RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Aberrant Formation of Glutamate Receptor Complexes in Hippocampal Neurons of Mice Lacking the GluR2 AMPA Receptor Subunit
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 9367
OP 9373
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-28-09367.2003
VO 23
IS 28
A1 Nathalie Sans
A1 Bryce Vissel
A1 Ronald S. Petralia
A1 Ya-Xian Wang
A1 Kai Chang
A1 Gordon A. Royle
A1 Chang-Yu Wang
A1 Steve O'Gorman
A1 Stephen F. Heinemann
A1 Robert J. Wenthold
YR 2003
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/28/9367.abstract
AB The number and type of receptors present at the postsynaptic membrane determine the response to the neurotransmitter released from the presynaptic terminal. Because most neurons receive multiple and distinct synaptic inputs and contain several different subtypes of receptors stimulated by the same neurotransmitter, the assembly and trafficking of receptors in neurons is a complex process involving many levels of regulation. To investigate the mechanism that neurons use to regulate the assembly of receptor subunits, we studied a GluR2 knock-out mouse. GluR2 is a critical subunit that controls calcium permeability of AMPA receptors and is present in most native AMPA receptors. Our data indicate that in the absence of GluR2, aberrant receptor complexes composed of GluR1 and GluR3 are formed in the hippocampus, and that there is an increased number of homomeric GluR1 and GluR3 receptors. We also show that these homomeric and heteromeric receptors are less efficiently expressed at the synapse. Our results show that GluR2 plays a critical role in controlling the assembly of AMPA receptors, and that the assembly of subunits may reflect the affinity of one subunit for another or the stability of intermediates in the assembly process. Therefore, GluR1 may have a greater preference for GluR2 than it does for GluR3.