The Rett Syndrome Protein MeCP2 Regulates Synaptic Scaling

Synaptic scaling is a form of homeostatic synaptic plasticity characterized by cell-wide changes in synaptic strength in response to changes in overall levels of neuronal activity. Here we report that bicuculline-induced increase in neuronal activity leads to a decrease in mEPSC amplitude and a decrease in expression of the AMPA receptor subunit GluR2 in rat hippocampal cultures. Bicuculline treatment also leads to an increase in the levels of the transcriptional repressor MeCP2, which binds to the GluR2 promoter along with the corepressors HDAC1 and mSin3A. Downregulation of MeCP2 by shRNA expression or genetic deletion blocks the bicuculline-induced decrease in GluR2 expression and mEPSC amplitude. These observations indicate that MeCP2 mediates activity-dependent synaptic scaling, and suggest that the pathophysiology of Rett syndrome, which is caused by mutations in MeCP2, may involve defects in activity-dependent regulation of synaptic currents.