Astrocytes, a subtype of glial cell, have recently been shown to exhibit Ca{sup 2+} elevations in response to neurotransmitters. A Ca{sup 2+} elevation can propagate to adjacent astrocytes as a Ca{sup 2+} wave, which allows an astrocyte to communicate with its neighbors. Additionally, glutamate can be released from astrocytes via a Ca{sup 2+}-dependent mechanism, thus modulating neuronal activity and synaptic transmission. In this dissertation, the author investigated the roles of another endogenous signal, nitric oxide (NO), in astrocyte-neuron signaling. First the author tested if NO is generated during astrocytic Ca{sup 2+} signaling by imaging NO in purified murine cortical astrocyte cultures. Physiological concentrations of a natural messenger, ATP, caused a Ca{sup 2+}-dependent NO production. To test the roles of NO in astrocytic Ca{sup 2+} signaling, the author applied NO to astrocyte cultures via addition of a NO donor, S-nitrosol-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP). NO induced an influx of external Ca{sup 2+}, possibly through store-operated Ca{sup 2+} channels. The NO-induced Ca{sup 2+} signaling is cGMP-independent since 8-Br-cGMP, an agonistic analog of cGMP, did not induce a detectable Ca{sup 2+} change. The consequence of this NO-induced Ca{sup 2+} influx was assessed by simultaneously monitoring of cytosolic and internal store Ca{sup 2+} using fluorescent Ca{sup 2+} indicators x-rhod-1 and mag-fluo-4. Blockage of NO signaling with the NO scavenger PTIO significantly reduced the refilling percentage of internal stores following ATP-induced Ca{sup 2+} release, suggesting that NO modulates internal store refilling. Furthermore, locally photo-release of NO to a single astrocyte led to a Ca{sup 2+} elevation in the stimulated astrocyte and a subsequent Ca{sup 2+} wave to neighbors. Finally, the author tested the role of NO inglutamate-mediated astrocyte-neuron signaling by recording the astrocyte-evoked glutamate-dependent neuronal slow inward current (SIC). Although NO is not required for the SIC,PTIO reduced SIC amplitude, suggesting that NO modulates glutamate release from astrocytes or glutamate receptor sensitivity of neurons.
