title: Increased long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus via modulation of GTPase signalling or inhibition of Rho kinase.
abstract: There is accumulating evidence that Ras, and Ras-related GTPases of the Rho family, such as RhoA, RhoB and Rac1, are involved in synaptic plasticity in brain regions such as the hippocampus. We have recently shown that Rho family GTPases are activated by synaptic transmission in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Since the function of these GTPases is dependent on post-translational isoprenylation by either farnesyl or geranylgeranyl transferases, we tested the hypothesis that inhibition of isoprenylation would modify long-term potentiation (LTP). Farnesyl transferase inhibition, which suppressed activation of RhoB and Ras but not RhoA or Rac1, reduced the magnitude of LTP, while geranylgeranyl transferase inhibition, which inhibited RhoA and Rac1 but not RhoB, increased the magnitude of LTP. In addition, Y-27632, a specific inhibitor of a downstream effector of Rho GTPases-Rho-kinase-also increased the magnitude of LTP. This provides strong evidence that GTPases are important mediators of synaptic plasticity, and demonstrates that Rho-kinase acts to reduce the degree of plasticity at hippocampal synapses during LTP. Rho-kinase inhibitors have the unusual property of increasing the magnitude of LTP, and so may be potential cognitive enhancers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Division of Neuroscience and Biomedical Systems, West Medical Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: O'Kane
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases