Presynaptic Ca(2+) stores have been suggested to regulate Ca(2+) dynamics within the nerve terminals at certain types of the synapse. However, little is known about their mode of activation, molecular identity, and detailed subcellular localization. Here, we show that the ryanodine-sensitive stores exist in axons and amplify presynaptic Ca(2+) accumulation at the hippocampal mossy fiber synapses, which display robust presynaptic forms of plasticity. Caffeine, a potent drug inducing Ca(2+) release from ryanodine-sensitive stores, causes elevation of presynaptic Ca(2+) levels and enhancement of transmitter release from the mossy fiber terminals. The blockers of ryanodine receptors, TMB-8 or ryanodine, reduce presynaptic Ca(2+) transients elicited by repetitive stimuli of mossy fibers but do not affect those evoked by single shocks, suggesting that ryanodine receptors amplify presynaptic Ca(2+) dynamics in an activity dependent manner. Furthermore, we generated the specific antibody against the type 2 ryanodine receptor (RyR2; originally referred to as the cardiac type) and examined the cellular and subcellular localization using immunohistochemistry. RyR2 is highly expressed in the stratum lucidum of the CA3 region and mostly colocalizes with axonal marker NF160 but not with terminal marker VGLUT1. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that RyR2 is distributed around smooth ER within the mossy fibers but is almost excluded from their terminal portions. These results suggest that axonal localization of RyR2 at sites distant from the active zones enables use dependent Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores within the mossy fibers and thereby facilitates robust presynaptic forms of plasticity at the mossy fiber-CA3 synapse.
