Jablonski AM, Kalb RG. GluA1 promotes the activity-dependent development of motor circuitry in the developing segmental spinal cord.
Ann N Y Acad Sci 2013;
1279:54-9. [PMID:
23531002 DOI:
10.1111/nyas.12053]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The neuronal dendritic tree is a key determinant of how neurons receive, compute, and transmit information. During early postnatal life, synaptic activity promotes dendrite elaboration. Spinal motor neurons utilize GluA1-containing AMPA (2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazol-4-yl) propanoic acid) receptors (AMPA-R) to control this process. This form of developmental dendrite growth can occur independently of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDA-R). This review focuses on the mechanism by which the GluA1 subunit of AMPA-R transforms synaptic activity into dendrite growth, and describes the essential role of the GluA1 binding partner SAP97 (synapse-associated protein of 97 kDa molecular weight) in this process. This work defines a new mechanism of activity-dependent development, which might be harnessed to stimulate the recovery of function following insult to the central nervous system.
Collapse