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Published on: September 20, 2024
Synapse- and stimulus-specific local translation during long-term neuronal plasticity
Dan Ohtan Wang1, Sang Mok Kim, Yali Zhao
1Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), BSRB 390B, 615 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1737, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|May 16, 2009
Summary
Local translation at synapses is crucial for long-term memory and synaptic plasticity. This study shows that regulated local translation occurs specifically at stimulated synapses during long-term facilitation in Aplysia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Long-term memory and synaptic plasticity depend on gene expression changes.
- These changes can be specific to individual synapses, suggesting localized molecular mechanisms.
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) localization and translation at synapses are key to this synapse specificity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To directly visualize and characterize local translation at synapses during long-term plasticity.
- To investigate the conditions and requirements for synapse-specific translation.
- To understand the role of local translation in establishing synapse specificity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized live-cell microscopy with photoconvertible fluorescent protein translational reporters.
- Studied sensory-motor synapses in Aplysia.
- Monitored reporter translation during long-term facilitation and long-term depression.
Main Results:
- Local translation was directly visualized at synapses during long-term facilitation.
- Reporter translation required multiple serotonin applications and was restricted to stimulated synapses.
- Translation was transcript- and stimulus-specific, occurring during facilitation but not depression.
- Local translation required a chemical synapse and postsynaptic calcium signaling.
Conclusions:
- Highly regulated local translation occurs at synapses during long-term plasticity.
- This process is synapse-specific and dependent on trans-synaptic signals.
- Local translation is a critical mechanism for establishing synapse specificity in long-term memory formation.
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