Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 14, 4927-4936, Copyright © 1994 by Society for Neuroscience
The role of endogenous adenosine in a poststimulation increase in the acetylcholine content of a sympathetic ganglion
A Tandon and B Collier
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Previous experiments showed that exposure of sympathetic ganglia to
exogenous adenosine increased acetylcholine (ACh) content and its
subsequent release. This effect was not mediated through extracellular
adenosine receptors, but at an intracellular site following its uptake
through nitrobenzylthioinosine (NBTI)-resistant nucleoside transporters. We
postulated that endogenous adenosine may play a role in modulating synaptic
transmission in the superior cervical ganglion. The present study tested
whether adenosine is involved in the activation of ACh synthesis that
occurs during a rest period following prolonged presynaptic tetanic
activity. Conditioning of ganglia with high-frequency stimulation (15 Hz)
for 45 min followed by a 15 min rest increased their ACh content by 45%.
The appearance of this "rebound ACh" showed sensitivity to nucleoside
transport inhibitors; it was prevented by dipyridamole, but not by NBTI or
meclonazepam, and it was reduced in the presence of RO 11-3624, suggesting
an involvement of NBTI-resistant transporters. The effect of dipyridamole
was specific for the synthesis of rebound ACh in that it did not inhibit
ACh release or ACh synthesis during stimulation. The inhibitory action of
dipyridamole on the synthesis of rebound ACh was not evident if it was
present only during the tetanic stimulation but it was if dipyridamole was
present during the rest period following it, suggesting that adenosine's
presence after tetanic stimulation is of importance. This conclusion was
strengthened by experiments showing that the presence of
cyclopentyltheophylline, an antagonist at inhibitory adenosine receptors,
increased ACh output evoked by test stimulation immediately following
tetanic activity, as if endogenous adenosine was available at that time to
activate the adenosine receptors that inhibit transmitter release. ACh
release from conditioned ganglia was 44% greater than that from the
controls. However, the rebound ACh was not mobilized in the presence of
2-(4-phenylpiperidino)cyclohexanol (vesamicol), a vesicular ACh transporter
inhibitor. These results suggest that endogenous adenosine released after
tetanic stimulation activates ACh synthesis, which results in an increase
of ganglionic ACh that is available for subsequent mobilization and
release.