Consistent with the first possibility, the authors found that injection of antisense of ApNRX into SNs or antisense of ApNLG into MNs indeed significantly reduced the increase in varicosities observed at 24 hr after repeated 5HT. They next examined the second possibility by www.selleck.co.jp/products/DAPT-GSI-IX.html expressing in SNs an
ApNRX mutant that lacks the cytoplasmic tail. This mutant competes with endogenous ApNRX for ApNLG binding but is not capable of binding to intracellular signaling partners for recruiting synaptic vesicles (Dean and Dresbach, 2006). Overexpression of the mutant significantly reduced 24 hr LTF induced by 5-HT. In parallel with these experiments, the authors compared the distribution of ApNRX before and 24 hr after repeated 5-HT. They found an enrichment of ApNRX in newly formed varicosities as well as filling of pre-existing empty varicosities with ApNRX after 5-HT application. These data are consistent
with the previous findings that enrichment of synaptic XAV-939 clinical trial vesicles occurs in both newly formed and pre-existing varicosities after 5-HT (Kim et al., 2003). Taken together, these results suggest that ApNRX-ApNLG signaling contributes to LTF by activating pre-existing “silent” synapses, as well as by increasing the formation of newly functional synapses, thus coupling functional and structural synaptic plasticity. Synaptic facilitation induced by repeated 5-HT can last at least 72 hr, and synaptic growth is thought to play a predominant role in this late (48–72 hr) phase of LTF (Casadio et al., 1999). Since ApNRX and ApNLG are important for synaptic growth, the authors further examined their contribution to the persistence of LTF. For these experiments, antisense of ApNRX or ApNLG was injected into SNs or MNs, respectively, at 24 hr after repeated 5-HT application. Either of these treatments induced a significant decay of LTF at 48 hr
after 5-HT, which further decayed to near baseline at 72 hr. Thus, transsynaptic neurexin-neuroligin signaling is critical for the maintenance of persistent LTF. Recent advances in a series of genetic analyses of neurological to diseases have revealed a link between impaired neurexin-neuroligin signaling and autism (Pardo and Eberhart, 2007). For example, an Arginine to Cysteine (R451C) mutation in neuroligin-3, which reduces its surface expression and binding to neurexins, has been observed in autistic siblings (Jamain et al., 2003). Moreover, transgenic mice with the same mutation show increased inhibitory transmission but no change in basal excitatory transmission (Südhof, 2008). In the present paper, the authors explore the physiological consequences of the homologous mutation in ApNLG. They report that expression of this mutant in MNs significantly reduced 1 hr ITF and 24 hr LTF after repeated 5-HT. Interestingly, autistic patients carrying this mutation also exhibit learning deficits (Jamain et al., 2003).