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Neurotransmitter inhibition of neuronal calcium currents by changes in channel voltage dependence

Nature volume 340, pages 153–156 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

THE voltage-dependent calcium current of many neurons is depressed by transmitters such as noradrenaline1-3, GABA4-6, and kappa-opiate agonists7-12. This modulation probably constitutes a major mechanism of presynaptic inhibition1,8,12. Although recent work has implicated GTP-binding proteins in the mechanism of current inhibition13-19, it is still unknown how the activation of those proteins alters the operation of the channels. In their initial description of the phenomenon1, Dunlap and Fischbach proposed that noradrenaline acts by somehow reducing the number of functions calcium channels in the cell. By contrast with this hypothesis, I have found that inhibition of Ca2+ current is primarily due to a transmitter-induced change in the voltage-dependence with which channels are opened. Transmitters profoundly alter the voltage-dependence of channel activation, but there is little or no change in the number of functional channels activated by very large depolarizations. There is also little effect on the voltage-dependence of inactivation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    Bruce P. Bean

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  1. Bruce P. Bean
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Bean, B. Neurotransmitter inhibition of neuronal calcium currents by changes in channel voltage dependence. Nature 340, 153–156 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/340153a0

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