title: Adenylate cyclase 1 promotes strengthening and experience-dependent plasticity of whisker relay synapses in the thalamus.
abstract: Synaptic refinement, a process that involves elimination and strengthening of immature synapses, is critical for the development of neural circuits and behaviour. The present study investigates the role of adenylate cyclase 1 (AC1) in developmental refinement of excitatory synapses in the thalamus at the single-cell level. In the mouse, thalamic relay synapses of the lemniscal pathway undergo extensive remodelling during the second week after birth, and AC1 is highly expressed in both pre- and postsynaptic neurons during this period. Synaptic connectivity was analysed by patch-clamp recording in acute slices obtained from mice carrying a targeted null mutation of the adenylate cyclase 1 gene (AC1-KO) and wild-type littermates. We found that deletion of AC1 had no effect on the number of relay inputs received by thalamic neurons during development. In contrast, there was a selective reduction of AMPA-receptor-mediated synaptic responses in mutant thalamic neurons, and the effect increased with age. Furthermore, experience-dependent plasticity was impaired in thalamic neurons of AC1-KO mice. Whisker deprivation during early life altered the number and properties of relay inputs received by thalamic neurons in wild-type mice, but had no effects in AC1-KO mice. Our findings underline a role for AC1 in experience-dependent plasticity of excitatory synapses.
authors.affiliation: The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Storm
authors.forename: Zhong-wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D014278:Trigeminal Nuclei / Q000502:physiology; D020651:Ventral Thalamic Nuclei / Q000502:physiology*; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases; C106670:adenylyl cyclase 1