A Critical Role for γCaMKII in Decoding NMDA Signaling to Regulate AMPA Receptors in Putative Inhibitory Interneurons

CaMKII is essential for long-term potentiation (LTP), a process in which synaptic strength is increased following the acquisition of information. Among the four CaMKII isoforms, γCaMKII is the one that mediates the LTP of excitatory synapses onto inhibitory interneurons (LTP E→I ). However, the molecular mechanism underlying how γCaMKII mediates LTP E→I remains unclear. Here, we show that γCaMKII is highly enriched in cultured hippocampal inhibitory interneurons and opts to be activated by higher stimulating frequencies in the 10–30 Hz range. Following stimulation, γCaMKII is translocated to the synapse and becomes co-localized with the postsynaptic protein PSD-95. Knocking down γCaMKII prevents the chemical LTP-induced phosphorylation and trafficking of AMPA receptors (AMPARs) in putative inhibitory interneurons, which are restored by overexpression of γCaMKII but not its kinase-dead form. Taken together, these data suggest that γCaMKII decodes NMDAR-mediated signaling and in turn regulates AMPARs for expressing LTP in inhibitory interneurons.