The Journal of Neuroscience, October 1, 1999, 19(19):8319-8326
Dendritic Ca2+-Activated K+ Conductances
Regulate Electrical Signal Propagation in an Invertebrate Neuron
Ralf
Wessel1,
William B.
Kristan Jr2, and
David
Kleinfeld1
Departments of 1 Physics and 2 Biology,
University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093
Activity-dependent changes in the short-term electrical properties
of neurites were investigated in the anterior pagoda (AP) cell of
leech. Imaging studies revealed that backpropagating
Na+ spikes and synaptically evoked EPSPs caused
Ca2+ entry through low-voltage-activated
Ca2+ channels that are distributed throughout the
neurites. Voltage-clamp recordings from the soma revealed a
TEA-sensitive outward current that was reduced when
Ca2+ entry was blocked with Co2+
or when the intracellular concentration of free Ca2+
was reduced by a high-affinity Ca2+ buffer.
Ca2+ released in the neurite from a caged
Ca2+ compound caused a hyperpolarization of the
membrane potential. These data imply that the AP cell expresses
Ca2+-activated K+ conductances,
and that these conductances are present in the neurites. When the
Ca2+-activated K+ current was
reduced through the block of Ca2+ entry,
backpropagating Na+ spikes and synaptically evoked
EPSPs increased in amplitude. Hence, the activity-dependent changes in
the intracellular [Ca2+] together with the
Ca2+-activated K+ conductances
participate in the regulation of dendritic signal propagation.
Key words:
calcium; dendrite; calcium-activated potassium
conductance; backpropagating spikes; caged calcium; leech
Copyright © 1999 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/99/19198319-08$05.00/0