A three-step model for the synaptic recruitment of AMPA receptors
Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 2011-01-01; 46(1): 1-8
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2010.08.014
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Opazo P(1), Choquet D.
Author information:
(1)Physiologie Cellulaire de la Synapse, Université Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
The amount of AMPARs at synapses is not a fixed number but varies according to
different factors including synaptic development, activity and disease. Because
the number of AMPARs sets the strength of synaptic transmission, their
trafficking is subject to fine and tight regulation. In this review, we will
describe the different steps taken by AMPARs in order to reach the synapse. We
propose a three-step mechanism involving exocytosis at extra/perisynaptic sites,
lateral diffusion to synapses and a subsequent rate-limiting diffusional trapping
step. We will describe how the different trafficking steps are regulated during
synaptic plasticity or altered during neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s.