Non-NMDA receptor-mediated modulation of voltage-activated outward currents in chick neurones

The effect of kainate on the voltage-activated current of cultured embryonic chick telencephalic neurones was studied by whole-cell voltage clamp recording. In addition to opening non-NMDA receptor coupled ion channels, kainate produced additional effects, with a slower time course: it modulated voltage-activated currents. These effects were blocked by the non-NMDA receptor antagonists CNQX (6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione) and GYKI 53784 ((-)-1-(4-aminophenyl)-3- methylcarbamoyl-4-methyl-7,8-methylenedioxy-3,4- dihydro-5H-2,3-benzodiazepine), indicating that non NMDA receptors are involved. It has been shown that the reversible inhibition of outward potassium currents was partly due to a decrease of current amplitude and partly to a marked shift of the inactivation curve towards more negative potentials.