The homeostatic plasticity hypothesis suggests that neuronal activity scales synaptic strength. This study analyzed effects of activity deprivation on GABAergic synapses in cultured hippocampal neurons using patch clamp electrophysiology to record mIPSCs and immunocytochemistry to visualize presynaptic GAD-65 and the γ2 subunit of the GABA A receptor. When neural activity was blocked for 48 h with tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1 μM), the amplitude of mIPSCs was reduced, corresponding with diminished sizes of GAD-65 puncta and γ2 clusters. Treatment with the NMDA receptor antagonist APV (50 μM) or the AMPA receptor antagonist DNQX (20 μM) mimicked these effects, and co-application of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, 100 ng/mL) overcame them. Moreover, when neurons were treated with BDNF alone for 48 h, these effects were reversed via the TrkB receptor. Overall, these results suggest that activity-dependent scaling of inhibitory synaptic strength can be modulated by BDNF/TrkB-mediated signaling.

The NMDA receptor is an important component of excitatory synapses in the CNS. In addition to its synaptic localization, the NMDA receptor is also present at extrasynaptic sites where it may have functions distinct from those at the synapse. Little is known about how the number, composition, and localization of extrasynaptic receptors are regulated. We identified a novel NMDA receptor-interacting protein, GIPC (GAIP-interacting protein, C terminus), that associates with surface as well as internalized NMDA receptors when expressed in heterologous cells. In neurons, GIPC colocalizes with a population of NMDA receptors on the cell surface, and changes in GIPC expression alter the number of surface receptors. GIPC is mainly excluded from the synapse, and changes in GIPC expression do not change the total number of synaptic receptors. Our results suggest that GIPC may be preferentially associated with extrasynaptic NMDA receptors and may play a role in the organization and trafficking of this population of receptors.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulates synapses, but the distribution of BDNF and its receptor TrkB relative to the location of glutamatergic and γ-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) synapses is presently unknown. Immunocytochemistry was performed in primary hippocampal neuron cultures to determine whether BDNF and TrkB are preferentially localized to excitatory or inhibitory markers at 7, 14, and 21 days in vitro (DIV). Glutamatergic sites were localized with vesicular glutamate transporter type 1 (VGLUT1) as presynaptic marker and the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor and the GluR1 subunit of the AMPA receptor as receptor markers. GABAergic sites were labeled with the 65-kDa isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD-65) as presynaptic marker and the γ2 subunit of the GABA A receptor as receptor marker. During development, <30% of BDNF punctae and TrkB clusters were localized to glutamatergic and GABAergic markers. Because their rates of colocalization did not change from 7 to 21 DIV, this study details the distribution of BDNF and TrkB at 14 DIV. BDNF was preferentially colocalized with glutamatergic markers VGLUT1 and NR1 (~30% each). TrkB was also relatively highly colocalized with VGLUT1 and NR1 (~20% each) but was additionally highly colocalized with GABAergic markers GAD-65 (~20%) and γ2 (~30%). NR1 clusters colocalized with BDNF puncta and TrkB clusters were mostly extrasynaptic, as were γ2 clusters colocalized with TrkB clusters. These results show that, whereas most BDNF and TrkB protein is extrasynaptic, BDNF is preferentially associated with excitatory markers and that TrkB is associated equally with excitatory and inhibitory markers. Indexing termsneurotrophins; glutamate; GABA; synaptogenesis Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophin family, modulates many aspects of synaptic structure and function. For instance, BDNF modulates axonal and dendritic branching. It increased branching and complexity of optic axon terminal arbors in Xenopus (Cohen-Cory and Fraser, 1995) and in chick (Inoue and Sanes, 1997) and increased the length and complexity of apical and basal dendrites in Xenopus retina (Lom and CohenCory, 1999) and in mammalian visual cortex (McAllister et al., 1995). BDNF also modulates synaptic efficacy. It acutely potentiated excitatory transmission in the neuromuscular junction (Lohof et al., 1993) and hippocampus (Lessmann et al., 1994;Kang and Schuman, 1995;Levine et al., 1995;Messaoudi et al., 1998;Li et al., 1998) (Tanaka et al., 1997;Frerking et al., 1998;Brunig et al., 2001;Cheng and Yeh, 2003), and elicited action potentials in the hippocampus, cortex, and cerebellum by activating the tetrodotoxin-insensitive sodium channel Na v 1.9 (Kafitz et al., 1999;Blum et al., 2002). Furthermore, BDNF influences synaptic maturation. It increased the density of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the hippocampus (Vicario-Abejon et al., 1998;Martinez et al., 1998) and promoted activity-dependent inhibitory synaptogenesis (Seil and DrakeBaum...

The formation and maturation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic synapses was studied in cultured hippocampal pyramidal neurons by both performing immunocytochemistry for GABAergic markers and recording miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs). Nascent GABAergic synapses appeared between 3 and 8 days in vitro (DIV), with GABAA receptor subunit clusters appearing first, followed by GAD-65 puncta, then functional synapses. The number of GABAergic synapses increased from 7 to 14 DIV, with a corresponding increase in frequency of mIPSCs. Moreover, these new GABAergic synapses formed on neuronal processes farther from the soma, contributing to decreased mIPSC amplitude and slowed mIPSC 19-90% rise time. The mIPSC decay quickened from 7 to 14 DIV, with a parallel change in the distribution of the alpha5 subunit from diffuse expression at 7 DIV to clustered expression at 14 DIV. These alpha5 clusters were mostly extrasynaptic. The alpha1 subunit was expressed as clusters in none of the neurons at 7 DIV, in 20% at 14 DIV, and in 80% at 21 DIV. Most of these alpha1 clusters were expressed at GABAergic synapses. In addition, puncta of GABA transporter 1 (GAT-1) were localized to GABAergic synapses at 14 DIV but were not expressed at 7 DIV. These studies demonstrate that mIPSCs appear after pre- and postsynaptic elements are in place. Furthermore, the process of maturation of GABAergic synapses involves increased synapse formation at distal processes, expression of new GABAA receptor subunits, and GAT-1 expression at synapses; these changes are reflected in altered frequency, kinetics, and drug sensitivity of mIPSCs.

Synapse malformation underlies numerous neurodevelopmental illnesses, including autism spectrum disorders. Here we identify the lipid raft protein flotillin-1 as a promoter of glutamatergic synapse formation. We cultured neurons from the hippocampus, a brain region important for learning and memory, and examined them at two weeks in vitro, a time period rich with synapse formation. Double-label immunocytochemistry of native flot-1 with glutamatergic and GABAergic synapse markers showed that flot-1 was preferentially colocalized with the glutamatergic presynaptic marker vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1), compared to the GABAergic presynaptic marker glutamic acid decarboxylase-65 (GAD-65). Triple-label immunocytochemistry of native flot-1, VGLUT1, and NR1, the obligatory subunit of NMDA receptors, indicates that Flot-1 was preferentially localized to synaptic rather than extrasynaptic NR1. Furthermore, electrophysiological results using whole-cell patch clamp showed that Flot-1 increased the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) but not miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs), whereas amplitude and decay kinetics of either type of synaptic current was not affected. Corresponding immunocytochemical data confirmed that the number of glutamatergic synapses increased with flot-1 overexpression. Overall, our anatomical and physiological results show that flot-1 enhances the formation of glutamatergic synapses but not GABAergic synapses, suggesting that the role of flot-1 in neurodevelopmental disorders should be explored.