title: A role for stargazin in experience-dependent plasticity.
abstract: During development, neurons are constantly refining their connections in response to changes in activity. Experience-dependent plasticity is a key form of synaptic plasticity, involving changes in α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) accumulation at synapses. Here, we report a critical role for the AMPAR auxiliary subunit stargazin in this plasticity. We show that stargazin is functional at the retinogeniculate synapse and that in the absence of stargazin, the refinement of the retinogeniculate synapse is specifically disrupted during the experience-dependent phase. Importantly, we found that stargazin expression and phosphorylation increased with visual deprivation and led to reduced AMPAR rectification at the retinogeniculate synapse. To test whether stargazin plays a role in homeostatic plasticity, we turned to cultured neurons and found that stargazin phosphorylation is essential for synaptic scaling. Overall, our data reveal an important role for stargazin in regulating AMPAR abundance and composition at glutamatergic synapses during homeostatic and experience-dependent plasticity.
authors.affiliation: PhD Program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine, Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Susana R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Louros
authors.affiliation: F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hooks
authors.affiliation: F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Liza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Litvina
authors.affiliation: Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal. Electronic address: alc@cnc.uc.pt.
authors.forename: Ana Luisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: chinfei.chen@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Chinfei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C113940:Cacng2 protein, mouse; D015220:Calcium Channels; D018091:Receptors, AMPA