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Free keywords:
Action Potentials/drug effects
Animals
Botulinum Toxins, Type A/pharmacology
Cells, Cultured
Dendrites/*metabolism
*Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials/drug effects
Genes, Reporter
Hippocampus/cytology
Neurons/metabolism/physiology
Patch-Clamp Techniques
*Protein Biosynthesis/drug effects
Rats
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate/metabolism
Signal Transduction
Spider Venoms/pharmacology
Synapses/*physiology
*Synaptic Transmission/drug effects
Synaptic Vesicles/metabolism
Tetrodotoxin/pharmacology
Abstract:
We examined dendritic protein synthesis after a prolonged blockade of action potentials alone and after a blockade of both action potentials and miniature excitatory synaptic events (minis). Relative to controls, dendrites exposed to a prolonged blockade of action potentials showed diminished protein synthesis. Dendrites in which both action potentials and minis were blocked showed enhanced protein synthesis, suggesting that minis inhibit dendritic translation. When minis were acutely blocked or stimulated, an immediate increase or decrease, respectively, in dendritic translation was observed. Taken together, these results reveal a role for miniature synaptic events in the acute regulation of dendritic protein synthesis in neurons.
