Re-evaluation of phorbol ester-induced potentiation of transmitter release from mossy fibre terminals of the mouse hippocampus

摘要

class="enumerated" style="list-style-type:decimal">To investigate the mechanisms by which phorbol esters potentiate transmitter release from mossy fibre terminals we used fura dextran to measure the intraterminal Ca²⁺ concentration in mouse hippocampal slices.A phorbol ester, phorbol 12,13-diacetate (PDAc), potentiated the field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) slope. PDAc also enhanced the stimulation-dependent increase of [Ca²⁺]i in the mossy fibre terminal (Δ[Ca²⁺]pre). The magnitude of the PDAc-induced fEPSP potentiation (463 ± 57 % at 10 μM) was larger than that expected from the enhancement of Δ[Ca²⁺]pre (153 ± 5 %).The Δ[Ca²⁺]pre was suppressed by ω-agatoxin IVA (ω-AgTxIVA, 200 nM), a P/Q-type Ca²⁺ channel-specific blocker, by 31 %. The effect of PDAc did not select between ω-AgTxIVA-sensitive and -resistant components.The PDAc-induced potentiation of the fEPSP slope was partially antagonized by the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide I (BIS-I, 10 μM), whereas the Δ[Ca²⁺]pre was completely blocked by BIS-I. Although the BIS-I-sensitive fEPSP potentiation was accompanied by a reduction of the paired-pulse ratio (PPR), the BIS-I-resistant component was not.Whole-cell patch clamp recording from a CA3 pyramidal neuron in a BIS-I-treated slice demonstrated that PDAc (10 μM) increased the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs, 259 ± 33 % of control) without a noticeable change in their amplitude (102 ± 5 % of control).These results suggest that PKC potentiates transmitter release by at least two distinct mechanisms, one Δ[Ca²⁺]pre dependent and the other Δ[Ca²⁺]pre independent. In addition, some phorbol ester-mediated potentiation of synaptic transmission appears to occur without activating PKC.