Title | Activity-dependent neurotransmitter-receptor matching at the neuromuscular junction. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2007 |
Authors | Borodinsky LN, Spitzer NC |
Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A |
Volume | 104 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | 335-40 |
Date Published | 2007 Jan 2 |
ISSN | 0027-8424 |
Keywords | Animals, Calcium, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Muscle, Skeletal, Neuromuscular Junction, Neurotransmitter Agents, Receptors, Neurotransmitter, Spinal Cord, Synapses, Xenopus |
Abstract | Signaling in the nervous system requires matching of neurotransmitter receptors with cognate neurotransmitters at synapses. The vertebrate neuromuscular junction is the best studied cholinergic synapse, but the mechanisms by which acetylcholine is matched with acetylcholine receptors are not fully understood. Because alterations in neuronal calcium spike activity alter transmitter specification in embryonic spinal neurons, we hypothesized that receptor expression in postsynaptic cells follows changes in transmitter expression to achieve this specific match. We find that embryonic vertebrate striated muscle cells normally express receptors for glutamate, GABA, and glycine as well as for acetylcholine. As maturation progresses, acetylcholine receptor expression prevails. Receptor selection is altered when early neuronal calcium-dependent activity is perturbed, and remaining receptor populations parallel changes in transmitter phenotype. In these cases, glutamatergic, GABAergic, and glycinergic synaptic currents are recorded from muscle cells, demonstrating that activity regulates matching of transmitters and their receptors in the assembly of functional synapses. |
DOI | 10.1073/pnas.0607450104 |
Alternate Journal | Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
PubMed ID | 17190810 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC1749326 |
Activity-dependent neurotransmitter-receptor matching at the neuromuscular junction.
Category:
Spitzer Laboratory