The Effect of Glutamate Receptor Agonists on Mouse Retinal Astrocyte [Ca(2+)](i)

Calcium-imaging techniques were used to determine if mouse retinal astrocytes in situ respond to agonists of ionotropic (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid, AMPA; N-methyl-D-aspartate, NMDA) and metabotropic (S-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine, DHPG; trans-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid, ACPD) glutamate receptors. In most cases we found no evidence that retinal astrocyte intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) increased in response to these glutamate agonists. The one exception was AMPA that increased [Ca(2+)](i) in some, but not all, mouse retinal astrocytes in situ. However, AMPA did not increase [Ca(2+)](i) in mouse retinal astrocytes in vitro, suggesting that the effect of AMPA in situ may be indirect.