Zinc modulation of glycine receptors in acutely isolated rat CA3 neurons

Glycine and GABA are the primary inhibitory neurotransmitters in the spinal cord and brain stem, with glycine exerting its physiological roles by activating strychnine-sensitive ionotropic receptors. Glycine receptors are also expressed in the brain, including the cortex and hippocampus, but their physiological roles and pharmacological properties are largely unknown. Here, we report the pharmacological properties of functional glycine receptors in acutely isolated rat CA3 neurons using conventional whole-cell patch clamp techniques. Both glycine and taurine, which are endogenous agonists of glycine receptors, elicited Cl− currents in a concentration-dependent manner. The glycine-induced current (IGly) was inhibited by strychnine, picrotoxin or cyclothiazide in a concentration-dependent manner. At lower concentrations (0.01-1 µM), ICS-205,930 potentiated IGly, but at higher concentrations (> 10 µM) it inhibited IGly. These pharmacological properties strongly suggest that CA3 neurons express functional strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors containing α2 subunits. Furthermore, at lower concentrations (1-30 µM), Zn2+ potentiated IGly, but at higher concentrations (> 100 µM) it inhibited IGly. Considering that Zn2+ is synaptically co-released with glutamate from mossy fiber terminals that make excitatory synapses onto CA3 neurons, these results suggest that endogenous Zn2+ modulation of these glycine receptors may have an important role in the excitability of CA3 neurons.