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The development of excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons.

Publication ,  Journal Article
O'Brien, RJ; Mammen, AL; Blackshaw, S; Ehlers, MD; Rothstein, JD; Huganir, RL
Published in: J Neurosci
October 1, 1997

Immunohistochemical studies of synapses in the CNS have demonstrated that glutamate receptors (GluRs) are concentrated at postsynaptic sites in vivo and in vitro (Baude et al., 1995). The mechanisms leading to receptor clustering at excitatory synapses are far less understood than those governing acetylcholine receptor accumulation at the neuromuscular junction () or glycine receptor aggregation at central inhibitory synapses (). Using cultured rat spinal cord neurons, we demonstrate that clustering of the AMPA receptor subunit GluR1 is among the earliest events in excitatory synapse formation in vitro, coincident with the onset of miniature EPSCs and in many cases preceding presynaptic vesicle accumulation. Postsynaptic receptor clustering is induced in a highly specific and reiterative pattern, independent of receptor activation, by contact with a subset of axons capable of inducing receptor clusters. The subunit composition of AMPA receptor clusters varied significantly between neurons but was invariant within a given neuron. The presence of either GluR2 or GluR3 was common to all receptor clusters. Neither high-affinity glutamate transporters nor NMDA receptors appeared to be concentrated with AMPA receptor subunits at these excitatory synapses.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Neurosci

DOI

ISSN

0270-6474

Publication Date

October 1, 1997

Volume

17

Issue

19

Start / End Page

7339 / 7350

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Synapses
  • Spinal Cord
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
  • Receptors, Glutamate
  • Receptors, AMPA
  • Receptor Aggregation
  • Rats
  • Presynaptic Terminals
  • Neurons
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
 

Citation

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MLA
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O’Brien, R. J., Mammen, A. L., Blackshaw, S., Ehlers, M. D., Rothstein, J. D., & Huganir, R. L. (1997). The development of excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons. J Neurosci, 17(19), 7339–7350. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-19-07339.1997
O’Brien, R. J., A. L. Mammen, S. Blackshaw, M. D. Ehlers, J. D. Rothstein, and R. L. Huganir. “The development of excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons.J Neurosci 17, no. 19 (October 1, 1997): 7339–50. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-19-07339.1997.
O’Brien RJ, Mammen AL, Blackshaw S, Ehlers MD, Rothstein JD, Huganir RL. The development of excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons. J Neurosci. 1997 Oct 1;17(19):7339–50.
O’Brien, R. J., et al. “The development of excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons.J Neurosci, vol. 17, no. 19, Oct. 1997, pp. 7339–50. Pubmed, doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-19-07339.1997.
O’Brien RJ, Mammen AL, Blackshaw S, Ehlers MD, Rothstein JD, Huganir RL. The development of excitatory synapses in cultured spinal neurons. J Neurosci. 1997 Oct 1;17(19):7339–7350.

Published In

J Neurosci

DOI

ISSN

0270-6474

Publication Date

October 1, 1997

Volume

17

Issue

19

Start / End Page

7339 / 7350

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Synapses
  • Spinal Cord
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
  • Receptors, Glutamate
  • Receptors, AMPA
  • Receptor Aggregation
  • Rats
  • Presynaptic Terminals
  • Neurons
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery