Ubiquitin-Proteasome System Inhibition Promotes Long-Term Depression and Synaptic Tagging/Capture

In this study, we probed the possibility of regulating the UPS by inhibiting the proteasome function during the induction of protein synthesis-independent form of hippocampal long-term depression (early-LTD), an important component of synaptic plasticity. Here, we show that protein degradation is involved in early-LTD induction and interfering with this process facilitates early-LTD to late-LTD. We provide evidence here that under the circumstances of proteasome inhibition brain-derived neurotrophic factor is accumulated as plasticity-related protein and it drives the weakly depressed or potentiated synapses to associativity. Thus, UPS inhibition promotes LTD and establishes associativity between weakly depressed or potentiated synapses through the mechanisms of synaptic tagging/capture or cross-capture.

Source: Cerebral Cortex - May 16, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Li, Q., Korte, M., Sajikumar, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research