A persistent question concerning mechanisms underlying longterm, activity-d
ependent synaptic plasticity is whether the sites of alterations are presyn
aptic, postsynaptic, or both. Recently, we discovered a chemical method of
inducing long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic strength at Schaffer collat
eral-CA1 synapses by simultaneously elevating [cGMP] and inhibiting cAMP-de
pendent protein kinase (PKA). Chemical LTD (CLTD) is activity-independent,
occluded by stimulus-evoked LTD, and requires access of pharmacologic agent
s to presynaptic terminals. In the present study, we used fluorescence and
two-photon Imaging of presynaptic terminals with the fluorescent dye N-(3-t
riethylammoniumpropyl)-4-(4-(dibutylamino)styryl) pyridinium dibromide (FM1
-43) to determine directly if inducing CLTD is associated with a long-term
reduction in transmitter release. In presynaptic Schaffer collateral-CA1 te
rminals of control hippocampal slices loaded with FM1-43, electrical stimul
ation (10 Hz/2 min) elicited a frequency-dependent destaining that peaked a
t 20% reduction in fluorescence. In contrast, when we first induced CLTD by
a 30 min treatment of slices with the type V phosphodiesterase inhibitor z
aprinast (20 muM) plus the PKA inhibitor N-[2-(p-bromocinnamylamino)ethyl]-
5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (H-89; 10 muM), then washed for 60 min, the desta
ining of FM1-43 fluorescence evoked by the same stimulation was reduced to
4%. Treatment and washout of slices with either drug singly had a significa
ntly smaller effect on stimulus-evoked FM1-43 destaining. Only CLTD was ass
ociated with virtually complete suppression of stimulus-evoked FM1-43 relea
se, the first direct evidence for at least one form of LTD being mediated b
y persistent reduction of presynaptic transmitter release.