starburst amacrine cells in rabbit retinal slices
ZJ Zhou and GL Fain
Department of Physiological Science, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-1527, USA.
The receptor pharmacology of cholinergic ("starburst") amacrine cells was
studied in a newly developed rabbit retinal slice preparation with
whole-cell patch clamp. Displaced starburst cells were labeled with the
fluorescent dye 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and their dendritic
morphology was identified in the slice with Lucifer yellow. Under
conditions in which synaptic transmission was blocked by Cd2+, starburst
cells responded vigorously to the bath-applied neurotransmitters GABA,
glycine, and glutamate. The response to GABA consisted of an inward current
and an increase in noise, which could be mimicked by the GABAA agonists
muscimol and trans-4-aminocrotonic acid (TACA), but not by the GABAB
agonist baclofen or the GABAC agonist cis- 4-aminocrotonic acid (CACA). The
GABA-evoked currents were reversibly inhibited by bicuculline and
picrotoxin and had a reversal potential close to the chloride equilibrium
potential. Noise analysis of GABA- activated whole-cell currents yielded
elementary conductance estimates of 12.5 pS. Glycine (30-200 microM) also
activated a Cl- conductance in starburst cells, which could be completely
blocked by strychnine. The non-NMDA agonists kainate (KA, 30-100 microM)
and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy- 5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA, 60
microM) evoked robust responses, which were reversibly blocked by
6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline- 2,3-dione (CNQX), and which reversed near the
equilibrium potential for cations. NMDA coapplied with glycine in salines
free of Cd2+ and Mg2+ elicited small but detectable responses. The I/V
relation of the NMDA- evoked response showed a characteristic "J"-shaped
region in a saline containing 1 mM Mg2+ and 0 Cd2+, indicating that NMDA
receptors were present directly on starburst cells. This was consistent
with our finding that whole-cell currents evoked by KA and NMDA had
different noise characteristics. These results place new constraints on
models of starburst cell function and suggest that GABA-mediated inhibition
of the starburst cell itself may play an important role in directional
selectivity in the retina.
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