Electrophysiological evidence for expression of glycine receptors in freshly isolated neurons from nucleus accumbens.

In the course of studying N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), we found that 20% of freshly isolated medium spiny neurons, as well as all interneurons, responded in an unexpected way to long (5-s) coapplication of NMDA and glycine, the coagonist of NMDA receptors. Whereas the reversal potential of the peak NMDA current of this subset of neurons was still around 0 mV, the desensitizing current became outward at hyperpolarized potentials around -30 mV. A Cl(-)-free solution shifted the equilibrium potentials of the desensitized currents to around 0 mV. This outward current was not blocked by a Ca(2+)-free, Ba(2+)-containing solution, suggesting that the anionic conductance was not activated by Ca(2+) influx through NMDA receptor channels. Interestingly, glycine alone also evoked a current with a similar hyperpolarized reversal potential in this subset of neurons. The glycine current reversed around -50 mV, rectified outwardly, and inactivated strongly. Its desensitization was best fitted with a double exponential. Only the slow desensitization showed clear voltage dependence. The glycine current was not blocked by 200 microM picrotoxin and 10 microM zinc, was weakly antagonized by 1 microM strychnine, and was not enhanced by 1 microM zinc. In addition, 1 mM taurine, but not GABA, inactivated glycine currents, and 1 mM glycine occluded 10 mM taurine-mediated currents. These data indicate that a subset of nucleus accumbens neurons expresses glycine receptors and that either glycine or taurine could be an endogenous agonist for these receptors.