With the ability to directly measure electrical signals from the neuronal dendrites, we have learned a great deal about the active properties of the dendrites over the past ten years. The most remarkable finding is that action potentials (b-APs) initiated at soma also actively propagate back into dendrites, reversing the conventional direction of information flow. Emerging evidence suggests that b-APs are involved in NMDA-receptor dependent plasticity by providing a large enough membrane depolarization to unblock NMDA receptors in synapses. Thus, factors determining b-AP back-propagation, b-AP amplitude and duration are likely to have an important impact on this signaling pathway. The fast activation kinetics, near-threshold activation profile, and a high current density in dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons have made A-type K+ channels the ideal determining factor of b-AP. The regulation, however, can be further complicated as A-type K+ channels themselves are subject to modulation by various protein kinases, neurotransmitters, and modulators, greatly extending the computational power of this system. Thus, A-type K+ channels represent a key regulatory component in hippocampal plasticity. Although quite some evidence suggests Kv4.2 is the major subunits underlying dendritic A-type K+ currents, this hypothesis has never been directly tested. We would like to know what mechanisms underlie the regulation and establishment of the unique dendritic gradient of A-type K+ channel distribution. Our recent work suggests the involvement of CaMKII activity in regulating surface expression of Kv4.2-mediated currents in the soma. These results formulate the intriguing hypotheses we wish to test: dendritic A-type K+ channels contribute to synaptic plasticity and neuronal activity helps to establish and maintain the characteristic dendritic distribution of this channel. Combining two unique techniques (dendritic recordings in mouse preparation and the use of a mutant form of sindbis virus that allows quick gene delivery in vivo with minimized neuronal toxicity), the studies proposed above should allow us to define the molecular mechanisms of A-type K+ channel mediated signal propagation and neuronal plasticity in dendrites. ? ? ?
| Zhao, Cuiping; Wang, Lang; Netoff, Theoden et al. (2011) Dendritic mechanisms controlling the threshold and timing requirement of synaptic plasticity. Hippocampus 21:288-97 |
| Lockridge, A; Su, J; Yuan, L L (2010) Abnormal 5-HT modulation of stress behaviors in the Kv4.2 knockout mouse. Neuroscience 170:1086-97 |
| Chen, Xixi; Yuan, Li-Lian; Zhao, Cuiping et al. (2006) Deletion of Kv4.2 gene eliminates dendritic A-type K+ current and enhances induction of long-term potentiation in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. J Neurosci 26:12143-51 |
