Cited by 844Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchGenetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersTreatment of Major Depression

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 157 of the 158 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 119 of the 194 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The AMPA Receptor Code of Synaptic Plasticity

Open access

Abstract

Changes in the properties and post-synaptic abundance of AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) are major mechanisms underlying various forms of synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD), and homeostatic scaling. The function and the trafficking of AMPARs to and from synapses is modulated by specific AMPAR GluA1-4 subunits, subunit specific protein interactors, auxiliary subunits, and post-translational modifications. Layers of regulation are added to AMPAR tetramers through these different interactions and modifications, increasing the computational power of synapses. Here we review the reliance of synaptic plasticity on AMPAR variants and propose “the AMPAR code” as a conceptual framework. The AMPAR code suggests that AMPAR variants will be predictive of the types and extent of synaptic plasticity which can occur and that a hierarchy exists such that certain AMPARs will be disproportionally recruited to synapses during LTP/homeostatic scaling-up, or removed during LTD/homeostatic scaling-down.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review proposes an “AMPAR code” in which AMPA receptor subunit composition, auxiliary subunits, protein interactions, and post-translational modifications determine the type and extent of synaptic plasticity. It synthesizes evidence that LTP, LTD, and homeostatic scaling preferentially recruit or remove distinct AMPAR variants, with GluA1/GluA2 C-tails and phosphorylation sites playing central roles.

Key findings

  • The AMPAR code is framed as combinatorial: GluA1 alone has 11 known PTMs (7 phosphorylations, 2 palmitoylations, 1 S-nitrosylation, 1 ubiquitination), allowing 2^11 = 2,048 possible modified variants, with further complexity from heteromeric AMPARs and auxiliary subunits.
  • LTP: the GluA1 C-tail is necessary and sufficient for hippocampal LTP in C-tail exchange mice; GluA1 S831 and S845 phosphorylation are associated with LTP, with single S831A or S845A knock-ins not impairing Schaffer collateral-CA1 LTP but the double S831A/S845A mutant impairing LTP and eliminating LTD. CP-AMPAR involvement in hippocampal LTP may be restricted to a narrow developmental window (blocked by IEM1460 in slices from 11–14-day-old mice but not 17–21-day-old mice).
  • LTD: the GluA2 C-tail is necessary and sufficient for hippocampal NMDAR-dependent LTD; GluA2 S880 phosphorylation is required for cerebellar LTD; GluA1 S845 dephosphorylation is critical for hippocampal LTD, and peri-synaptic CP-AMPARs are transiently recruited during LTD induction in a PKA-dependent manner.
  • Homeostatic scaling: scaling-up requires GluA1 S845 phosphorylation and is blocked in GluA1 S845A neurons, while scaling-down involves dephosphorylation of GluA1 S831/S845 and GluA2 S880/Y876 and AMPAR ubiquitination; phosphorylated GluA1 is resistant to scaling-down. In mouse cortex, ~80% of dendritic spines shrink during sleep in a multiplicative manner, while the remaining 20% appear to escape scaling-down.

Methods

  • Narrative review; no primary experimental data are reported. The paper synthesizes published literature on AMPAR subunits, auxiliary subunits, PTMs, trafficking, and synaptic plasticity.
  • Main analysis is conceptual: it proposes the AMPAR code and a hierarchy of preferential AMPAR recruitment/removal during LTP, LTD, and homeostatic scaling, drawing on cited knock-in, knockout, molecular replacement, electrophysiology, biochemical, proteomic, and behavioral studies.

Limitations

  • Stated: AMPAR subunit combinations have not been systematically analyzed throughout the brain, and earlier long-tail vs. short-tail conclusions may be oversimplified because some studies relied on overexpression of GluA1 or GluA2 in young organotypic hippocampal slices, producing biased homomeric receptors.
  • Stated: the role of CP-AMPARs in LTP remains controversial and may depend on a narrow developmental window and time of day; several PTM roles remain undetermined, including whether certain GluA1 PTMs play a role in LTP, the role of AMPAR ubiquitination in LTD, and whether GluA2 ubiquitination and phosphorylation interact during scaling-down.
  • Evident: as a review and conceptual framework, the AMPAR code is proposed rather than directly tested; the predicted hierarchy of AMPAR variant recruitment/removal awaits systematic experimental validation.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.018

Cites

157 of 157 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

119 of 194 cited sources checked · 54 supported · 1 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 64 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 81
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 2
82 of 82
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    AMPAR subunit combinations in brain regions outside hippocampal CA1 are largely similar to those in hippocampal CA1.

    “Based on this study it has been assumed that the subunit combinations in the rest of the brain are largely similar”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The majority of AMPARs in the brain are heteromers.

    “Since the majority of AMPARs in the brain are heteromers”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The majority of research is done during the light phase, when CP-AMPARs are less prevalent.

    “As the majority of research is done during the light phase, when CP-AMPARs are less prevalent”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    CP-AMPARs are mostly GluA1 homomers.

    “CP-AMPARs, the majority of which are likely to be GluA1 homomers”
4 of 4

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Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Diering, G. H., & Huganir, R. L.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Huganir, Richard L.
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-10
Volume
100
Issue
2
Pages
314-329
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2898344414
Cited by
844
References
158
Citations by year
2026: 90 · 2025: 114 · 2024: 128 · 2023: 111 · 2022: 118 · 2021: 161 · 2020: 84 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 3
FWCI
28.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (submittedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (P50MH100024)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS-036715)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
AMPA receptors, synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation, long-term depression, auxiliary subunits, post-translational modification, postsynaptic receptors
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Humans, Neuronal Plasticity, Synapses, Receptors, AMPA

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