The effects of sodium nitroprusside on mediator release and the functional properties of postsynaptic membranes in the neuromuscular synapse.

Experiments on neuromuscular preparations of frog skin- thoracic muscle and sartorius muscle, using extracellular recording and two-electrode clamping of the muscle fiber membrane potential, were used to study the effects of the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside on endplate currents. At a concentration of 100 microM, sodium nitroprusside sharply decreased the amplitude and quantum composition of the endplate currents, and also decreased the miniature endplate current frequency. The amplitude-time characteristics of miniature endplate currents, the voltage-dependent amplitude, and the decay time constant of miniature endplate currents did not change as compared with controls. However, unlike the situation with other secretion inhibitors, the decrease in endplate current amplitude was not accompanied by increased facilitation in response to rhythmic stimulation or changes in postsynaptic potentiation in conditions of application of pairs of stimuli to muscles. The suppression of acetylcholine secretion was not seen with inactivated sodium nitroprusside solution. These results provide evidence that nitric oxide can be a powerful inhibitor of both spontaneous and evoked transmitter secretion in the neuromuscular synapse, and that this is accompanied by decreases in the efficiency of presynaptic forms of short-term plasticity, while the functional characteristics of the postsynaptic membrane remain unchanged.