Protein kinases, nitric oxide and long-term depression of synapses in the cerebellum.

We have analysed the effects of polymyxin B, a potent inhibitor of calcium-dependent protein kinases, of L-N-monomethylarginine, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis, and of methylene blue which prevents activation of soluble guanylate cyclase, on long-term depression of parallel fibre-mediated EPSPs of rat cerebellar Purkinje cells in slices maintained in-vitro. In control conditions, a long-term depression of parallel fibre-mediated EPSPs was consistently induced by their pairing with calcium spikes directly elicited in the postsynaptic cells. This long-term change in synaptic strength was not observed in the presence of polymyxin B, of L-N-monomethylarginine, or of methylene blue, suggesting that calcium-dependent protein kinases and nitric oxide are both involved.