Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 32, Issue 20, Pages 6747-6759Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5087-11.2012
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Funding
- NRSA [NS63534]
- NIH [EY12857, EY16392, EY06515, EY10608]
- Research to Prevent Blindness
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Many neurons are coupled by electrical synapses into networks that have emergent properties. In the retina, coupling in these networks is dynamically regulated by changes in background illumination, optimizing signal integration for the visual environment. However, the mechanisms that control this plasticity are poorly understood. We have investigated these mechanisms in the rabbit AII amacrine cell, a multifunctional retinal neuron that forms an electrically coupled network via connexin 36 (Cx36) gap junctions. We find that presynaptic activity of glutamatergic ON bipolar cells drives increased phosphorylation of Cx36, indicative of increased coupling in the AII network. The phosphorylation is dependent on activation of nonsynaptic NMDA receptors that colocalize with Cx36 on AII amacrine cells, and is mediated by CaMKII. This activity-dependent increase in Cx36 phosphorylation works in opposition to dopamine-driven reduction of phosphorylation, establishing a local dynamic regulatory mechanism, and accounting for the nonlinear control of AII coupling by background illumination.
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