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Eye opening induces a rapid dendritic localization of PSD-95 in central visual neurons
Akira Yoshii1, Morgan H Sheng, Martha Constantine-Paton
1Department of Biology, Center for Learning and Memory, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA.
Abstract:
The membrane-associated guanylate kinase PSD-95 scaffolds N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors to cytoplasmic signaling molecules, and associates with other glutamate receptors at central synapses. However, regulation of PSD-95 in vivo is poorly understood. We provide evidence of an activity-dependent redistribution of PSD-95 to dendrites in central visual neurons that is tied to eye opening. Six hours after eye opening, increased dendritic PSD-95 coimmunoprecipitates with the same proportions of stargazin, increased proportions of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunit NR2A, and decreased proportions of NR2B. Sustained high levels of PSD-95 in dendrites are dependent on continued pattern vision in juvenile but not mature animals, suggesting that the stabilization of PSD-95 at synapses may be involved in the control of developmental plasticity.