Pyridoxal-5′-phosphate phosphatase/chronophin inhibits long-term potentiation induction in the rat dentate gyrus

Pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP)-phosphatase/chronophin (PLPP/CIN) directly dephosphorylates actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin as well as PLP. Although PLPP/CIN plays a role in the regulation of F-actin and vitamin B6 metabolism, there is no direct evidence to support a correlation between PLPP/CIN and F-actin polymerization during long-term potentiation (LTP) induction. In this study, we investigated whether the expression of PLPP/CIN is altered following LTP induction, and whether Tat-PLPP/CIN transduction affects LTP induction in the rat dentate gyrus (DG). PLPP/CIN immunoreactivity was markedly decreased in dentate granule cells after the induction of LTP. Tat-PLPP/CIN transduction (20 and 200 μg/kg) decreased the efficiency of high frequency stimulus-induced potentiation of populations spike amplitude as compared to saline or Tat-protein-treated animals. The PLPP/CIN protein level showed an inverse correlation with phosphorylated ADF/cofilin levels and F-actin content. These findings suggest that PLPP/CIN-mediated actin dynamics may play an important role in the changes of morphological properties (dendritic spine reorganization) of the hippocampus in LTP. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.