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Gymnopilin-a substance produced by the hallucinogenic mushroom, Gymnopilus junonius-mobilizes intracellular Ca2+ in dorsal root ganglion cells

Shunsuke Miyazaki, Naoki Kitamura, Aiko Nishio, Saki Tanaka, Tomohiko Kayano, Taiki Moriya, Tsuyoshi Ichiyanagi, Norihiro Shimomura, Izumi Shibuya, Tadanori Aimi

Biomedical Research 2012 DOI: 10.2220/biomedres.33.111 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Experimental study Peer reviewed
Population Cultured cells isolated from the dorsal root ganglion of the rat
Intervention Gymnopilin
Keywords Dorsal root ganglion Intracellular Cyclopiazonic acid Extracellular Phospholipase c Depolarization Cell biology
Citations 12
Key findings Gymnopilin increases intracellular calcium in rat dorsal root ganglion cells by activating phospholipase C and mobilizing calcium from intracellular stores.

Abstract

Gymnopilus junonius is a widely spread mushroom in Japan and well known as a hallucinogenic mushroom. Gymnopilin was purified from the fruiting body of G. junonius and was reported to act on the spinal cord and depolarize motoneurons. This is the only evidence that gymnopilin has a biological effect on animals and no mechanism of the action has been determined at all. In this study, we examined effects of gymnopilin on intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations ([Ca(2+)](i)) of cultured cells isolated from the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) of the rat. The cell culture consisted of neurons and non-neuronal cells. Gymnopilin increased [Ca(2+)](i) in both the types of cells. The gymnopilinevoked [Ca(2+)](i) rise in the non-neuronal cells was inhibited by cyclopiazonic acid and U-73122, inhibitors of Ca(2+)-ATPase of the intracellular Ca(2+) store and phospholipase C, respectively, but not by removal of extracellular Ca(2+). These results indicate that gymnopilin activated phospholipase C and mobilize Ca(2+) from the intracellular Ca(2+) store in non-neuronal cells from the DRG. This is the first report to show that gymnopilin directly acts on cells isolated from the mammalian nervous system.