Presynaptic and postsynaptic roles of NO, cGK, and RhoA in long-lasting potentiation and aggregation of synaptic proteins.

Recent results suggest that long-lasting potentiation at hippocampal synapses involves the rapid formation of clusters or puncta of presynaptic as well as postsynaptic proteins, both of which are blocked by antagonists of NMDA receptors and an inhibitor of actin polymerization. We have investigated whether the increase in puncta involves retrograde signaling through the NO-cGMP-cGK pathway and also examined the possible roles of two classes of molecules that regulate the actin cytoskeleton: Ena/VASP proteins and Rho GTPases. Our results suggest that NO, cGMP, cGK, actin, and Rho GTPases including RhoA play important roles in the potentiation and act directly in both the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, where they contribute to the increase in puncta of synaptic proteins. cGK phosphorylates synaptic VASP during the potentiation, whereas Rho GTPases act both in parallel and upstream of cGMP, in part by maintaining the synaptic localization of soluble guanylyl cyclase.