Shaw PJ; Salt TE; (1997) Modulation of sensory and excitatory amino acid responses by nitric oxide donors and glutathione in the ventrobasal thalamus of the rat. European Journal of Neuroscience, 9: 1507-1513.
Nitric oxide has been identified as having a role in synaptic
transmission in the central nervous system. In the ventrobasal
complex of the thalamus (VB), the precursor of nitric oxide
synthesis, L-arginine, causes enhancement of excitatory amino
acid responses and somatosensory transmission. In this study,
the nitric oxide donors sodium nitroprusside, 3-
morpholinosydnonimine and S-nitrosoglutathione were applied to
VB relay neurons by iontophoresis and responses of single
neurons were recorded extracellularly. Sodium nitroprusside
caused selective inhibition of responses to NMDA, probably
mediated by a by-product, ferrocyanide, as described in
previous studies. 3-Morpholinosydnonimine and S-
nitrosoglutathione, however, caused potentiation of responses
to sensory stimuli and to excitatory amino acids. In contrast,
glutathione in both its reduced and oxidized forms reduced such
responses, and this suggests that the potentiating effect of S-
nitrosoglutathione could be due to nitric oxide production.
These results are consistent with the hypothesis that nitric
oxide may have a local modulatory role in the thalamus. Data
are presented which suggest that glutathione may have a
negative modulatory influence on neurotransmission and
excitatory amino acid responses in the ventrobasal thalamus.
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Last Updated Aug 12, 1997.