PSD-95 involvement in maturation of excitatory synapses

AED El-Husseini, E Schnell, DM Chetkovich, RA Nicoll… - Science, 2000 - science.org
AED El-Husseini, E Schnell, DM Chetkovich, RA Nicoll, DS Bredt
Science, 2000science.org
PSD-95 is a neuronal PDZ protein that associates with receptors and cytoskeletal elements
at synapses, but whose function is uncertain. We found that overexpression of PSD-95 in
hippocampal neurons can drive maturation of glutamatergic synapses. PSD-95 expression
enhanced postsynaptic clustering and activity of glutamate receptors. Postsynaptic
expression of PSD-95 also enhanced maturation of the presynaptic terminal. These effects
required synaptic clustering of PSD-95 but did not rely on its guanylate kinase domain. PSD …
PSD-95 is a neuronal PDZ protein that associates with receptors and cytoskeletal elements at synapses, but whose function is uncertain. We found that overexpression of PSD-95 in hippocampal neurons can drive maturation of glutamatergic synapses. PSD-95 expression enhanced postsynaptic clustering and activity of glutamate receptors. Postsynaptic expression of PSD-95 also enhanced maturation of the presynaptic terminal. These effects required synaptic clustering of PSD-95 but did not rely on its guanylate kinase domain. PSD-95 expression also increased the number and size of dendritic spines. These results demonstrate that PSD-95 can orchestrate synaptic development and are suggestive of roles for PSD-95 in synapse stabilization and plasticity.
AAAS