Retinoic Acid and LTP Recruit Postsynaptic AMPA Receptors Using Distinct SNARE-Dependent Mechanisms.

ABSTRACT: Retinoic acid (RA)-dependent homeostatic plasticity and NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of Hebbian plasticity, both enhance synaptic strength by increasing the abundance of postsynaptic AMPA receptors (AMPARs). However, it is unclear whether the molecular mechanisms mediating AMPAR trafficking during homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity differ, and it is unknown how RA signaling impacts Hebbian plasticity. Here, we show that RA increases postsynaptic AMPAR abundance using an activity-dependent mechanism that requires a unique SNARE (soluble NSF-attachment protein receptor)-dependent fusion machinery different from that mediating LTP. Specifically, RA-induced AMPAR trafficking did not involve complexin, which activates SNARE complexes containing syntaxin-1 or -3,

SUBMITTER: Arendt KL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4578641 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature