Brain-derived neurotrophic factor produced long-term synaptic enhancement in the anterior cingulate cortex of adult mice

Previous studies have demonstrated that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is one of the diffusible messengers for enhancing synaptic transmission in the hippocampus. Less information is available about the possible roles of BDNF in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In the present study, we used 64-electrode array field recording system to investigate the effect of BDNF on ACC excitatory transmission. We found that BDNF enhanced synaptic responses in a dose-dependent manner in the ACC in C57/BL6 mice. The enhancement was long-lasting, and persisted for at least 3 h. In addition to the enhancement, BDNF also recruited inactive synaptic responses in the ACC. Bath application of the tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) receptor antagonist K252a blocked BDNF-induced enhancement. L-type voltage-gated calcium channels (L-VGCC), metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), but not NMDA receptors were required for BDNF-produced enhancement. Moreover, calcium-stimulated adenylyl cyclase subtype 1 (AC1) but not AC8 was essential for the enhancement. A selective AC1 inhibitor NB001 completely blocked the enhancement. Furthermore, BDNF-produced enhancement occluded theta burst stimulation (TBS) induced long-term potentiation (LTP), suggesting that they may share similar signaling mechanisms. Finally, the expression of BDNF-induced enhancement depends on postsynaptic incorporation of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) and protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ). Our results demonstrate that cortical BDNF may contribute to synaptic potentiation in the ACC.