Regulation of GABAergic synapse formation and plasticity by GSK3beta-dependent phosphorylation of gephyrin

Postsynaptic scaffolding proteins ensure efficient neurotransmission by anchoring receptors and signaling molecules in synapse-specific subcellular domains. In turn, posttranslational modifications of scaffolding proteins contribute to synaptic plasticity by remodeling the postsynaptic apparatus. Though these mechanisms are operant in glutamatergic synapses, little is known about regulation of GABAergic synapses, which mediate inhibitory transmission in the CNS. Here, we focused on gephyrin, the main scaffolding protein of GABAergic synapses. We identify a unique phosphorylation site in gephyrin, Ser270, targeted by glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) to modulate GABAergic transmission. Abolishing Ser270 phosphorylation increased the density of gephyrin clusters and the frequency of miniature GABAergic postsynaptic currents in cultured hippocampal neurons. Enhanced, phosphorylation-dependent gephyrin clustering was also induced in vitro and in vivo with lithium chloride. Lithium is a GSK3β inhibitor used therapeutically as mood-stabilizing drug, which underscores the relevance of this posttranslational modification for synaptic plasticity. Conversely, we show that gephyrin availability for postsynaptic clustering is limited by Ca(2+)-dependent gephyrin cleavage by the cysteine protease calpain-1. Together, these findings identify gephyrin as synaptogenic molecule regulating GABAergic synaptic plasticity, likely contributing to the therapeutic action of lithium.     

Endocytosis and recycling of AMPA receptors lacking GluR2/3

Excitatory synapses in the mammalian brain contain two types of ligand-gated ion channels: AMPA receptors (AMPARs) and NMDA receptors (NMDARs). AMPARs are responsible for generating excitatory synaptic responses, whereas NMDAR activation triggers long-lasting changes in these responses by modulating the trafficking of AMPARs toward and away from synapses. AMPARs are tetramers composed of four subunits (GluR1-GluR4), which current models suggest govern distinct AMPAR trafficking behavior during synaptic plasticity. Here, we address the roles of GluR2 and GluR3 in controlling the recycling- and activity-dependent endocytosis of AMPARs by using cultured hippocampal neurons prepared from knockout (KO) mice lacking these subunits. We find that synapses and dendritic spines form normally in cells lacking GluR2/3 and that upon NMDAR activation, GluR2/3-lacking AMPARs are endocytosed in a manner indistinguishable from GluR2-containing AMPARs in wild-type (WT) neurons. AMPARs lacking GluR2/3 also recycle to the plasma membrane identically to WT AMPARs. However, because of their permeability to calcium, GluR2-lacking but not WT AMPARs exhibited robust internalization throughout the dendritic tree in response to AMPA application. Dendritic endocytosis of AMPARs also was observed in GABAergic neurons, which express a high proportion of GluR2-lacking AMPARs. These results demonstrate that GluR2 and GluR3 are not required for activity-dependent endocytosis of AMPARs and suggest that the most important property of GluR2 in the context of AMPAR trafficking may be its influence on calcium permeability.     

Identity of the NMDA receptor coagonist is synapse specific and developmentally regulated in the hippocampus

NMDA receptors (NMDARs) require the coagonists d-serine or glycine for their activation, but whether the identity of the coagonist could be synapse specific and developmentally regulated remains elusive. We therefore investigated the contribution of d-serine and glycine by recording NMDAR-mediated responses at hippocampal Schaffer collaterals (SC)–CA1 and medial perforant path–dentate gyrus (mPP–DG) synapses in juvenile and adult rats. Selective depletion of endogenous coagonists with enzymatic scavengers as well as pharmacological inhibition of endogenous d-amino acid oxidase activity revealed that d-serine is the preferred coagonist at SC–CA1 mature synapses, whereas, unexpectedly, glycine is mainly involved at mPP–DG synapses. Nevertheless, both coagonist functions are driven by the levels of synaptic activity as inferred by recording long-term potentiation generated at both connections. This regional compartmentalization in the coagonist identity is associated to different GluN1/GluN2A to GluN1/GluN2B subunit composition of synaptic NMDARs. During postnatal development, the replacement of GluN2B- by GluN2A-containing NMDARs at SC–CA1 synapses parallels a change in the identity of the coagonist from glycine to d-serine. In contrast, NMDARs subunit composition at mPP–DG synapses is not altered and glycine remains the main coagonist throughout postnatal development. Altogether, our observations disclose an unprecedented relationship in the identity of the coagonist not only with the GluN2 subunit composition at synaptic NMDARs but also with astrocyte activity in the developing and mature hippocampus that reconciles the complementary functions of d-serine and glycine in modulating NMDARs during the maturation of tripartite glutamatergic synapses.The glutamate-gated N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) play a critical role in structural and functional plasticity at synapses during postnatal brain development and in adulthood (1) and are therefore central to many cognitive functions such as learning and memory (2). Disturbances of their functions have been associated to a broad range of neurological and psychiatric disorders (3). NMDARs are heterotetramers typically composed of GluN1 and GluN2 subunits (3, 4), and the precise subunit composition determines NMDAR functional and trafficking properties (3, 4).NMDARs are unique among neurotransmitter receptors because their activation requires the binding of both glutamate and a coagonist initially thought to be glycine (5, 6). Nevertheless, subsequent studies have shown that d-serine synthesized by serine racemase (SR) (7) would be the preferred endogenous coagonist for synaptic NMDARs in many areas of the mature brain (8), raising controversies about “where, when, and how” glycine and d-serine might regulate NMDARs at synapses in the brain. This controversy is highlighted by the recent findings showing that d-serine and glycine both released by neurons come into play to regulate synaptic NMDAR-dependent functions at the hippocampal Schaffer collateral (SC)–CA1 synapses of adult brain (9), whereas others found no evidence for a function of glycine at this connection (10). Possible explanations for the relative contribution of d-serine and glycine in gating mature NMDARs were recently given by two recent studies. First, it was shown at hippocampal SC–CA1 synapses that d-serine would target GluN1/GluN2A-containing NMDARs, which are preferentially present within the synapse, whereas glycine would rather target GluN1/GluN2B-containing NMDARs located extrasynaptically (10). Second, it was proposed that the identity of the effective coagonist at synapses could depend on synaptic activity levels with tonic activation of NMDARs under low-activity conditions supported by ambient d-serine, whereas glycine will contribute in response to enhanced afferent activity (11).So far, most studies have explored the functions of d-serine vs. glycine at excitatory synapses in the adult brain or during aging (8) where GluN2A-expressing NMDARs prevail (1). Intriguingly, the respective role of the coagonists during postnatal development awaits to be addressed. Considerable evidence indicates that the NMDAR composition at excitatory synapses undergo an experience-dependent developmental switch from primarily GluN2B to GluN2A subunits during the first 2 wk of maturation and refinement of cortical circuits in the postnatal brain (1, 12–14). However, how this developmental switch is controlled is still elusive, and we do not know how it could be regulated or associated to the action of a preferred coagonist.The present study aimed at investigating the relative synapse specificity and the time window at which d-serine and glycine enter in function to drive NMDAR activity of developing and mature excitatory synapses in the hippocampus. In particular, we sought to elucidate whether the preference for one of the two coagonists could be related to any of the GluN2 subtypes of NMDARs.     

Activity-dependent retrograde laminin A signaling regulates synapse growth at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions

Retrograde signals induced by synaptic activities are derived from postsynaptic cells to potentiate presynaptic properties, such as cytoskeletal dynamics, gene expression, and synaptic growth. However, it is not known whether activity-dependent retrograde signals can also depotentiate synaptic properties. Here we report that laminin A (LanA) functions as a retrograde signal to suppress synapse growth at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). The presynaptic integrin pathway consists of the integrin subunit βν and focal adhesion kinase 56 (Fak56), both of which are required to suppress crawling activity-dependent NMJ growth. LanA protein is localized in the synaptic cleft and only muscle-derived LanA is functional in modulating NMJ growth. The LanA level at NMJs is inversely correlated with NMJ size and regulated by larval crawling activity, synapse excitability, postsynaptic response, and anterograde Wnt/Wingless signaling, all of which modulate NMJ growth through LanA and βν. Our data indicate that synaptic activities down-regulate levels of the retrograde signal LanA to promote NMJ growth.     

Use-dependent amplification of presynaptic Ca2+ signaling by axonal ryanodine receptors at the hippocampal mossy fiber synapse

Presynaptic Ca²⁺ stores have been suggested to regulate Ca²⁺ 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 Ca²⁺ accumulation at the hippocampal mossy fiber synapses, which display robust presynaptic forms of plasticity. Caffeine, a potent drug inducing Ca²⁺ release from ryanodine-sensitive stores, causes elevation of presynaptic Ca²⁺ levels and enhancement of transmitter release from the mossy fiber terminals. The blockers of ryanodine receptors, TMB-8 or ryanodine, reduce presynaptic Ca²⁺ transients elicited by repetitive stimuli of mossy fibers but do not affect those evoked by single shocks, suggesting that ryanodine receptors amplify presynaptic Ca²⁺ 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 Ca²⁺ release from intracellular stores within the mossy fibers and thereby facilitates robust presynaptic forms of plasticity at the mossy fiber-CA3 synapse.     

MDGAs interact selectively with neuroligin-2 but not other neuroligins to regulate inhibitory synapse development

The MAM domain-containing GPI anchor proteins MDGA1 and MDGA2 are Ig superfamily adhesion molecules composed of six IG domains, a fibronectin III domain, a MAM domain, and a GPI anchor. MDGAs contribute to the radial migration and positioning of a subset of cortical neurons during early neural development. However, MDGAs continue to be expressed in postnatal brain, and their functions during postnatal neural development remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that MDGAs specifically and with a nanomolar affinity bind to neuroligin-2, a cell-adhesion molecule of inhibitory synapses, but do not bind detectably to neuroligin-1 or neuroligin-3. We observed no cell adhesion between cells expressing neuroligin-2 and MDGA1, suggesting a cis interaction. Importantly, RNAi-mediated knockdown of MDGAs increased the abundance of inhibitory but not excitatory synapses in a neuroligin-2–dependent manner. Conversely, overexpression of MDGA1 decreased the numbers of functional inhibitory synapses. Likewise, coexpression of both MDGA1 and neuroligin-2 reduced the synaptogenic capacity of neuroligin-2 in an artificial synapse-formation assay by abolishing the ability of neuroligin-2 to form an adhesion complex with neurexins. Taken together, our data suggest that MDGAs inhibit the activity of neuroligin-2 in controlling the function of inhibitory synapses and that MDGAs do so by binding to neuroligin-2.     

Delayed plasticity of inhibitory neurons in developing visual cortex

During postnatal development, altered sensory experience triggers the rapid reorganization of neuronal responses and connections in sensory neocortex. This experience-dependent plasticity is disrupted by reductions of intracortical inhibition. Little is known about how the responses of inhibitory cells themselves change during plasticity. We investigated the time course of inhibitory cell plasticity in mouse primary visual cortex by using functional two-photon microscopy with single-cell resolution and genetic identification of cell type. Initially, local inhibitory and excitatory cells had similar binocular visual response properties, both favoring the contralateral eye. After 2 days of monocular visual deprivation, excitatory cell responses shifted to favor the open eye, whereas inhibitory cells continued to respond more strongly to the deprived eye. By 4 days of deprivation, inhibitory cell responses shifted to match the faster changes in their excitatory counterparts. These findings reveal a dramatic delay in inhibitory cell plasticity. A minimal linear model reveals that the delay in inhibitory cell plasticity potently accelerates Hebbian plasticity in neighboring excitatory neurons. These findings offer a network-level explanation as to how inhibition regulates the experience-dependent plasticity of neocortex.     

Rab3B protein is required for long-term depression of hippocampal inhibitory synapses and for normal reversal learning

Rab3B, similar to other Rab3 isoforms, is a synaptic vesicle protein that interacts with the Rab3-interacting molecule (RIM) isoforms RIM1α and RIM2α as effector proteins in a GTP-dependent manner. Previous studies showed that at excitatory synapses, Rab3A and RIM1α are essential for presynaptically expressed long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas at inhibitory synapses RIM1α is required for endocannabinoid-dependent long-term depression (referred to as "i-LTD"). However, it remained unknown whether i-LTD also involves a Rab3 isoform and whether i-LTD, similar to other forms of long-term plasticity, is important for learning and memory. Here we show that Rab3B is highly enriched in inhibitory synapses in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Using electrophysiological recordings in acute slices, we demonstrate that knockout (KO) of Rab3B does not alter the strength or short-term plasticity of excitatory or inhibitory synapses but does impair i-LTD significantly without changing classical NMDA receptor-dependent LTP. Behaviorally, we found that Rab3B KO mice exhibit no detectable changes in all basic parameters tested, including the initial phase of learning and memory. However, Rab3B KO mice did display a selective enhancement in reversal learning, as measured using Morris water-maze and fear-conditioning assays. Our data support the notion that presynaptic forms of long-term plasticity at excitatory and inhibitory synapses generally are mediated by a common Rab3/RIM-dependent pathway, with various types of synapses using distinct Rab3 isoforms. Moreover, our results suggest that i-LTD contributes to learning and memory, presumably by stabilizing circuits established in previous learning processes.     

Interneuron activity controls endocannabinoid-mediated presynaptic plasticity through calcineurin

Retrograde signaling by endocannabinoids (eCBs) mediates a widely expressed form of long-term depression at excitatory and inhibitory synapses (eCB-LTD), involving a reduction in neurotransmitter release. In the hippocampus, eCB-LTD occurs at interneuron (IN)-pyramidal cell (PC) synapses (I-LTD), and its induction requires a presynaptic reduction of cAMP/PKA signaling resulting from minutes of type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) activation. Although repetitive activity of glutamatergic synapses initiates the eCB mobilization required for I-LTD, it is unclear whether CB1R-containing GABAergic terminals are passive targets of eCBs or whether they actively contribute to induction. Here, we show that the minutes-long induction period for I-LTD may serve as a window to integrate associated spontaneous activity in the same IN receiving the retrograde eCB signal. Indeed, reducing spontaneous IN firing blocked I-LTD, which could be rescued with extra stimulation of inhibitory afferents. Moreover, cell pair recordings showed that a single IN expressed LTD onto a PC only if it was active during eCB signaling. Several methods of disrupting presynaptic Ca(2+) dynamics all blocked I-LTD, strongly suggesting that IN spikes regulate I-LTD by raising Ca(2+) at the nerve terminal. Finally, inhibiting the Ca(2+)-activated phosphatase, calcineurin, fully blocked I-LTD, but blocking another phosphatase did not. Our findings support a model where both CB1R signaling and IN activity shift the balance of kinase and phosphatase activity in the presynaptic terminal to induce I-LTD.     

Unique inhibitory synapse with particularly rich endocannabinoid signaling machinery on pyramidal neurons in basal amygdaloid nucleus

2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is the endocannabinoid that mediates retrograde suppression of synaptic transmission in the brain. 2-AG is synthesized in activated postsynaptic neurons by sn-1-specific diacylglycerol lipase (DGL), binds to presynaptic cannabinoid CB(1) receptors, suppresses neurotransmitter release, and is degraded mainly by monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL). In the basolateral amygdala complex, it has been demonstrated that CB(1) is particularly enriched in axon terminals of cholecystokinin (CCK)-positive GABAergic interneurons, induces short- and long-term depression at inhibitory synapses, and is involved in extinction of fear memory. Here, we clarified a unique molecular convergence of DGLα, CB(1), and MGL at specific inhibitory synapses in the basal nucleus (BA), but not lateral nucleus, of the basolateral amygdala. The synapses, termed invaginating synapses, consisted of conventional symmetrical contact and unique perisynaptic invagination of nerve terminals into perikarya. At invaginating synapses, DGLα was preferentially recruited to concave somatic membrane of postsynaptic pyramidal neurons, whereas invaginating presynaptic terminals highly expressed CB(1), MGL, and CCK. No such molecular convergence was seen for flat perisomatic synapses made by parvalbumin-positive interneurons. On the other hand, DGLα and CB(1) were expressed weakly at axospinous excitatory synapses. Consistent with these morphological data, thresholds for DGLα-mediated depolarization-induced retrograde suppression were much lower for inhibitory synapses than for excitatory synapses in BA pyramidal neurons. Moreover, depolarization-induced suppression was readily saturated for inhibition, but never for excitation. These findings suggest that perisomatic inhibition by invaginating synapses is a key target of 2-AG-mediated control of the excitability of BA pyramidal neurons.     

Cell growth, global phosphotyrosine elevation, and c-Met phosphorylation through Src family kinases in colorectal cancer cells

The heterogeneity of cancer cell signaling is a significant obstacle for the effective development and clinical use of molecularly targeted therapies. As a contribution to a better understanding of the diversity of signaling activities in colorectal cancers (CRCs), we have analyzed the activity of Src family kinases (SFKs), which are implicated in human cancer development, in 64 CRC cell lines. A striking diversity of SFK activity was observed within this panel. Importantly, all CRC lines tested depend on SFK activity for their growth. In addition, SFK activity levels strongly correlated with global levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated (pTyr) proteins in CRC lines. SFK inhibition substantially reduced these pTyr levels, suggesting that SFKs may function as signal integration points and master controllers for the pTyr protein status in CRC lines. The majority of analyzed CRC lines with high-SFK activity express activated c-Met (pYpY1234/1235), a receptor tyrosine kinase contributing to the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Inhibition of SFKs reduced c-Met phosphorylation in most cases, indicating a reversed signal flow from SFK to c-Met. We conclude that SFK activity is important for the growth of CRC lines, although only low activity levels are required. If this also is true for CRC patients, tumors with low-SFK activity may be particularly sensitive to SFK inhibitors, and such patients should be targeted in clinical trials testing SFK inhibitors.     

NMDA receptors regulate GABAA receptor lateral mobility and clustering at inhibitory synapses through serine 327 on the γ2 subunit

Modification of the number of GABA_A receptors (GABA_ARs) clustered at inhibitory synapses can regulate inhibitory synapse strength with important implications for information processing and nervous system plasticity and pathology. Currently, however, the mechanisms that regulate the number of GABA_ARs at synapses remain poorly understood. By imaging superecliptic pHluorin tagged GABA_AR subunits we show that synaptic GABA_AR clusters are normally stable, but that increased neuronal activity upon glutamate receptor (GluR) activation results in their rapid and reversible dispersal. This dispersal correlates with increases in the mobility of single GABA_ARs within the clusters as determined using single-particle tracking of GABA_ARs labeled with quantum dots. GluR-dependent dispersal of GABA_AR clusters requires Ca²⁺ influx via NMDA receptors (NMDARs) and activation of the phosphatase calcineurin. Moreover, the dispersal of GABA_AR clusters and increased mobility of individual GABA_ARs are dependent on serine 327 within the intracellular loop of the GABA_AR γ2 subunit. Thus, NMDAR signaling, via calcineurin and a key GABA_AR phosphorylation site, controls the stability of synaptic GABA_ARs, with important implications for activity-dependent control of synaptic inhibition and neuronal plasticity.