Abstract
Functional crosstalk between cell-surface and intracellular ion channels plays important roles in excitable cells and is structurally supported by junctophilins (JPs) in muscle cells. Here, we report a novel form of channel crosstalk in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs). The generation of slow afterhyperpolarization (sAHP) following complex spikes in PCs required ryanodine receptor (RyR)-mediated Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release and the subsequent opening of small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels in somatodendritic regions. Despite the normal expression levels of these channels, sAHP was abolished in PCs from mutant mice lacking neural JP subtypes (JP-DKO), and this defect was restored by exogenously expressing JPs or enhancing SK channel activation. The stimulation paradigm for inducing long-term depression (LTD) at parallel fiber-PC synapses adversely established long-term potentiation in the JP-DKO cerebellum, primarily due to the sAHP deficiency. Furthermore, JP-DKO mice exhibited impairments of motor coordination and learning, although normal cerebellar histology was retained. Therefore, JPs support the Ca2+-mediated communication between voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, RyRs and SK channels, which modulates the excitability of PCs and is fundamental to cerebellar LTD and motor functions.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1924-1933 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | EMBO Journal |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 4 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Afterhyperpolarization
- Long-term depression
- Purkinje cell
- Ryanodine receptor
- SK channel
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Immunology and Microbiology(all)