scholarly journals Regulation of NMDA receptor Ca2+ signalling and synaptic plasticity

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1369-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Geoffrey Lau ◽  
Koichi Takeuchi ◽  
Alma Rodenas-Ruano ◽  
Yukihiro Takayasu ◽  
Jessica Murphy ◽  
...  

NMDARs (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors) are critical for synaptic function throughout the CNS (central nervous system). NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ influx is implicated in neuronal differentiation, neuronal migration, synaptogenesis, structural remodelling, long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity and higher cognitive functions. NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ signalling in dendritic spines is not static, but can be remodelled in a cell- and synapse-specific manner by NMDAR subunit composition, protein kinases and neuronal activity during development and in response to sensory experience. Recent evidence indicates that Ca2+ permeability of neuronal NMDARs, NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ signalling in spines and induction of NMDAR-dependent LTP (long-term potentiation) at hippocampal Schaffer collateral–CA1 synapses are under control of the cAMP/PKA (protein kinase A) signalling cascade. Thus, by enhancing Ca2+ influx through NMDARs in spines, PKA can regulate the induction of LTP. An emerging concept is that activity-dependent regulation of NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ signalling by PKA and by extracellular signals that modulate cAMP or protein phosphatases at synaptic sites provides a dynamic and potentially powerful mechanism for bi-directional regulation of synaptic efficacy and remodelling.

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 479-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hey-Kyoung Lee ◽  
Kogo Takamiya ◽  
Kaiwen He ◽  
Lihua Song ◽  
Richard L. Huganir

Activity-dependent changes in excitatory synaptic transmission in the CNS have been shown to depend on the regulation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors (AMPARs). In particular, several lines of evidence suggest that reversible phosphorylation of AMPAR subunit glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1, also referred to as GluA1 or GluR-A) plays a role in long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). We previously reported that regulation of serines (S) 831 and 845 on the GluR1 subunit may play a critical role in bidirectional synaptic plasticity in the Schaffer collateral inputs to CA1. Specifically, gene knockin mice lacking both S831 and S845 phosphorylation sites (“double phosphomutants”), where both serine residues were replaced by alanines (A), showed a faster decaying LTP and a deficit in LTD. To determine which of the two phosphorylation sites was responsible for the phenotype, we have now generated two lines of gene knockin mice: one that specifically lacks S831 (S831A mutants) and another that lacks only S845 (S845A mutants). We found that S831A mutants display normal LTP and LTD, whereas S845A mutants show a specific deficit in LTD. Taken together with our previous results from the “double phosphomutants,” our data suggest that either S831 or S845 alone may support LTP, whereas the S845 site is critical for LTD expression.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mason L. Yeh ◽  
Jessica R Yasko ◽  
Eric S. Levine ◽  
Betty A. Eipper ◽  
Richard Mains

Abstract Background: Kalirin-7 (Kal7) is a multidomain scaffold and guanine nucleotide exchange factor localized to the postsynaptic density, where Kal7 is crucial for synaptic plasticity. Kal7 knockout mice exhibit marked suppression of long-term potentiation and long-term depression in hippocampus, cerebral cortex and spinal cord, with depressed surface expression of GluN2B receptor subunits and dramatically blunted perception of pain. Kal7 knockout animals show exaggerated locomotor responses to psychostimulants and self-administer cocaine more enthusiastically than wildtype mice. Results: To address the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms which are deranged by loss of Kal7, we infused candidate intracellular interfering peptides to acutely challenge the synaptic function(s) of Kal7 with potential protein binding partners, to determine if plasticity deficits in Kal7-/- mice are the product of developmental processes since conception, or could be produced on a much shorter time scale. We demonstrated that these small intracellular peptides disrupted normal long-term potentiation and long-term depression, strongly suggesting that maintenance of established interactions of Kal7 with PSD-95 and/or GluN2B is crucial to synaptic plasticity. Conclusions: Blockade of the Kal7-GluN2B interaction was most effective at blocking long-term potentiation, but had no effect on long-term depression. Biochemical approaches indicated that Kal7 interacted with PSD-95 at multiple sites within Kal7.


2021 ◽  
Vol 337 ◽  
pp. 113575
Author(s):  
Ivan Goussakov ◽  
Sylvia Synowiec ◽  
Daniil P. Aksenov ◽  
Alexander Drobyshevsky

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Lucas Pozzo-Miller

AbstractExcitatory neurons in the primary motor cortex project bilaterally to the striatum. However, whether synaptic structure and function in ipsilateral and contralateral cortico-striatal pathways is identical or different remains largely unknown. Here, we describe that excitatory synapses in the contralateral pathway have higher levels of NMDA-type of glutamate receptors (NMDARs) than those in the ipsilateral pathway, although both synapses utilize the same presynaptic vesicular glutamate transporter. We also show that NMDARs containing the GluN2B subunit, but not GluN2A, contribute to this difference. The altered NMDAR subunit composition in these two pathways results in opposite synaptic plasticity: long-term depression in the ipsilateral pathway and long-term potentiation in the contralateral pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that activation of D1 and D2 dopamine (DA) receptors by either selective pharmacological agonists or light-induced release of endogenous DA have no effect on NMDAR-mediated neurotransmission in either pathway. However, blocking basal DAergic tone with either D1 or D2 with selective antagonists revealed that GluN2B-containing NMDARs are modulated by D1 receptors in the contralateral pathway and by D2 receptors in the ipsilateral pathway. Such distinct modulatory actions seem to be permissive rather than sufficient for the induction of long-term synaptic plasticity. Altogether, our results provide novel and unexpected evidence for the lack of bilaterality of NMDAR-mediated synaptic transmission at cortico-striatal pathways due to differences in the expression of GluN2B subunits, which results in differences in bidirectional synaptic plasticity and modulation by dopaminergic inputs.


2003 ◽  
Vol 358 (1432) ◽  
pp. 773-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. M. Morris ◽  
E. I. Moser ◽  
G. Riedel ◽  
S. J. Martin ◽  
J. Sandin ◽  
...  

The hypothesis that synaptic plasticity is a critical component of the neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory is now widely accepted. In this article, we begin by outlining four criteria for evaluating the ‘synaptic plasticity and memory (SPM)’ hypothesis. We then attempt to lay the foundations for a specific neurobiological theory of hippocampal (HPC) function in which activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, such as long-term potentiation (LTP), plays a key part in the forms of memory mediated by this brain structure. HPC memory can, like other forms of memory, be divided into four processes: encoding, storage, consolidation and retrieval. We argue that synaptic plasticity is critical for the encoding and intermediate storage of memory traces that are automatically recorded in the hippocampus. These traces decay, but are sometimes retained by a process of cellular consolidation. However, we also argue that HPC synaptic plasticity is not involved in memory retrieval, and is unlikely to be involved in systems-level consolidation that depends on HPC-neocortical interactions, although neocortical synaptic plasticity does play a part. The information that has emerged from the worldwide focus on the mechanisms of induction and expression of plasticity at individual synapses has been very valuable in functional studies. Progress towards a comprehensive understanding of memory processing will also depend on the analysis of these synaptic changes within the context of a wider range of systems-level and cellular mechanisms of neuronal transmission and plasticity.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Glasgow ◽  
Simon Labrecque ◽  
Ian V. Beamish ◽  
Sarah Aufmkolk ◽  
Julien Gibon ◽  
...  

AbstractDynamic trafficking of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid glutamate receptors (AMPARs) to synapses is critical for activity-dependent synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory, however the identity of key molecular effectors remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate that membrane depolarization and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation triggers secretion of the chemotropic guidance cue netrin-1 from dendrites. Using selective genetic deletion, we show that netrin-1 expression by excitatory neurons is required for NMDAR-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in the adult hippocampus. Further, we demonstrate that application of exogenous netrin-1 is sufficient to trigger the potentiation of excitatory glutamatergic transmission at hippocampal Schaffer collateral synapses via Ca2+-dependent recruitment of GluA1-containing AMPARs, promoting the maturation of immature or nascent synapses. These findings identify a central role for activity-dependent release of netrin-1 as a critical effector of synaptic plasticity in the adult hippocampus.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Lenz ◽  
Marina Ben Shimon ◽  
Thomas Deller ◽  
Andreas Vlachos ◽  
Nicola Maggio

Epilepsy is a complex neurological disorder which can severely affect neuronal function. Some patients may experience status epilepticus, a life-threatening state of ongoing seizure activity associated with postictal cognitive dysfunction. However, the molecular mechanisms by which status epilepticus influences brain function beyond seizure activity remain not well understood. Here, we addressed the question of whether pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus affects synaptopodin (SP), an actin-binding protein, which regulates the ability of neurons to express synaptic plasticity. This makes SP an interesting marker for epilepsy-associated alterations in synaptic function. Indeed, single dose intraperitoneal pilocarpine injection (250 mg/kg) in three-month-old male C57BL/6J mice leads to a rapid reduction in hippocampal SP-cluster sizes and numbers (in CA1 stratum radiatum of the dorsal hippocampus; 90 min after injection). In line with this observation (and previous work using SP-deficient mice), a defect in the ability to induce long-term potentiation (LTP) of Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses is observed. Based on these findings we propose that status epilepticus could exert its aftereffects on cognition at least in part by perturbing SP-dependent mechanisms of synaptic plasticity.


2003 ◽  
Vol 358 (1432) ◽  
pp. 707-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Malinow

Activity-dependent changes in synaptic function are believed to underlie the formation of memories. A prominent example is long-term potentiation (LTP), whose mechanisms have been the subject of considerable scrutiny over the past few decades. I review studies from our laboratory that support a critical role for AMPA receptor trafficking in LTP and experience-dependent plasticity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Unghwi Lee ◽  
Seung Hyun Ryu ◽  
Sunghoe Chang

AbstractNa+(K+)/H+ exchanger 6 (NHE6) on synaptic vesicle (SV) is critical for the presynaptic regulation of quantal size at the glutamatergic synapses by converting the chemical gradient (ΔpH) into membrane potential (Δψ) across the SV membrane. We recently found that NHE6 directly interacts with secretory carrier membrane protein 5 (SCAMP5), and SCAMP5-dependent recruitment of NHE6 to SVs controls the strength of synaptic transmission by modulation of quantal size of glutamate release at rest. It is, however, unknown whether NHE6 recruitment by SCAMP5 plays a role during synaptic plasticity. Here, we found that the number of NHE6-positive presynaptic boutons was significantly increased by the chemical long-term potentiation (cLTP). Since cLTP involves new synapse formation, our results indicated that NHE6 was recruited not only to the existing presynaptic boutons but also to the newly formed presynaptic boutons. Knock down of SCAMP5 completely abrogated the enhancement of NHE6 recruitment by cLTP. Interestingly, despite an increase in the number of NHE6-positive boutons by cLTP, the quantal size of glutamate release at the presynaptic terminals remained unaltered. Together with our recent results, our findings indicate that SCAMP5-dependent recruitment of NHE6 plays a critical role in manifesting presynaptic efficacy not only at rest but also during synaptic plasticity. Since both are autism candidate genes, reduced presynaptic efficacy by interfering with their interaction may underlie the molecular mechanism of synaptic dysfunction observed in autism.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simonas Griesius ◽  
Cian O'Donnell ◽  
Sophie Waldron ◽  
Kerrie L Thomas ◽  
Dominic M Dwyer ◽  
...  

Background: Genetic variations indicating loss of function in the DLG2 gene have been associated with markedly increased risk for schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disability. DLG2 encodes the postsynaptic scaffolding protein DLG2 (PSD93) that interacts with NMDA receptors, potassium channels, and cytoskeletal regulators but the net impact of these interactions on synaptic plasticity, likely underpinning cognitive impairments associated with these conditions, remains unclear. Methods: Hippocampal CA1 neuronal excitability and synaptic function were investigated in a novel clinically relevant heterozygous Dlg2+/- rat model using ex vivo patch-clamp electrophysiology, pharmacology, and computational modelling. Results: Dlg2+/- rats had increased NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic currents and, conversely, impaired associative long-term potentiation. This impairment resulted from an increase in potassium channel function leading to a decrease in input resistance and reduced supra-linear dendritic integration during induction of associative long-term potentiation. Enhancement of dendritic excitability by blockade of potassium channels or activation of muscarinic M1 receptors with selective allosteric agonist 77-LH-28- 1 reduced the threshold for dendritic integration and 77-LH-28-1 rescued the associative long- term potentiation impairment in the Dlg2+/- rats. Conclusions: Despite increasing synaptic NMDA receptor currents, the combined impact of reduced DLG2 impairs synaptic integration in dendrites resulting in disrupted associative synaptic plasticity. This biological phenotype can be reversed by compound classes used clinically such as muscarinic M1 receptor agonists and is therefore a potential target for therapeutic intervention.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document