PKC and CaMKII dependent synaptic potentiation in cultured cerebral neurons

Abstract

We have reported that the long-lasting potentiation of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (SEPSCs) was induced by a Mg2+-free treatment in cultured chick cerebral neurons and a factor(s) extracellularly released during the treatment could induce the potentiation by itself. In this paper, protein kinase C (PKC) and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II (CaMKII) but not protein kinase A (PKA) were reported to contribute to the potentiation mechanism during a step between the activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors by the Mg2+-free treatment and the secretion of the protein factor(s). © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.