Long-term potentiation in the hippocampus induced by platelet-activating factor.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is an ether phospholipid that serves as an autacoid in a wide range of biological processes. We found that when PAF was added to hippocampal slices, it induced a stable and concentration-dependent increase in excitatory postsynaptic potential and population spike recordings (long-term potentiation [LTP]). The PAF effect was blocked by the PAF receptor antagonists BN 52021 and WEB 2086 and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists MK 801 and 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate. However, these PAF receptor antagonists did not block LTP induced by high frequency stimulation. The facilitation induced by PAF could not be reversed by PAF receptor antagonists. Induction of either PAF-or tetanus-triggered facilitation occluded the subsequent expression of the other, suggesting a common pathway. LTP is a type of synaptic plasticity associated with the formation of memory, and PAF may play an important modulatory role in this process.