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XB-ART-35287
J Cell Biol 2006 Dec 18;1756:1029-42. doi: 10.1083/jcb.200603061.
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Neurotrophin 3 induces structural and functional modification of synapses through distinct molecular mechanisms.

Je HS , Yang F , Zhou J , Lu B .


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The mechanisms by which neurotrophins elicit long-term structural and functional changes of synapses are not known. We report the mechanistic separation of functional and structural synaptic regulation by neurotrophin 3 (NT-3), using the neuromuscular synapse as a model. Inhibition of cAMP response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB)-mediated transcription blocks the enhancement of transmitter release elicited by NT-3, without affecting the synaptic varicosity of the presynaptic terminals. Further analysis indicates that CREB is activated through Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase IV (CaMKIV) pathway, rather than the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) or cAMP pathway. In contrast, inhibition of MAPK prevents the NT-3-induced structural, but not functional, changes. Genetic and imaging experiments indicate that the small GTPase Rap1, but not Ras, acts upstream of MAPK activation by NT-3. Thus, NT-3 initiates parallel structural and functional modifications of synapses through the Rap1-MAPK and CaMKIV-CREB pathways, respectively. These findings may have implications in the general mechanisms of long-term synaptic modulation by neurotrophins.

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Species referenced: Xenopus laevis
Genes referenced: camp creb1 mapk1 ntf3 rap1a syp


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References [+] :
Ahn, A dominant-negative inhibitor of CREB reveals that it is a general mediator of stimulus-dependent transcription of c-fos. 1998, Pubmed