Agonists at metabotropic glutamate receptors presynaptically inhibit EPSCs in neonatal rat hippocampus.

1. The effects of metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists on excitatory synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices (11-30 days) were studied using extracellular and whole-cell patch-clamp recording techniques. 2. Trans-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (trans-ACPD; 25-100 microM) reversibly depressed excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) without affecting presynaptic fibre excitability or EPSC reversal potential. 3. Ibotenate (25 microM) or L-glutamate (250 microM), in the presence of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV, 50-75 microM), depressed the EPSC amplitude while inducing no detectable inward current. L-2-Amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (L-AP4, 25-100 microM), the phosphonic derivative of glutamate, also depressed EPSC amplitude and caused no detectable inward current. 4. The NMDA receptor-mediated component of the EPSC recorded in the presence of the non-NMDA receptor antagonist, 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 20-30 microM) was depressed by trans-ACPD, L-AP4, or quisqualate (1-2 microM). 5. The response to ionophoretic application of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) was unaffected by trans-ACPD or L-AP4 although the simultaneously recorded EPSC was strongly depressed. In addition, paired-pulse facilitation (50-75 ms interstimulus interval) was reversibly enhanced by trans-ACPD or L-AP4. These results indicate that the depression of synaptic transmission likely was mediated by a presynaptic 'autoreceptor'. 6. The effects of trans-ACPD or L-AP4 on synaptic transmission decreased significantly over ages 12-30 days and were minimal in adult (greater than 80 days) slices. 7. The depression of synaptic transmission caused by trans-ACPD or L-AP4 was not altered following the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP). 8. The results indicate that metabotropic glutamate receptor agonists suppress excitatory synaptic transmission in CA1 pyramidal cells by an action at a presynaptic site. This effect is developmentally regulated and is maximally expressed during the first postnatal month.