Long-term changes in the neuromuscular synapses of a crayfish motoneuron produced by calcium influx

Synaptic Plasticity Induced by Differential Manipulation of Tonic and Phasic Motoneurons in Drosophila

Structural and functional plasticity induced by neuronal competition is a common feature of developing nervous systems. However, the rules governing how postsynaptic cells differentiate between presynaptic inputs are unclear. In this study, we characterized synaptic interactions following manipulations of tonic Ib or phasic Is glutamatergic motoneurons that coinnervate postsynaptic muscles of male or female Drosophila melanogaster larvae. After identifying drivers for each neuronal subtype, we performed ablation or genetic manipulations to alter neuronal activity and examined the effects on synaptic innervation and function at neuromuscular junctions. Ablation of either Ib or Is resulted in decreased muscle response, with some functional compensation occurring in the Ib input when Is was missing. In contrast, the Is terminal failed to show functional or structural changes following loss of the coinnervating Ib input. Decreasing the activity of the Ib or Is neuron with tetanus toxin light chain resulted in structural changes in muscle innervation. Decreased Ib activity resulted in reduced active zone (AZ) number and decreased postsynaptic subsynaptic reticulum volume, with the emergence of filopodial-like protrusions from synaptic boutons of the Ib input. Decreased Is activity did not induce structural changes at its own synapses, but the coinnervating Ib motoneuron increased the number of synaptic boutons and AZs it formed. These findings indicate that tonic Ib and phasic Is motoneurons respond independently to changes in activity, with either functional or structural alterations in the Ib neuron occurring following ablation or reduced activity of the coinnervating Is input, respectively.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Both invertebrate and vertebrate nervous systems display synaptic plasticity in response to behavioral experiences, indicating that underlying mechanisms emerged early in evolution. How specific neuronal classes innervating the same postsynaptic target display distinct types of plasticity is unclear. Here, we examined whether Drosophila tonic Ib and phasic Is motoneurons display competitive or cooperative interactions during innervation of the same muscle, or compensatory changes when the output of one motoneuron is altered. We established a system to differentially manipulate the motoneurons and examined the effects of cell type-specific changes to one of the inputs. Our findings indicate Ib and Is motoneurons respond differently to activity mismatch or loss of the coinnervating input, with the Ib subclass responding robustly compared with Is motoneurons.

Activity-dependent regulation of the binomial parameters p and n at the mouse neuromuscular junction in vivo

Block of neurotransmission at the mammalian neuromuscular junction triggers an increase in the number of vesicles released (quantal content). The increase occurs whether nerve and muscle activity are both blocked by placement of a tetrodotoxin (TTX) containing cuff on the nerve or whether muscle activity is selectively blocked by injection of α-bungarotoxin (BTX). We used ANOVA to examine whether the mechanism underlying the increase in quantal content differed between the two types of activity blockade. We found that TTX-induced blockade increased the probability of release (p), whereas BTX-induced blockade increased the number of releasable vesicles (n). The lack of increase in p when postsynaptic activity was blocked with BTX suggests that block of presynaptic activity triggers the increase. To determine whether n is regulated by mismatch of pre- and postsynaptic activity introduced by BTX injection we combined BTX and TTX and still found an increase in n. We conclude that block of acetylcholine binding to acetylcholine receptors during spontaneous release triggers the increase in n.

Decreased synaptic activity shifts the calcium dependence of release at the mammalian neuromuscular junction in vivo

We examined the mechanism underlying increased quantal content after block of activity at the mouse neuromuscular junction in vivo. We found that, when quantal content was measured in solution containing normal extracellular calcium, block of activity had no effect on either quantal content or the response to repetitive stimulation. However, when quantal content was measured in low extracellular calcium, there was a large increase in quantal content after block of activity. The increase in quantal content was accompanied by increased depression during repetitive stimulation. The explanation for these findings was that there was a shift in the calcium dependence of release after block of activity that manifested as an increase in probability of release in low extracellular calcium. Block of presynaptic P/Q channels eliminated the increase in probability of release. We propose that activity-dependent regulation of presynaptic calcium entry may contribute to homeostatic regulation of quantal content.

Activity-dependent plasticity of transmitter release from nerve terminals in rat fast and slow muscles

Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) on fast and slow muscle fibers display different transmitter release characteristics that appear well adapted to the different patterns of nerve impulses that they transmit in vivo. Here, we ask whether the release properties of such NMJs, termed fast and slow, can be transformed by chronic nerve stimulation. In young adult rats, nerve impulse conduction in the sciatic nerve was blocked by TTX, and the nerve to the fast extensor digitorum longus (EDL) or the slow soleus (SOL) muscle stimulated directly below the block with slow (20 Hz for 10 sec every 30 sec) or fast (150 Hz for 1 sec every 60 sec) stimulus patterns, respectively. After 3-4 weeks, originally fast EDL-NMJs and slow SOL-NMJs had become almost fully transformed to slow and fast NMJs, respectively, with respect to maintenance of transmitter release during tonic 20 Hz stimulation in vitro and ratio of quantal content to vesicle pool size. TTX block alone had no such transforming effect. Vesicle recycle time was unaffected by the stimulation, whereas initial quantal content and vesicle pool size were reduced (by 49% and 57% in EDL and 33% and 67% in SOL). Muscle fiber diameter also declined (by 49% in EDL and 33% in SOL vs 46% in unstimulated SOL; unstimulated EDL was not examined). We conclude that fast and slow NMJs display marked plasticity by being able to adapt important release characteristics to the impulse patterns imposed on them.

Pharmacologically and functionally distinct calcium currents of stomatogastric neurons

Previous studies have suggested the presence of different types of calcium channels in different regions of stomatogastric neurons. We sought to pharmacologically separate these calcium channel types. We used two different preparations from different regions of stomatogastric neurons to screen a range of selective calcium channel blockers. The two preparations were isolated cell bodies in culture, in which calcium current was measured directly, and isolated neuromuscular junction, in which synaptic transmission was the indirect assay for presynaptic calcium influx. The selective blockers were two different dihydropyridines, omega-Agatoxin IVA, and omega-Conotoxin GVIA. Cultured cell bodies possessed both high-threshold calcium current and calcium-activated outward current, similar to intact neurons. The calcium current had transient and maintained components, but both components had the same voltage dependence of activation and inactivation. Dihydropyridines at >/=10 microM blocked both high-threshold calcium current and calcium-activated outward current. Nanomolar doses of omega-Agatoxin IVA did not block calcium current, but micromolar doses did. omega-Conotoxin GVIA did not block either current. In contrast, at the neuromuscular junction, dihydropyridines reduced the amplitude of postsynaptic potentials by only a modest amount, whereas omega-Agatoxin IVA at doses as low as 64 nM reduced the amplitude of postsynaptic potentials almost entirely. These effects were presynaptic. omega-Conotoxin GVIA did not change the amplitude of postsynaptic potentials. The different pharmacological profiles of the two isolated preparations suggest that there are at least two different types of calcium channel in stomatogastric neurons and that omega-Agatoxin IVA and dihydropridines can be used to pharmacologically distinguish them.

Activity-dependent changes in voltage-dependent calcium currents and transmitter release

Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels are important in the regulation of neuronal structure and function, and as a result, they have received considerable attention. Recent studies have begun to characterize the diversity of their properties and the relationship of this diversity to their various cellular functions. In particular, Ca2+ channels play a prominent role in depolarization-secretion coupling, where the release of neurotransmitter is very sensitive to changes in voltage-dependent Ca2+ currents. An important feature of Ca2+ channels is their regulation by electrical activity. Depolarization can selectively modulate the properties of Ca2+ channel types, thus shaping the response of the neuron to future electrical activity. In this article, we examine the diversity of Ca2+ channels found in vertebrate and invertebrate neurons, and their short- and long-term regulation by membrane potential and Ca2+ influx. Additionally, we consider the extent to which this activity-dependent regulation of Ca2+ currents contributes to the development and plasticity of transmitter releasing properties. In the studies of long-term regulation, we focus on crustacean motoneurons where activity levels, Ca2+ channel properties, and transmitter releasing properties can be followed in identified neurons.

Characterization of a P-type calcium current in a crayfish motoneuron and its selective modulation by impulse activity

Previous studies have demonstrated that the voltage-dependent Ca2+ current recorded from the cell body of the crayfish abdominal motoneuron, F3, undergoes a long-term reduction as a result of increased impulse activity. The properties of the Ca2+ channels undergoing this long-term change were examined with the use of two-electrode voltage-clamp techniques. The Ca2+ current was activated at -50 to -40 mV and its amplitude was maximal at 0 mV (-135.0 +/- 25.8 nA, mean +/- SE, n = 14). The current-voltage relationship and the greater sensitivity of the Ca2+ channel to Cd2+ than Ni2+ indicated that Ca2+ influx occurs through high-voltage-activated (HVA) Ca2+ channels. Loose-patch recordings demonstrated that the Ca2+ current was generated by the membrane of the cell body. When Ba2+ was substituted for extracellular Ca2+, there was a 40% increase in the amplitude of the inward current and a negative shift of approximately 10 mV in the I-V relationship. Application of the P-type Ca2+ channel antagonist omega-agatoxin IVA (omega-AgTX IVA) produced a significant 33% (n = 6) reduction in the peak amplitude of the Ba2+ current, whereas neither the L-type Ca2+ channel antagonist nifedipine nor the N-type channel antagonist omega-conotoxin GVIA produced a reduction in the Ba2+ current. The voltage-dependent activation of this P-type (omega-AgTX-IVA-sensitive) Ca2+ channel was similar to previously identified P-type channels, but different from that of the non-P-type (omega-AgTX-IVA-resistant) Ca2+ channels. When Ca2+ currents were measured 6-7 h after an increase in impulse activity (5-Hz stimulation for 45-60 min), there was a 43% reduction in the amplitude of the P-type current, but no significant changes in the non-P-type current amplitude. These results demonstrate that at least two subtypes of HVA Ca2+ channels contribute to the macroscopic Ca2+ current observed in the cell body of this crayfish phasic motoneuron: one belongs to the previously described P-type Ca2+ channel and the other(s) does not belong to the N-, L-, or P-type Ca2+ channel. The long-term, Ca(2+)-dependent reduction in Ca2+ current previously demonstrated in motoneuron F3 is produced by the selective reduction of this P-type Ca2+ current. This activity-dependent reduction in the P-type Ca2+ current is likely involved in the long-term depression of transmitter release observed at the neuromuscular synapses of this motoneuron.

Activity-dependent changes in the intrinsic properties of cultured neurons

Learning and memory arise through activity-dependent modifications of neural circuits. Although the activity dependence of synaptic efficacy has been studied extensively, less is known about how activity shapes the intrinsic electrical properties of neurons. Lobster stomatogastric ganglion neurons fire in bursts when receiving synaptic and modulatory input but fire tonically when pharmacologically isolated. Long-term isolation in culture changed their intrinsic activity from tonic firing to burst firing. Rhythmic stimulation reversed this transition through a mechanism that was mediated by a rise in intracellular calcium concentration. These data suggest that neurons regulate their conductances to maintain stable activity patterns and that the intrinsic properties of a neuron depend on its recent history of activation.