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MED64 JOURNALS

Activity-Evoked Capacitative Ca2+ Entry: Implications in Synaptic Plasticity

Atsushi Baba, Takuya Yasui, Shigeyoshi Fujisawa, Ryuji X. Yamada, Maki K. Yamada, Nobuyoshi Nishiyama, Norio Matsuki, and Yuji Ikegaya
Journal of Neuroscience, August 27, 2003, 23(21):7737-7741

Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.

The Ca2+ influx controlled by intracellular Ca2+ stores, called store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOC), occurs in various eukaryotic cells, but whether CNS neurons are endowed with SOC capability and how they may operate have been contentious issues. Using Ca2+ imaging, we present evidence for the presence of SOC in cultured hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Depletion of internal Ca2+ stores by thapsigargin caused intracellular Ca2+ elevation, which was prevented by SOC channel inhibitors 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB), SKF96365 , and La3+. Interestingly, these inhibitors also accelerated the decay of NMDA-induced Ca2+ transients without affecting their peak amplitude. In addition, SOC channel inhibitors attenuated tetanus-induced dendritic Ca2+ accumulation and long-term potentiation at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in hippocampal slice preparations. These data suggest a novel link between ionotropic receptor-activated SOC and neuroplasticity.