Pharmacological inhibitions of glutamate transporters EAAT1 and EAAT2 compromise glutamate transport in photoreceptor to ON-bipolar cell synapses.

To maintain reliable signal transmission across a synapse, free synaptic neurotransmitters must be removed from the cleft in a timely manner. In the first visual synapse, this critical task is mainly undertaken by glutamate transporters (EAATs). Here we study the differential roles of the EAAT1, EAAT2 and EAAT5 subtypes in glutamate (GLU) uptake at the photoreceptor-to-depolarizing bipolar cell synapse in intact dark-adapted retina. Various doses of EAAT blockers and/or GLU were injected into the eye before the electroretinogram (ERG) was measured. Their effectiveness and potency in inhibiting the ERG b-wave were studied to determine their relative contributions to the GLU clearing activity at the synapse. The results showed that EAAT1 and EAAT2 plays different roles. Selectively blocking glial EAAT1 alone using UCPH101 inhibited the b-wave 2-24h following injection, suggesting a dominating role of EAAT1 in the overall GLU clearing capacity in the synaptic cleft. Selectively blocking EAAT2 on photoreceptor terminals had no significant effect on the b-wave, but increased the potency of exogenous GLU in inhibiting the b-wave. These suggest that EAAT2 play a secondary yet significant role in the GLU reuptake activity at the rod and the cone output synapses. Additionally, we have verified our electrophysiological findings with double-label immunohistochemistry, and extend the literature on the spatial distribution of EAAT2 splice variants in the mouse retina.

Possible roles of glutamate transporter EAAT5 in mouse cone depolarizing bipolar cell light responses.

A remarkable feature of neuronal glutamate transporters (EAATs) is their dual functions of classical carriers and ligand-gated chloride (Cl(-)) channels. Cl(-) conductance is rapidly activated by glutamate in subtype EAAT5, which mediates light responses in depolarizing bipolar cells (DBC) in retinae of lower vertebrates. In this study, we examine whether EAAT5 also mediates the DBC light response in mouse. We took advantage of an infrared illuminated micro-injection system, and studied the effects of the EAAT blocker (TBOA) and a glutamate receptor agonist (LAP4) on the mouse electroretinogram (ERG) b-wave responses. Our results showed that TBOA and LAP4 shared similar temporal patterns of inhibition: both inhibited the ERG b-wave shortly after injection and recovered with similar time courses. TBOA inhibited the b-wave completely at mesopic light intensity with an IC50 value about 1 log unit higher than that of LAP4. The inhibitory effects of TBOA and LAP4 were found to be additive in the photopic range. Furthermore, TBOA alone inhibited the b-wave in the cone operative range in knockout mice lacking DBCRs at a low concentration that did not alter synaptic glutamate clearance activity. It also produced a stronger inhibition than that of LAP4 on the cone-driven b-wave measured with a double flash method in wildtype mice. These electrophysiological data suggest a significant role for EAAT5 in mediating cone-driven DBC light responses. Our immunohistochemistry data indicated the presence of postsynaptic EAAT5 on some DBCCs and some DBCRs, providing an anatomical basis for EAAT5's role in DBC light responses.

Mapping of glutathione and its precursor amino acids reveals a role for GLYT2 in glycine uptake in the lens core.

PURPOSE: To correlate the distribution of glutathione (GSH) and its precursor amino acids (cysteine, glycine, and glutamate) with the expression of their respective amino acid transporters in the rat lens. METHODS: Whole rat lenses were fixed, cryoprotected, and cryosectioned in either an equatorial or axial orientation. Sections were double labeled with cystine, glycine, glutamate, GSH, GLYT1, or GLYT2 antibodies, and the membrane marker wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). Sections were imaged by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Cystine, glycine, glutamate, and GSH labeling were quantified by using image-analysis software and intensity profiles plotted as a function of distance from the lens periphery. Western blot analysis was used to verify regional differences in amino acid transporter expression. RESULTS: Cystine and glycine labeling in equatorial sections was most intense in the outer cortex, was diminished in the inner cortex, but was increased again in the core relative to the inner cortex. Glutamate and GSH labeling was most intense in the outer cortex and was diminished in the inner cortex to a minimum that was sustained throughout the core. The distribution of cystine and glutamate levels correlated well with the expression patterns observed previously for the cystine/glutamate exchanger (Xc-) and the glutamate transporter (EAAT4/5), respectively. Although high levels of glycine labeling in the outer cortex correlated well with the expression of the glycine transporter GLYT1, the absence of GLYT1 in the core, despite an increase of glycine in this region, suggests an alternative glycine uptake system such as GLYT2 exists in the core. Equatorial sections labeled with GLYT2 antibodies, showed that labeling in the outer cortex was predominantly cytoplasmic, but progressively became more membranous with distance into the lens. In the inner cortex and core, GLYT2 labeling was localized around the entire membrane of fiber cells. Western blot analysis confirmed GLYT2 to be expressed in the outer cortex, inner cortex, and core of the lens. Axial sections labeled for glycine revealed a track of high-intensity glycine labeling that extended from the anterior pole through to the core that was associated with the sutures. CONCLUSIONS: The mapping of GSH and its precursor amino acids has shown that an alternative glycine uptake pathway exists in mature fiber cells. Although GLYT1 and -2 are likely to mediate glycine uptake in cortical fiber cells, GLYT2 alone appears responsible for the accumulation of glycine in the center of the lens. Enhancing the delivery of glycine to the core via the sutures may represent a pathway to protect the lens against the protein modifications associated with age-related nuclear cataract.