title: Contribution of T-type VDCC to TEA-induced long-term synaptic modification in hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus.
abstract: We have previously reported that exposure to the K+ channel blocker tetraethylammonium (TEA), 25 mM, induces long-term potentiation (LTP) in CA1, but not in the dentate gyrus (DG), of the rat hippocampal slice. During TEA application, stimulation of excitatory afferents results in a strong depolarizing potential after the fast excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) in CA1, but not in DG. We hypothesized that the differential effect of TEA on long-term synaptic modification in CA1 and DG results from different levels of TEA-elicited depolarization in the two cell types. Additional pharmacological studies showed that blockade of T-type voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) decreased both the magnitude of LTP and the late, depolarizing potential in CA1. Blockade of L-type VDCCs had no such effect. Using computer models of morphologically reconstructed CA1 pyramidal cells and DG granule cells, we tested our hypothesis by simulating the relative intracellular Ca2+ accumulation and membrane potential changes mediated by T-type and L-type VDCCs. Simulation results using pyramidal cell models showed that, with decreased maximum conductance of TEA-sensitive potassium channels, synaptic inputs elicited strong depolarizing potentials similar to those observed with intracellular recording. During this depolarization, VDCCs were opened and resulted in a large intracellular Ca2+ accumulation that presumably caused LTP. When T-type VDCCs were blocked, the magnitudes of both the Ca2+ accumulation and the late depolarizing potential were decreased substantially. Simulated blockade of L-type VDCCs had only a minor effect. Together, our modeling and experimental studies indicate that T-type VDCCs, rather than L-type VDCCs, are primarily responsible for facilitating the depolarizing potential caused by TEA and for the consequent Ca2+ influx. Thus, our findings strongly suggest that the induction of TEA-LTP in CA1 depends primarily on T-type, rather than L-type, VDCCs. Simulation results using modeled granule cells suggests that the failure of TEA to induce LTP in DG is partly due to a low density of T-type VDCCs in granule cell membranes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90089, USA. dsong@usc.edu
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Zhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Theodore W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020747:Calcium Channels, T-Type / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019789:Tetraethylammonium / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D020747:Calcium Channels, T-Type; D019789:Tetraethylammonium