Attenuation of glutamate-action, excitatory postsynaptic potentials, and spikes by intracellular QX 222 in hippocampal neurons.

The effects of intracellular applications of QX 222, a quaternary analogue of lidocaine, were investigated in CA1 neurons of in vitro hippocampal slices of guinea-pig brain. QX 222 produced a strong depression of spontaneous, electrically-(by current injection) or orthodromically-evoked action potentials. These dose-dependent effects were characterized by a reduction in the rate of rise and amplitude of spikes, presumed to be mediated by a Na+-conductance. Although resting membrane conductance tended to diminish with prolonged applications of QX 222, marked changes in resting potential generally were not observed. The threshold for eliciting spikes by intracellular injection of depolarizing current was increased greatly by QX 222, reflecting the impairment of Na+-electrogenesis of spikes. The reduction of action potential amplitude by QX 222 may be partly attributable to enhanced inactivation of Na+-channels because brief depolarizing pulses preceded by strong tonic hyperpolarization, elicited spikes at a lower threshold and of considerably larger amplitude than in the absence of such tonic hyperpolarization. These observations on recovery are compatible with a removal of sodium inactivation. However, this experimental paradigm of current injection also might be expected to remove QX 222 molecules from their blocking sites at the inner end of Na+-channels. When spikes were abolished by QX 222, the depolarization evoked with application of S-glutamate by pressure ejection from an extracellular micropipette positioned close to the neuron was attenuated. This reversible blockade was reproducible in the 14 neurons where the interactions of QX 222 and glutamate were examined systematically. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials, evoked by stimulation of strata oriens or radiatum, were reduced in a similar manner by internal QX 222. These data confirm previous observations that voltage-dependent Na+-channels mediating spike genesis in CA1 neurons can be blocked by internal QX 222. However, QX 222 also apparently interferes with the functions of Na+-channels activated by glutamate-receptor interaction or by receptor interactions with neurotransmitter(s) associated with certain excitatory postsynaptic potentials in CA1 neurons.