The involvement of nonspiking cells in long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 841-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Sastry ◽  
J. W. Goh ◽  
P. B. Y. May ◽  
S. S. Chirwa

In guinea pig hippocampal slices, stimulation of stratum radiatum during depolarization (with intracellular current injections) of nonspiking cells (presumed to be glia) in the apical dendritic area of CA1 pyramidal neurons resulted in a subsequent long-term potentiation of intracellularly recorded excitatory postsynaptic potentials as well as extracellularly recorded population spikes in the CA1 area. Tetanic stimulation of stratum radiatum resulted in a subsequent prolonged depolarization of the presumed glial cells, and this depolarization was smaller when the tetanus was given during the presence of 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate or when the slices were exposed to Ca2+-free medium containing Mn2+ and Mg2+. These results suggest that glial depolarization is involved as one of the steps in generating long-term potentiation.

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Tao Zhao ◽  
Krešimir Krnjević

In hippocampal slices, temporary (10–20 min) replacement of glucose with 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose is followed by marked and very sustained potentiation of EPSPs (2-DG LTP). To investigate its mechanism, we examined 2-DG's effect in CA1 neurons recorded with sharp 3 M KCl electrodes containing a strong chelator, 50 or 100 mM ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)- N, N, N′, N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). In most cases, field EPSPs were simultaneously recorded and conventional LTP was also elicited in some cells by tetanic stimulation of stratum radiatum. 2-DG potentiated intracellular EPSP slopes by 48 ± 5.1% (SE) in nine cells recorded with plain KCl electrodes and by 52 ± 6.2% in seven cells recorded with EGTA-containing electrodes. In four of the latter cells, tetanic stimulation (twice 100 Hz for 1 s) failed to evoke LTP (2 ± 1.1%), although field EPSPs were clearly potentiated (by 28 ± 6.9%). Thus unlike tetanic LTP, 2-DG LTP is not readily prevented by postsynaptic intraneuronal injection of EGTA. These findings agree with other evidence that the rise in postsynaptic (somatic) [Ca2+]i caused by 2-DG is not the principal trigger for the subsequent 2-DG LTP and that it may be a purely presynaptic phenomenon.


1996 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 1909-1918 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Cormier ◽  
P. T. Kelly

1. Many examples of long-term potentiation (LPT) are induced by repetitive electrical stimulation of presynaptic axons. LTP also is induced by direct glutamate iontophoresis (1 M, 1-2 microA, 10 s) onto postsynaptic neurons in hippocampal slices without evoked presynaptic stimulation; this form of LTP is called "ionto-LTP". The studies herein test the hypothesis that ionto-LTP is expressed primarily through postsynaptic mechanisms. 2. Whole cell recordings were used to examine the amplitude and frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in CA1 pyramidal neurons. sEPSCs were composed of an equal mixture of tetrodotoxin (TTX)-insensitive miniature EPSCs and EPSCs that appeared to result from spontaneous action potentials (i.e., TTX-sensitive EPSCs). The detection of all sEPSCs was virtually eliminated by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (20 microM), suggesting that sEPSCs were glutamate-mediated synaptic events. 3. Changes in the amplitude and frequency of sEPSCs were examined during the expression of ionto-LTP to obtain new information about the cellular location of mechanisms involved in synaptic plasticity. Our findings show that ionto-LTP expression results in increased sEPSC amplitude in the absence of lasting increases in sEPSC frequency. 4. Potentiation of sEPSC amplitude without changes in sEPSC frequency has been previously interpreted to be due to postsynaptic mechanisms. Although this interpretation is supported by findings from peripheral synapses, its application to the central nervous system is unclear. We have considered alternative mechanisms. Models based on increased release probability for action potential dependent transmitter release appeared insufficient to explain our results. The most straightforward interpretation of our results is that LTP induced by glutamate iontophoresis on dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons is mediated largely by postsynaptic changes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 358 (1432) ◽  
pp. 689-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Hosokawa ◽  
Masaki Ohta ◽  
Takeshi Saito ◽  
Alan Fine

Spatio-temporal patterns of neuronal activity before and after the induction of long-term potentiation in mouse hippocampal slices were studied using a real-time high-resolution optical recording system. After staining the slices with voltage-sensitive dye, transmitted light images and extracellular field potentials were recorded in response to stimuli applied to CA1 stratum radiatum. Optical and electrical signals in response to single test pulses were enhanced for at least 30 minutes after brief high-frequency stimulation at the same site. In two-pathway experiments, potentiation was restricted to the tetanized pathway. The optical signals demonstrated that both the amplitude and area of the synaptic response were increased, in patterns not predictable from the initial, pretetanus, pattern of activation. Optical signals will be useful for investigating spatio-temporal patterns of synaptic enhancement underlying information storage in the brain.


1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhuo ◽  
Jarmo T. Laitinen ◽  
Xiao-Ching Li ◽  
Robert D. Hawkins

Perfusion of hippocampal slices with an inhibitor nitric oxide (NO) synthase blocked induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) produced by a one-train tetanus and significantly reduced LTP by a two-train tetanus, but only slightly reduced LTP by a four-train tetanus. Inhibitors of heme oxygenase, the synthetic enzyme for carbon monoxide (CO), significantly reduced LTP by either a two-train or four-train tetanus. These results suggest that NO and CO are both involved in LTP but may play somewhat different roles. One possibility is that NO serves a phasic, signaling role, whereas CO provides tonic, background stimulation. Another possibility is that NO and CO are phasically activated under somewhat different circumstances, perhaps involving different receptors and second messengers. Because NO is known to be activated by stimulation of NMDA receptors during tetanus, we investigated the possibility that CO might be activated by stimulation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). Consistent with this idea, long-lasting potentiation by the mGluR agonist tACPD was blocked by inhibitors of heme oxygenase but not NO synthase. Potentiation by tACPD was also blocked by inhibitors of soluble guanylyl cyclase (a target of both NO and CO) or cGMP-dependent protein kinase, and guanylyl cyclase was activated by tACPD in hippocampal slices. However, biochemical assays indicate that whereas heme oxygenase is constitutively active in hippocampus, it does not appear to be stimulated by either tetanus or tACPD. These results are most consistent with the possibility that constitutive (tonic) rather than stimulated (phasic) heme oxygenase activity is necessary for potentiation by tetanus or tACPD, and suggest that mGluR activation stimulates guanylyl cyclase phasically through some other pathway.


1991 ◽  
Vol 555 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Fujii ◽  
Kazuo Saito ◽  
Hiroyoshi Miyakawa ◽  
Ken-ichi Ito ◽  
Hiroshi Kato

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Xu ◽  
Mike T. Lin ◽  
Xiang-ming Zha

Abstract Increased neural activities reduced pH at the synaptic cleft and interstitial spaces. Recent studies have shown that protons function as a neurotransmitter. However, it remains unclear whether protons signal through a metabotropic receptor to regulate synaptic function. Here, we showed that GPR68, a proton-sensitive GPCR, exhibited wide expression in the hippocampus, with higher expression observed in CA3 pyramidal neurons and dentate granule cells. In organotypic hippocampal slice neurons, ectopically expressed GPR68-GFP was present in dendrites, dendritic spines, and axons. Recordings in hippocampal slices isolated from GPR68−/− mice showed a reduced fiber volley at the Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses, a reduced long-term potentiation (LTP), but unaltered paired-pulse ratio. In a step-through passive avoidance test, GPR68−/− mice exhibited reduced avoidance to the dark chamber. These findings showed that GPR68 contributes to hippocampal LTP and aversive fear memory.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana I. Gomes ◽  
Joao Jesus ◽  
Renata Macau ◽  
Joana Goncalves-Ribeiro ◽  
Sara Pinto ◽  
...  

It is known that astrocytes, by the Ca2+-dependent release of gliotransmitters, which then act in pre- and post-synaptic receptors, modulate neuronal transmission and plasticity. Thus, hippocampal θ-burst long-term potentiation (LTP), which is a form of synaptic plasticity, can be modulated by astrocytes, since these cells release gliotransmitters that are crucial for the maintenance of LTP. Therefore, in this study, we hypothesized that the facilitatory action of BDNF upon LTP would involve astrocytes. To address that possibility, fEPSP recordings were performed in CA3-CA1 area of hippocampal slices from three different experimental models: Wistar rats where astrocytic metabolism was selectively reduced by a gliotoxin, the DL-fluoricitric acid (FC), IP3R2-/- mice model, which lack IP3R2-mediated Ca2+-signaling in astrocytes and dn-SNARE transgenic mice, in which the SNARE-dependent release of gliotransmitters. For the three models we observed that the astrocytic impairment abolished the excitatory BDNF effect upon hippocampal LTP, only while inducing LTP with a mild θ-burst stimulation paradigm. The present data shows for the first time that astrocytes play an active role in the facilitatory action of BDNF upon LTP, depending on stimulation paradigm.


1999 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tekkök ◽  
I. Medina ◽  
K. Krnjević

Tekkök, S., I. Medina, and K. Krnjević. Intraneuronal [Ca2+] changes induced by 2-deoxy-d-glucose in rat hippocampal slices. J. Neurophysiol. 81: 174–183, 1999. Temporary replacement of glucose by 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG; but not sucrose) is followed by long-term potentiation of CA1 synaptic transmission (2-DG LTP), which is Ca2+-dependent and is prevented by dantrolene or N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists. To clarify the mechanism of action of 2-DG, we monitored [Ca2+]i while replacing glucose with 2-DG or sucrose. In slices (from Wistar rats) kept submerged at 30°C, pyramidal neurons were loaded with [Ca2+]-sensitive fluo-3 or Fura Red. The fluorescence was measured with a confocal microscope. Bath applications of 10 mM 2-DG (replacing glucose for 15 ± 0.38 min, means ± SE) led to a rapid but reversible rise in fluo-3 fluorescence (or drop of Fura Red fluorescence); the peak increase of fluo-3 fluorescence (Δ F/ F 0), measured near the end of 2-DG applications, was by 245 ± 50% ( n = 32). Isosmolar sucrose (for 15–40 min) had a smaller but significant effect (Δ F/ F 0 = 94 ± 14%, n = 10). The 2-DG–induced Δ F/ F 0 was greatly reduced (to 35 ± 15%, n = 16) by d,l-aminophosphono-valerate (50–100 μM) and abolished by 10 μM dantrolene (−4.0 ± 2.9%, n = 11). A substantial, although smaller effect, of 2-DG persisted in Ca2+-free 1 mM ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)- N, N, N′, N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) medium. Two adenosine antagonists, which do not prevent 2-DG LTP, were also tested; 2-DG–induced Δ F/ F 0 (fluo-3) was not affected by the A1 antagonist 8-cyclopentyl-3,7-dihydro-1,3-dipropyl-1H-purine-2,6-dione (DPCPX 50 nM; 287 ± 38%; n = 20), but it was abolished by the A1/A2 antagonist 8-SPT; 25 ± 29%, n = 19). These observations suggest that 2-DG releases glutamate and adenosine and that the rise in [Ca2+] may be triggered by a synergistic action of glutamate (acting via NMDA receptors) and adenosine (acting via A2b receptors) resulting in Ca2+ release from a dantrolene-sensitive store. The discrepant effects of sucrose and 8-SPT on Δ F/ F 0, on the one hand, and 2-DG LTP, on the other, support other evidence that increases in postsynaptic [Ca2+]i are not essential for 2-DG LTP.


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