Journal
NEURAL PLASTICITY
Volume 2016, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
HINDAWI LTD
DOI: 10.1155/2016/4258171
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Funding
- FONDECYT [1120156]
- Basal Center of Excellence in Science and Technology [CONICYT-PFB12/2007]
- CONICYT (Fondecyt Postdoctorado) [3140355]
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Mastoparan-7 (Mas-7), an analogue of the peptide mastoparan, which is derived from wasp venom, is a direct activator of Pertussis toxin-(PTX-) sensitive G proteins. Mas-7 produces several biological effects in different cell types; however, little is known about howMas-7 influences mature hippocampal neurons. We examined the specific role of Mas-7 in the development of dendritic spines, the sites of excitatory synaptic contact that are crucial for synaptic plasticity. We report here that exposure of hippocampal neurons to a low dose of Mas-7 increases dendritic spine density and spine head width in a time-dependent manner. Additionally, Mas-7 enhances postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) clustering in neurites and activates G alpha(o) signaling, increasing the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. To define the role of signaling intermediates, we measured the levels of phosphorylated protein kinase C (PKC), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and calcium-calmodulin dependent protein kinase II alpha (CaMKII alpha) after Mas-7 treatment and determined that CaMKII activation is necessary for the Mas-7-dependent increase in dendritic spine density. Our results demonstrate a critical role for G alpha(o) subunit signaling in the regulation of synapse formation.
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