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Local calcium signalling by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate in Purkinje cell dendrites

Nature volume 396, pages 753–756 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The second messenger inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) releases Ca2+ from intracellular Ca2+ stores by activating specific receptors on the membranes of these stores1. In many cells, InsP3 is a global signalling molecule that liberates Ca2+ throughout thecytoplasm1,2. However, in neurons the situation might be different3,4, because synaptic activity may produce InsP3 at discrete locations. Here we characterize InsP3 signalling in postsynaptic cerebellar Purkinje neurons, which have a high level of InsP3 receptors5. We find that repetitive activation of the synapse between parallel fibres and Purkinje cells causes InsP3-mediated Ca2+ release in the Purkinje cells. This Ca2+ release is restricted to individual postsynaptic spines, where both metabotropic glutamate receptors6,7 and InsP3 receptors5 are located, or to multiple spines and adjacent dendritic shafts. Focal photolysis of caged InsP3 (ref. 8) in Purkinje cell dendrites also produces Ca2+ signals that spread only a few micrometres from the site of InsP3 production. Uncaged InsP3 produces a long-lasting depression of parallel-fibre synaptic transmission that is limited to synapses where the Ca2+ concentration is raised. Thus, in Purkinje cells InP3 acts within a restricted spatial range that allows it to regulate the function of local groups of parallel-fibre synapses.

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Figure 1: Components of postsynaptic Ca2+ signalling during parallel-fibre (PF) synaptic activity.
Figure 2: InsP3-mediated Ca2+ signals produced in Purkinje cell dendritic spines and shafts by parallel-fibre (PF) activity (left) and uncaging InsP3 (right).
Figure 3: Spatiotemporal properties of dendritic Ca2+ signals produced by local photolysis of caged InsP3.
Figure 4: InsP3 production induces a spatially restricted long-term depression of parallel-fibre (PF) synaptic transmission.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Walker and J. Horne for synthesis of caged InsP3; T. Blanpied, J. Kauer, F.Schweizer and S. Wang for helpful discussions; and J. Rongero for developing image-processing software. This was supported by the NIH.

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  1. Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, PO Box 3209, Durham, 27710, North Carolina, USA

    Elizabeth A. Finch & George J. Augustine

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  1. Elizabeth A. Finch
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  2. George J. Augustine
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Correspondence to George J. Augustine.

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Finch, E., Augustine, G. Local calcium signalling by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate in Purkinje cell dendrites. Nature 396, 753–756 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/25541

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