Increasing small conductance Ca2+‐activated potassium channel activity reverses ischemia‐induced impairment of long‐term potentiation

Global cerebral ischemia following cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CA/CPR) causes injury to hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons and impairs cognition. SK2 channels, expressed in CA1 pyramidal neurons, have been implicated as potential protective targets. Here we show that in mice, hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) is impaired as early as 3 hrs after recovery from CA/CPR and that LTP remains impaired for at least 30 days. Treatment with the SK2 channel agonist, 1-EBIO 30 minutes after CA provided sustained protection from plasticity deficits, with LTP being maintained at control levels at 30 days after recovery from CA/CPR. Minimal changes in glutamate release probability were observed at delayed times after CA/CPR, implicating post-synaptic mechanisms. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR indicates that CA/CPR does not cause a loss of NMDA receptor mRNA 7 or 30 days after CA/CPR. Similarly, no change in synaptic NMDA receptor protein levels were observed 7 or 30 days after CA/CPR. Further, patch-clamp experiments demonstrate no change in functional synaptic NMDA receptors 7 or 30 days after CA/CPR. Electrophysiology recordings showed that synaptic SK channel activity is reduced for the duration of experiments performed (up to 30 days) and that surprisingly, treatment with 1-EBIO did not prevent CA/CPR-induced loss of synaptic SK channel function. We conclude that CA/CPR causes alterations in post-synaptic signaling that are prevented by treatment with the SK2 agonist 1-EBIO, indicating that activators of SK2 channels may be useful therapeutic agents to prevent ischemic injury and cognitive impairments.