N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are critical to synaptogenesis, neural circuitry and higher cognitive functions such as learning and memory. A hallmark feature of NMDARs is an early postnatal developmental switch from primarily GluN2B- to GluN2A-containing. Although the switch in phenotype has been an area of intense interest for two decades, the mechanisms that trigger it, and the link between experience and the switch are unclear. Here we show a novel role for the transcriptional repressor REST in the developmental switch of synaptic NMDARs. REST is activated at a critical window of time and acts via epigenetic remodeling to repress grin2b expression and properties at rat hippocampal synapses. Knockdown of REST in vivo prevented the decline in GluN2B and developmental switch in NMDARs. Notably, maternal deprivation impaired REST activation and acquisition of the mature NMDAR phenotype. Thus, REST is essential for experience-dependent fine-tuning of genes involved in synaptic plasticity.

Neurofibromatosis type 2 is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by tumors, predominantly schwannomas, in the nervous system. It is caused by mutations in the gene NF2, encoding the growth regulator schwannomin (also known as merlin). Mutations occur throughout the 17-exon gene, with most resulting in protein truncation and undetectable amounts of schwannomin protein. Pathogenic mutations that result in production of defective schwannomin include in-frame deletions of exon 2 and three independent missense mutations within this same exon. Mice with conditional deletion of exon 2 in Schwann cells develop schwannomas, which confirms the crucial nature of exon 2 for growth control. Here we report that the molecular adaptor paxillin binds directly to schwannomin at residues 50-70, which are encoded by exon 2. This interaction mediates the membrane localization of schwannomin to the plasma membrane, where it associates with beta 1 integrin and erbB2. It defines a pathogenic mechanism for the development of NF2 in humans with mutations in exon 2 of NF2.

Protein kinase C (PKC) enhances NMDA receptor (NMDAR) channel opening rate and promotes NMDAR delivery to the cell surface via SNARE-dependent exocytosis. Although the mechanisms of PKC potentiation are established, the molecular target of PKC is unclear. Here we show that synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25), a SNARE protein, is functionally relevant to PKC-dependent NMDAR insertion and identify serine residue-187 as the molecular target of PKC phosphorylation. Constitutively active PKC delivered via the patch pipette potentiated NMDA (but not AMPA) whole-cell currents in hippocampal neurons. Expression of RNAi targeting SNAP-25 or mutant SNAP-25(S187A) and/or acute disruption of the SNARE complex by treatment with BoNT A, BoNT B or SNAP-25 C-terminal blocking peptide abolished NMDAR potentiation. A SNAP-25 peptide and function-blocking antibody suppressed PKC potentiation of NMDA EPSCs at mossy fiber-CA3 synapses. These findings identify SNAP-25 as the target of PKC phosphorylation critical to PKC-dependent incorporation of synaptic NMDARs and document a postsynaptic action of this major SNARE protein relevant to synaptic plasticity.

The transmembrane ephrinB ligands and their Eph receptor tyrosine kinases are known to regulate excitatory synaptic functions in the hippocampus. In the CA3-CA1 synapse, ephrinB ligands are localized to the post-synaptic membrane, while their cognate Eph receptors are presumed to be pre-synaptic. Interaction of ephrinB molecules with Eph receptors leads to changes in long-term potentiation (LTP), which has been reported to be mediated by reverse signaling into the post-synaptic membrane. Here, we demonstrate that the cytoplasmic domain of ephrinB3 and hence reverse signaling is not required for ephrinB dependent learning and memory tasks or for LTP of these synapses. Consistent with previous reports, we find that ephrinB3(KO) null mutant mice exhibit a striking reduction in CA3-CA1 LTP that is associated with defective learning and memory tasks. We find the null mutants also show changes in both pre- and post-synaptic proteins including increased levels of synapsin and synaptobrevin and reduced levels of NMDA receptor subunits. These abnormalities are not observed in ephrinB3(lacZ) reverse signaling mutants that specifically delete the ephrinB3 intracellular region, supporting a cytoplasmic domain-independent forward signaling role for ephrinB3 in these processes. We also find that both ephrinB3(KO) and ephrinB3(lacZ) mice show an increased number of excitatory synapses, demonstrating a cytoplasmic-dependent reverse signaling role of ephrinB3 in regulating synapse number. Together, these data suggest that ephrinB3 may act like a receptor to transduce reverse signals to regulate the number of synapses formed in the hippocampus, and that it likely acts to stimulate forward signaling to modulate a number of other proteins involved in synaptic activity and learning/memory.

NMDARs (N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors) are critical for synaptic function throughout the CNS (central nervous system). NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ influx is implicated in neuronal differentiation, neuronal migration, synaptogenesis, structural remodelling, long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity and higher cognitive functions. NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ signalling in dendritic spines is not static, but can be remodelled in a cell- and synapse-specific manner by NMDAR subunit composition, protein kinases and neuronal activity during development and in response to sensory experience. Recent evidence indicates that Ca2+ permeability of neuronal NMDARs, NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ signalling in spines and induction of NMDAR-dependent LTP (long-term potentiation) at hippocampal Schaffer collateral–CA1 synapses are under control of the cAMP/PKA (protein kinase A) signalling cascade. Thus, by enhancing Ca2+ influx through NMDARs in spines, PKA can regulate the induction of LTP. An emerging concept is that activity-dependent regulation of NMDAR-mediated Ca2+ signalling by PKA and by extracellular signals that modulate cAMP or protein phosphatases at synaptic sites provides a dynamic and potentially powerful mechanism for bi-directional regulation of synaptic efficacy and remodelling.