ERK activation in axonal varicosities modulates presynaptic plasticity in the CA3 region of the hippocampus through synapsin I

Activity-dependent changes in the strength of synaptic connections in the hippocampus are central for cognitive processes such as learning and memory storage. In this study, we reveal an activity-dependent presynaptic mechanism that is related to the modulation of synaptic plasticity. In acute mouse hippocampal slices, high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the mossy fiber (MF)-CA3 pathway induced a strong and transient activation of extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK) in MF giant presynaptic terminals. Remarkably, pharmacological blockade of ERK disclosed a negative role of this kinase in the regulation of a presynaptic form of plasticity at MF-CA3 contacts. This ERK-mediated inhibition of post-tetanic enhancement (PTE) of MF-CA3 synapses was both frequency- and pathway-specific and was observed only with HFS at 50 Hz. Importantly, blockade of ERK was virtually ineffective on PTE of MF-CA3 synapses in mice lacking synapsin I, 1 of the major presynaptic ERK substrates, and triple knockout mice lacking all synapsin isoforms displayed PTE kinetics resembling that of wild-type mice under ERK inhibition. These findings reveal a form of short-term synaptic plasticity that depends on ERK and is finely tuned by the firing frequency of presynaptic neurons. Our results also demonstrate that presynaptic activation of the ERK signaling pathway plays part in the activity-dependent modulation of synaptic vesicle mobilization and transmitter release.