Harmaline-induced changes in plasma membrane of Purkinje cells: a trans-synaptic effect mediated by climbing fibers

Fixed cerebellar cortex slices of adult male albino rats injected with saline, were exposed to the cholesterol probe filipin and freeze-fractured. Under these conditions, the plasma membrane of Purkinje cell dendrites was labeled with only a limited number of typical, 25-30 nm diameter filipin-sterol complexes. In contrast, in rats injected with harmaline, a drug that induces a rhythmic activation of climbing fibers, dendritic membranes showed an increased number of filipin-sterol complexes. This increased filipin labeling of Purkinje cell dendrites was not observed, however, when harmaline was injected into rats after destruction of climbing fibers. These results suggest that climbing fiber activation may induce a reorganization of the lipid matrix in the plasma membrane of Purkinje cells.