Small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels and calmodulin

Small conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channels (SK channels) contribute to the long lasting afterhyperpolarization (AHP) that follows an action potential in many central neurones. The biophysical and pharmacological attributes of cloned SK channels strongly suggest that one or more of them underlie the medium component of the AHP that regulates interspike interval and plays an important role in setting tonic firing frequency. The cloned SK channels comprise a distinct subfamily of K⁺ channels. Heterologously expressed SK channels recapitulate the biophysical and pharmacological hallmarks of native SK channels, being gated solely by intracellular Ca²⁺ ions with no voltage dependence to their gating, small unitary conductance values and sensitivity to the bee venom peptide toxin, apamin. Molecular, biochemical and electrophysiological studies have revealed that Ca²⁺ gating in SK channels is due to heteromeric assembly of the SK α pore-forming subunits with calmodulin (CaM). Ca²⁺ binding to the N-terminal E–F hands of CaM is responsible for SK channel gating. Crystallographic studies suggest that SK channels gate as a dimer-of-dimers, and that the physical gate of SK channels resides at or near the selectivity filter of the channels. In addition, Ca²⁺-independent interactions between the SK channel α subunits and CaM are necessary for proper membrane trafficking.     

Ca2+ imaging of mouse neocortical interneurone dendrites: Contribution of Ca2+-permeable AMPA and NMDA receptors to subthreshold Ca2+dynamics

In this second study, we have combined two-photon calcium imaging with whole-cell recording and anatomic reconstructions to directly characterize synaptically evoked calcium signals in three types of mouse V1 supragranular interneurones: parvalbumin-positive fast spikers (FS), calretinin-positive irregular spikers (IS), and adapting cells (AD). We observed that subthreshold synaptic activation evoked calcium signals locally restricted to individual dendritic compartments. These signals were mediated by NMDA receptors (NMDARs) in AD and IS cells, whereas in FS cells, calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) provided an additional and kinetically distinct influx. Furthermore, even a single, subthreshold synaptic activation evoked a larger dendritic calcium influx than backpropagating action potentials. Our results demonstrate that NMDARs dominate subthreshold calcium dynamics in interneurones and reveal the functional contribution of CP-AMPARs to a specific subclass of cortical interneurone. These data highlight different strategies in dendritic signal processing by distinct classes of interneurones.     

Ca2+ imaging of mouse neocortical interneurone dendrites: Ia-type K+ channels control action potential backpropagation

GABAergic interneurones are essential in cortical processing, yet the functional properties of their dendrites are still poorly understood. In this first study, we combined two-photon calcium imaging with whole-cell recording and anatomical reconstructions to examine the calcium dynamics during action potential (AP) backpropagation in three types of V1 supragranular interneurones: parvalbumin-positive fast spikers (FS), calretinin-positive irregular spikers (IS), and adapting cells (AD). Somatically generated APs actively backpropagated into the dendritic tree and evoked instantaneous calcium accumulations. Although voltage-gated calcium channels were expressed throughout the dendritic arbor, calcium signals during backpropagation of both single APs and AP trains were restricted to proximal dendrites. This spatial control of AP backpropagation was mediated by Ia-type potassium currents and could be mitigated by by previous synaptic activity. Further, we observed supralinear summation of calcium signals in synaptically activated dendritic compartments. Together, these findings indicate that in interneurons, dendritic AP propagation is synaptically regulated. We propose that interneurones have a perisomatic and a distal dendritic functional compartment, with different integrative functions.