Changes in synaptic AMPA receptor concentration and composition in chronic temporal lobe epilepsy

Publication date: Available online 29 July 2018Source: Molecular and Cellular NeuroscienceAuthor(s): Daniel L. Egbenya, Suleman Hussain, Yi-Chen Lai, Jun Xia, Anne E. Anderson, Svend DavangerAbstractExcitotoxicity caused by excessive stimulation of glutamate receptors, resulting in pathologically increased Ca2+-concentrations, is a decisive factor in neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated long-term changes in synaptic contents of AMPA receptor subunits that play important roles in calcium regulation in chronic epilepsy. Such plastic changes may be either adaptive or detrimental. We used a kainic acid (KA)-based rat model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We found significant reductions in the concentration of the AMPA receptor subunits GluA1 and GluA2, and the NMDA receptor subunit NR2B. The relative size of GluA1 and GluA2 reductions were almost identical, at 28% and 27%, respectively. In order to determine whether the synaptic reduction of the AMPA receptor subunits actually reflected the pool of receptors present along the postsynaptic density (PSD), as opposed to cytoplasmic or extrasynaptic pools, we performed postembedding immunogold electron microscopy (EM) of GluA1 and GluA2 in Schaffer collateral synapses in the hippocampal CA1 area. We found significant reductions, at 32% and 52% of GluA1 and GluA2 subunits, respectively, along the PSD, indicating that these synapses undergo lasting changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission during chronic TLE. When comp...
Source: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research