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XB-ART-36143
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007 Jan 02;1041:335-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0607450104.
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Activity-dependent neurotransmitter-receptor matching at the neuromuscular junction.



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Signaling in the nervous system requires matching of neurotransmitter receptors with cognate neurotransmitters at synapses. The vertebrate neuromuscular junction is the best studied cholinergic synapse, but the mechanisms by which acetylcholine is matched with acetylcholine receptors are not fully understood. Because alterations in neuronal calcium spike activity alter transmitter specification in embryonic spinal neurons, we hypothesized that receptor expression in postsynaptic cells follows changes in transmitter expression to achieve this specific match. We find that embryonic vertebrate striated muscle cells normally express receptors for glutamate, GABA, and glycine as well as for acetylcholine. As maturation progresses, acetylcholine receptor expression prevails. Receptor selection is altered when early neuronal calcium-dependent activity is perturbed, and remaining receptor populations parallel changes in transmitter phenotype. In these cases, glutamatergic, GABAergic, and glycinergic synaptic currents are recorded from muscle cells, demonstrating that activity regulates matching of transmitters and their receptors in the assembly of functional synapses.

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Species referenced: Xenopus
Genes referenced: chrna1 glra1 grin1 neurod1 neurog1 neurog2 slc18a3


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References [+] :
Ahmed, Properties of neurons from dissociated fetal rat brain in serum-free culture. 1983, Pubmed