Abstract
Cerebellar long-term depression (LTD) is a model system of information storage in which a persistent attenuation of the parallel fiber-Purkinje neuron (PN) synapse is induced by conjunctive stimulation of parallel fiber and climbing fiber inputs at low frequency. As some studies have suggested that release of the gaseous second messenger, nitric oxide (NO), in the molecular layer and the consequent activation of soluble guanylate cyclase and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) in the PN, is necessary for LTD induction, we have further examined this hypothesis using a cell culture protocol. In cerebellar cultures made from transgenic mice in which the gene for neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) has been rendered null, LTD induced by glutamate/depolarization conjunctive stimulation was indistinguishable from that in cultures from wild-type mice in terms of amplitude, rate of onset, and duration. Bath application of cGMP analogs produced a large (80%), transient attenuation of glutamate-gated inward currents. However, application of an activator of soluble guanylate cyclase or an inhibitor of type V cGMP-phosphodiesterase did not mimic the effect of cGMP analogs, and inclusion of cGMP analogs in the patch pipette did not give rise to a slowly developing attenuation, suggesting that these compounds exert their effects at the cell surface. Free Ca was measured in the distal dendritic arbor of single PNs by fura-2 microfluorimetry.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.