Figure 5.
STAT3 Is Required for the Induction of NMDAR-LTD
(A and B) Representative EPSC traces (top) and pooled data (bottom) of whole-cell patch-clamp recording illustrating the block of NMDAR-LTD by the STAT3 inhibitors Stattic (50 μM, n = 4; A) and STA-21 (30 μM, n = 7; B). Calibration bars: 40 pA/50 ms.
(C) Western blot and bar graphs showing that Stattic (50 μM, 30 min) blocks the activation of STAT3 but not the activation of JAK2 after NMDA treatment (20 μM, 10 min) of cultured hippocampal neurons (n = 4).
(D) Two shRNAs against STAT3 and the control shRNA were tested in immunochemistry on neurons in culture transfected with a plasmid coding for GFP and the shRNA. The neurons were then labeled with a STAT3 antibody (red).
(E and F) EPSCA and EPSCN (as in Figures 3C–3E) were recorded from neurons transfected with 2 different STAT3 shRNA and nearby non transfected neurons. Calibration bars: 40 pA/20 ms.
(G and H) Representative traces and pooled data, presented as in Figures 3F–3H, showing that homosynaptic NMDAR-LTD was not observed in cells transfected with the first (G) and second (H) shRNA against STAT3 (n = 8 for both). The experiments with the control shRNA were interleaved (Figure 3H). Calibration bars: 50 pA/40 ms