Long-term potentiation in the hippocampus induced by platelet-activating factor.
Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an ether phospholipid that serves as an autacoid in a wide range of biological processes. We found that when PAF was added to hippocampal slices, it induced a stable and concentration-dependent increase in excitatory postsynaptic potential and population spike recordings (long-term potentiation [LTP]). The PAF effect was blocked by the PAF receptor antagonists BN 52021 and WEB 2086 and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists MK 801 and 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate. However, these PAF receptor antagonists did not block LTP induced by high frequency stimulation. The facilitation induced by PAF could not be reversed by PAF receptor antagonists. Induction of either PAF-or tetanus-triggered facilitation occluded the subsequent expression of the other, suggesting a common pathway. LTP is a type of synaptic plasticity associated with the formation of memory, and PAF may play an important modulatory role in this process.
Wieraszko
A
A
CSI/IBR Center for Developmental Neuroscience, College of Staten Island, New York 10301.
Li
G
G
Kornecki
E
E
Hogan
M V
MV
Ehrlich
Y H
YH
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010972:Platelet Activating Factor / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D010972:Platelet Activating Factor; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D066246:ErbB Receptors