Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.

The neurotransmitter GABA regulates many aspects of inhibitory synapse development. We tested the hypothesis that GABAA receptors (GABAARs) work together with the synaptic adhesion molecule neuroligin 2 (NL2) to regulate synapse formation in different subcellular compartments. We investigated mice (...

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Main Authors: Elena Frola, Annarita Patrizi, Thomas Goetz, Lucian Medrihan, Enrica Maria Petrini, Andrea Barberis, Peer Wulff, William Wisden, Marco Sassoè-Pognetto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0056311&type=printable
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author Elena Frola
Annarita Patrizi
Thomas Goetz
Lucian Medrihan
Enrica Maria Petrini
Andrea Barberis
Peer Wulff
William Wisden
Marco Sassoè-Pognetto
author_facet Elena Frola
Annarita Patrizi
Thomas Goetz
Lucian Medrihan
Enrica Maria Petrini
Andrea Barberis
Peer Wulff
William Wisden
Marco Sassoè-Pognetto
author_sort Elena Frola
collection DOAJ
description The neurotransmitter GABA regulates many aspects of inhibitory synapse development. We tested the hypothesis that GABAA receptors (GABAARs) work together with the synaptic adhesion molecule neuroligin 2 (NL2) to regulate synapse formation in different subcellular compartments. We investigated mice ("γ2 knockdown mice") with an engineered allele of the GABAAR γ2 subunit gene which produced a mosaic expression of synaptic GABAARs in neighboring neurons, causing a strong imbalance in synaptic inhibition. Deletion of the γ2 subunit did not abolish synapse formation or the targeting of NL2 to distinct types of perisomatic and axo-dendritic contacts. Thus synaptic localization of NL2 does not require synaptic GABAARs. However, loss of the γ2 subunit caused a selective decrease in the number of axo-dendritic synapses on cerebellar Purkinje cells and cortical pyramidal neurons, whereas perisomatic synapses were not significantly affected. Notably, γ2-positive cells had increased axo-dendritic innervation compared with both γ2-negative and wild-type counterparts. Moreover heterologous synapses on spines, that are found after total deletion of GABAARs from all Purkinje cells, were rare in cerebella of γ2 knockdown mice. These findings reveal a selective role of γ2 subunit-containing GABAARs in regulating synapse development in distinct subcellular compartments, and support the hypothesis that the refinement of axo-dendritic synapses is regulated by activity-dependent competition between neighboring neurons.
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spelling doaj-art-863f60dbe04849b7a10bb3bb81ff13822025-08-20T03:25:11ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0182e5631110.1371/journal.pone.0056311Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.Elena FrolaAnnarita PatriziThomas GoetzLucian MedrihanEnrica Maria PetriniAndrea BarberisPeer WulffWilliam WisdenMarco Sassoè-PognettoThe neurotransmitter GABA regulates many aspects of inhibitory synapse development. We tested the hypothesis that GABAA receptors (GABAARs) work together with the synaptic adhesion molecule neuroligin 2 (NL2) to regulate synapse formation in different subcellular compartments. We investigated mice ("γ2 knockdown mice") with an engineered allele of the GABAAR γ2 subunit gene which produced a mosaic expression of synaptic GABAARs in neighboring neurons, causing a strong imbalance in synaptic inhibition. Deletion of the γ2 subunit did not abolish synapse formation or the targeting of NL2 to distinct types of perisomatic and axo-dendritic contacts. Thus synaptic localization of NL2 does not require synaptic GABAARs. However, loss of the γ2 subunit caused a selective decrease in the number of axo-dendritic synapses on cerebellar Purkinje cells and cortical pyramidal neurons, whereas perisomatic synapses were not significantly affected. Notably, γ2-positive cells had increased axo-dendritic innervation compared with both γ2-negative and wild-type counterparts. Moreover heterologous synapses on spines, that are found after total deletion of GABAARs from all Purkinje cells, were rare in cerebella of γ2 knockdown mice. These findings reveal a selective role of γ2 subunit-containing GABAARs in regulating synapse development in distinct subcellular compartments, and support the hypothesis that the refinement of axo-dendritic synapses is regulated by activity-dependent competition between neighboring neurons.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0056311&type=printable
spellingShingle Elena Frola
Annarita Patrizi
Thomas Goetz
Lucian Medrihan
Enrica Maria Petrini
Andrea Barberis
Peer Wulff
William Wisden
Marco Sassoè-Pognetto
Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.
PLoS ONE
title Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.
title_full Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.
title_fullStr Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.
title_full_unstemmed Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.
title_short Synaptic competition sculpts the development of GABAergic axo-dendritic but not perisomatic synapses.
title_sort synaptic competition sculpts the development of gabaergic axo dendritic but not perisomatic synapses
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0056311&type=printable
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