Persistent signalling and changes in presynaptic function in long-term potentiation

The synaptic activation of NMDA receptors and Ca2+ signalling in neurons

Long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus is a model system for understanding the synaptic basis of learning and memory. We have studied the mechanism of induction of LTP using voltage-clamp techniques and confocal imaging of Ca2+ in rat hippocampal slices. In the Schaffer collateral-commissural pathway the neurotransmitter L-glutamate activates two classes of ionotropic receptor, named after the selective ligands AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate) and NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate). During low frequency transmission the excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) is mediated predominantly by AMPA receptors. NMDA receptors play a minor role because their ion channels are substantially blocked by Mg2+, and this block is intensified by GABA-mediated synaptic inhibition. During high frequency transmission the GABA-mediated inhibition is depressed, by mechanisms initiated by GABAB autoreceptors. This allows a greater contribution from the NMDA receptors, through which Ca2+ enters the dendrites of the postsynaptic neurons to initiate a cascade of biochemical processes which ultimately result in enhanced synaptic efficiency.

Reversal of synaptic memory by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II inhibitor

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is an activity-dependent strengthening of synapses that is thought to underlie memory storage. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has been a leading candidate as a memory molecule because it is persistently activated after LTP induction and can enhance transmission. Furthermore, a mutation that blocks persistent activation blocks LTP and forms of learning. However, direct evidence for a role of the kinase in maintaining synaptic strength has been lacking. Here, we show that a newly developed noncompetitive inhibitor of CaMKII strongly reduces synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of the hippocampal slice. This occurs through both presynaptic and postsynaptic action. To study the role of CaMKII in the maintenance of LTP, inhibitor was applied after LTP induction and then removed. Inhibition occurred in both LTP and control pathways but only partially recovered. The nonrecovering component was attributable primarily to a postsynaptic change. To test whether nonrecovery was attributable to a persistent reversal of LTP, we first saturated LTP and then transiently applied inhibitor. This procedure allowed additional LTP to be induced, indicating a reversal of an LTP maintenance mechanism. This is the first procedure that can reverse LTP by chemical means and suggests that a component of synaptic memory is attributable to CaMKII. The procedure also enhanced the LTP that could be induced in the control pathway, consistent with the idea that CaMKII is involved in controlling basal synaptic strength, perhaps as a result of LTP that occurred in vivo.

Impairment of long-term potentiation in the CA1, but not dentate gyrus, of the hippocampus in Obese Zucker rats: role of calcineurin and phosphorylated CaMKII

Obese Zucker rat (OZR) is a genetic model of obesity with noninsulin-dependent diabetes and hypertension. The OZR exhibit hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidmia, and high circulating glucocorticoid levels. We have shown previously that long-term potentiation (LTP) is impaired in the CA1 region of the hippocampus of OZR. In the present work, although electrophysiological recording from anesthetized OZR hippocampus showed impaired LTP in the CA1, an intact LTP was recorded in the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus of the same OZR. Thus, LTP is differentially impaired in the CA1 compared with the DG region of OZR hippocampus. Immunoblotting was used to investigate the molecular mechanism responsible for impairment of LTP in the CA1 but not in the DG region. Analysis revealed reduction in the levels of phosphorylated calcium-dependent calmodulin kinase II (P-CaMKII) and total CaMKII in the CA1 region of OZR. However, in the DG region, reduction was observed only in the levels of total CaMKII, with no change in P-CaMKII levels. The ratio of P-CaMKII to total CaMKII was increased in the DG but not in the CA1 area of hippocampus of OZR. Although unchanged in the CA1, calcineurin levels were significantly reduced in the DG of OZR. These findings suggest that the DG might possess a compensatory mechanism whereby calcineurin levels are reduced to allow sufficient P-CaMKII to produce an apparently normal LTP in the DG area of OZR hippocampus.

The upregulation of acetylcholine release at endplates of alpha-bungarotoxin-treated rats: its dependency on calcium

1. The presynaptic component of an adaptive feedback mechanism leading to increased acetylcholine (ACh) release was studied in endplates of diaphragms from rats treated chronically with alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha BTX). 2. Quantal contents were calculated 'directly' from the amplitude of miniature endplate potentials (MEPPs) and endplate potentials (EPPs) which were recorded after mu-conotoxin treatment to prevent muscle action potentials. 3. In vitro application of the Ca2+ channel blockers nifedipine (10 microM) or omega-conotoxin (40 nM) had no significant effect on the increased quantal content of endplates from alpha BTX-treated rats. 4. At control endplates, in vitro block of presynaptic K+ channels by 5 microM 3,4-diaminopyridine did increase the quantal content to a level which was similar to that found in endplates of alpha BTX-treated rats but also induced a broadening of EPPs, which was not found at endplates after alpha BTX treatment. 5. The difference between quantal contents of alpha BTX-treated and control rats was highly dependent on the [Ca2+]o/[Mg2+]o ratio when [Mg2+]o was fixed at 1 mM. At low [Ca2+]o, the quantal content of endplates from alpha BTX-treated rats was lower than that of controls while at [Ca2+]o in the normal and high range this was reversed. However, changing the [Ca2+]o/[Mg2+]o ratio by means of [Mg2+]o, at a fixed [Ca2+]o of 2 mM, did not influence the relative increase of quantal contents at endplates from alpha BTX-treated rats. Double logarithmic plots of the 'toxin-induced' myasthenia gravis (TIMG) and control quantal content versus [Ca2+]o had an approximately linear part between 0.2 and 1.5 mM [Ca2+]o. The slopes of the TIMG and control lines were 1.81 and 0.96, indicating that the ACh release in TIMG muscles was more sensitive to changes of [Ca2+]o than controls. 6. At normal [Ca2+]o and [Mg2+]o, the depression of EPP amplitude during stimulation of the phrenic nerve at 30-50 Hz was somewhat larger at endplates from alpha BTX-treated rats than at control endplates. At low [Ca2+]o, the potentiation of EPP amplitudes during a stimulus train was much larger at endplates from alpha BTX-treated rats than from controls. 7. The results do not support the idea that the increased release of ACh is caused via regulatory effects on the presynaptic Ca2+ or K+ channels. Instead, the anomalous dependency of ACh release on Ca2+ in muscles of alpha BTX-treated rats suggests that a cytoplasmic, Ca(2+)-dependent, component is involved in the adaptive change of transmitter release.