title: Cell class-specific regulation of neocortical dendrite and spine growth by AMPA receptor splice and editing variants.
abstract: Glutamatergic transmission converging on calcium signaling plays a key role in dendritic differentiation. In early development, AMPA receptor (AMPAR) transcripts are extensively spliced and edited to generate subunits that differ in their biophysical properties. Whether these subunits have specific roles in the context of structural differentiation is unclear. We have investigated the role of nine GluA variants and revealed a correlation between the expression of flip variants and the period of major dendritic growth. In interneurons, only GluA1(Q)-flip increased dendritic length and branching. In pyramidal cells, GluA2(Q)-flop, GluA2(Q)-flip, GluA3(Q)-flip and calcium-impermeable GluA2(R)-flip promoted dendritic growth, suggesting that flip variants with slower desensitization kinetics are more important than receptors with elevated calcium permeability. Imaging revealed significantly higher calcium signals in pyramidal cells transfected with GluA2(R)-flip as compared with GluA2(R)-flop, suggesting a contribution of voltage-activated calcium channels. Indeed, dendritic growth induced by GluA2(R)-flip in pyramidal cells was prevented by blocking NMDA receptors (NMDARs) or voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), suggesting that they act downstream of AMPARs. Intriguingly, the action of GluA1(Q)-flip in interneurons was also dependent on NMDARs and VGCCs. Cell class-specific effects were not observed for spine formation, as GluA2(Q)-flip and GluA2(Q)-flop increased spine density in pyramidal cells as well as in interneurons. The results suggest that AMPAR variants expressed early in development are important determinants for activity-dependent dendritic growth in a cell type-specific and cell compartment-specific manner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Neurobiology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany. mohammad.hamad@rub.de
authors.forename: Mohammad I K
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Hamad
authors.forename: Zhan-Lu
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Ma-Högemeier
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: Claudius
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Conrads
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Veitinger
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Habijan
authors.forename: Jan-Niklas
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Marcus J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hollmann
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wahle
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism*; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D017393:RNA Editing; D012326:RNA Splicing; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; C104722:glutamate receptor ionotropic, AMPA 2; D002118:Calcium