Intensive remodeling of Purkinje cell spines after climbing fibers deafferentation does not involve MAPK and Akt activation

Subtotal lesion of the inferior olive (IO) achieved by treating experimental animals with 3-acetylpyridine (3AP) induces partial Purkinje cells (PCs) deafferentation that leads to PC hyperactivity and new spine formation. Coincidentally, the olivary terminals belonging to the few survived olivary neurons undergo an extensive collateral sprouting resulting in reinnervation of the neighboring denervated PCs. We obtained chemical deafferentation of PCs in adult rats (body weight, 120-170 g; age, 35-40 days) by a single intraperitoneal injection of 3AP (65 mg/kg body weight), and as early as 3 days after 3AP treatment, important morphological changes could be observed on PCs. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades and more specifically extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) play a critical role in the signaling events underlying synaptic plasticity. For instance, long-term depression (LTD) in the adult hippocampus and long-term potentiation (LTP) in cerebellum both involve ERK activation. Since PCs deprived of their climbing fibers (CFs) afferents initiate an intensive remodeling of the spines and rapid recall of the remaining CFs, it prompted us to see whether the observed phenomena correlated with MAPK and Akt activation. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting were done at various time points after 3AP application (from 24 h to 6 days), as the exact dynamics of CF loss is not precisely known. As judged by Western blotting, there was no increase of activated ERK in the cerebellum. However, immunohistochemistry revealed increased ERK phosphorylation in the "pinceaux" of basket cells in 3AP animals. Similarly, stress-activated protein kinase(SAPK)/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 MAPK, and Akt activation were also studied by means of Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Upon 3AP treatment no changes in phosphorylation status could be seen in the different kinases subjected to analysis. Our results suggest that activation of MAPK and Akt cascades is not essential in this model of neuronal plasticity