Riva, I. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2020

Slow AMPA receptors in hippocampal principal cells

Glutamate receptor ion channels such as the -amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor mediate the majority of fast excitatory neurotransmission in the vertebrate CNS. AMPA receptors canonically provide the fast, millisecond component of the synaptic current. However, we found that about two-thirds of principal cells in the mouse hippocampus express AMPA receptors that do not desensitize and stay active for up to half a second. These receptors are expressed at synapses with a sparse but flat spatial distribution. The resulting increase in charge transfer allows single connections to reliably trigger action potentials. Biophysical and pharmacological observations imply that slow AMPA receptors incorporate {gamma}-8 and other auxiliary proteins, and their activation lengthens individual miniature synaptic currents. Synaptic connections harboring slow AMPARs should have unique roles in hippocampal function.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

Control Of AMPA Receptor Activity By The Extracellular Loops Of Auxiliary Proteins

At synapses throughout the mammalian brain, AMPA receptors form complexes with auxiliary proteins, including TARPs. However, how TARPs modulate AMPA receptor gating remains poorly understood. We built structural models of TARP-AMPA receptor complexes for TARPs {gamma}2 and {gamma}8, combining recent structural studies and de novo structure predictions. These models, combined with peptide binding assays, provide evidence for multiple interactions between GluA2 and variable extracellular loops of TARPs. Substitutions and deletions of these loops had surprisingly rich effects on the kinetics of glutamate-activated currents, without any effect on assembly. Critically, by altering the two interacting loops of {gamma}2 and {gamma}8, we could entirely remove all allosteric modulation of GluA2, without affecting formation of AMPA receptor-TARP complexes. Likewise, substitutions in the linker domains of GluA2 completely removed any effect of Y2 on receptor kinetics, indicating a dominant role for this previously overlooked site proximal to the AMPA receptor channel gate.

biophysics↗