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AMPA receptor desensitization mutation results in severe developmental phenotypes and early postnatal lethality.

ABSTRACT: AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate) recep-tors desensitize rapidly and completely in the continued presence of their endogenous ligand glutamate; however, it is not clear what role AMPA receptor desensitization plays in the brain. We generated a knock-in mouse in which a single amino acid residue, which controls desensitization, was mutated in the GluA2 (GluR2) receptor subunit (GluA2(L483Y)). This mutation was homozygous lethal. However, mice carrying a single mutated allele, GluA2(L483Y/wt), survived past birth, but displayed severe and progressive neurological deficits including seizures and, ultimately, increased mortality. The expression of the AMPA receptor subunits GluA1 and GluA2 was decreased, whereas NMDA receptor protein expression was increased in GluA2(L483Y/wt) mice. Despite this, basal synaptic transmission and plasticity in the hippocampus were largely unaffected, suggesting that neurons preferentially target receptors to synapses to normalize synaptic weight. We found no gross neuroanatomical alterations in GluA2(L483Y/wt) mice. Moreover, there was no accumulation of AMPA receptor subunits in intracellular compartments, suggesting that folding and assembly of AMPA receptors are not affected by this mutation. Interestingly, EPSC paired pulse ratios in the CA1 were enhanced without a change in synaptic release probability, demonstrating that postsynaptic receptor properties can contribute to facilitation. The dramatic phenotype observed in this study by the introduction of a single amino acid change demonstrates an essential role in vivo for AMPA receptor desensitization.

SUBMITTER: Christie LA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2889074 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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AMPA receptor desensitization mutation results in severe developmental phenotypes and early postnatal lethality.

Christie Louisa A LA Russell Theron A TA Xu Jian J Wood Lydia L Shepherd Gordon M G GM Contractor Anis A

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20100503 20

AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate) recep-tors desensitize rapidly and completely in the continued presence of their endogenous ligand glutamate; however, it is not clear what role AMPA receptor desensitization plays in the brain. We generated a knock-in mouse in which a single amino acid residue, which controls desensitization, was mutated in the GluA2 (GluR2) receptor subunit (GluA2(L483Y)). This mutation was homozygous lethal. However, mice carrying a single mutated a ...[more]

PMID: 20439731

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Project description:Wild-type AMPA receptors display a characteristic rapidly desensitizing phenotype. Many studies point to the dimer interface between pairs of extracellular ligand binding domains as the key region controlling the rate at which the receptors desensitize. However, mutations at the extracellular end of the pore-forming regions (near the putative ion channel gate) have also been shown to alter desensitization. Here we report the behavior of single GluA4 receptors carrying one of two mutations that greatly reduce desensitization at the level of ensemble currents: the dimer interface mutation L484Y and the Lurcher mutation (A623T, GluA4-Lc) in the extracellular end of M3 (the second true transmembrane helix). Analysis of unitary currents in patches with just one active receptor showed that each mutation greatly prolongs bursts of openings without prolonging the apparent duration of individual openings. Each mutation decreases the frequency with which individual receptors visit desensitized states, but both mutant receptors still desensitize multiple times per second. Cyclothiazide (CTZ) reduced desensitization of wild-type receptors and both types of mutant receptor. Analysis of shut-time distributions revealed a form of short-lived desensitization that was resistant to CTZ and was especially prominent for GluA4-Lc receptors. Despite reducing desensitization of GluA4 L484Y receptors, CTZ decreased the amplitude of ensemble currents through GluA2 and GluA4 LY receptor mutants. Single-channel analysis and comparison of the GluA2 L483Y ligand binding domain dimer in complex with glutamate with and without CTZ is consistent with the conclusion that CTZ binding to the dimer interface prevents effects of the LY mutation to modulate receptor activation, resulting in a reduction in the prevalence of large-conductance substates that accounts for the decrease in ensemble current amplitudes. Together, the results show that similar nondesensitizing AMPA-receptor phenotypes of population currents can arise from distinct underlying molecular mechanisms that produce different types of unitary activity.

Dataset Information

AMPA receptor desensitization mutation results in severe developmental phenotypes and early postnatal lethality.

Publications

AMPA receptor desensitization mutation results in severe developmental phenotypes and early postnatal lethality.

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