QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, May 13, 2009, 29(19):6320-6335; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4630-08.2009

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Zhu, J. J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zhu, J. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Cellular/Molecular
Activity Level-Dependent Synapse-Specific AMPA Receptor Trafficking Regulates Transmission Kinetics

J. Julius Zhu

Departments of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908

Correspondence should be addressed to J. Julius Zhu, Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1300 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908. Email: jjzhu{at}virginia.edu

Central glutamatergic synapses may express AMPA-sensitive glutamate receptors (AMPA-Rs) with distinct gating properties and exhibit different transmission dynamics, which are important for computing various synaptic inputs received at different populations of synapses. However, how glutamatergic synapses acquire AMPA-Rs with distinct kinetics to influence synaptic integration remains poorly understood. Here I report synapse-specific trafficking of distinct AMPA-Rs in rat cortical layer 4 stellate and layer 5 pyramidal neurons. The analysis indicates that in single layer 4 stellate neurons thalamocortical synapses generate faster synaptic responses than intracortical synapses. Moreover, GluR1-containing AMPA-Rs traffic selectively into intracortical synapses, and this process requires sensory experience-dependent activity and slows down transmission kinetics. GluR4-containing AMPA-Rs traffic more heavily into thalamocortical synapses than intracortical synapses, and this process requires spontaneous synaptic activity and speeds up transmission kinetics. GluR2-containing AMPA-Rs traffic equally into both thalamocortical and intracortical synapses, and this process requires no synaptic activity and resets transmission kinetics. Notably, synaptic trafficking of distinct AMPA-Rs differentially regulates synaptic integration. Thus, synapse-specific AMPA-R trafficking coarsely sets and synaptic activity finely tunes transmission kinetics and integration properties at different synapses in central neurons.

---

Received Sept. 25, 2008; revised Feb. 26, 2008; accepted April 9, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to J. Julius Zhu, Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia School of Medicine, 1300 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908. Email: jjzhu{at}virginia.edu

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help