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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

A High-content Assay for Monitoring AMPA Receptor Trafficking
Published on: January 28, 2019
Arc/Arg3.1: linking gene expression to synaptic plasticity and memory
Anastassios V Tzingounis1, Roger A Nicoll
1Departments of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143, USA. tzingoun@cmpmail.ucsf.edu
Abstract:
Arc/Arg3.1 is an effector immediate-early gene implicated in the consolidation of memories. Although cloned a decade ago, the physiological role of Arc/Arg3.1 in the brain has remained elusive. Four papers in this issue of Neuron address this function. These studies show that Arc/Arg3.1 regulates endophilin 3 and dynamin 2, two components of the endocytosis machinery. Genetic ablation of Arc/Arg3.1 in mice or overexpression in culture suggest that Arc/Arg3.1 regulates AMPA receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity. Finally, Arc/Arg3.1 knockout mice show memory retention deficits. These recent developments provide new insights into the function of this popular activity-dependent neuronal marker.
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