Cited by 302Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchCellular transport and secretionLipid Membrane Structure and Behavior

Lateral diffusion drives constitutive exchange of AMPA receptors at dendritic spines and is regulated by spine morphology

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Ashby, Michael C., Maier, Susie R., Nishimune, Atsushi, Henley, Jeremy M.·2006·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

Synapse specificity is a basic feature of synaptic plasticity, but it remains unclear how synapse-specific signaling is achieved if postsynaptic membrane proteins can diffuse laterally between synapses. We monitored movements of AMPA receptors (AMPARs) on the surface of mature neurons to investigate the role of lateral diffusion in constitutive AMPAR trafficking and to assess the influence of membrane architecture on the surface distribution of synaptic proteins. Our data show that lateral diffusion is responsible for the continual exchange of a substantial pool of AMPARs at the spine surface. Furthermore, we found that a general characteristic of membrane proteins is that their movement into and out of spines is slow compared with that in nonspiny membrane. This shows that lateral diffusion is dependent on spine morphology and is restricted at the spine neck. These results demonstrate the importance of lateral diffusion in trafficking of AMPAR protein population and provide new insight into how spine structure can maintain synapse specificity by compartmentalizing lateral diffusion and therefore increasing the residence time of membrane proteins near individual synapses.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.1235-06.2006

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  • Receptor turnover in spines is slower compared to non-spinal plasma membrane, and recovery in the spine neck and base is particularly slow.

    “Studying the FRAP dynamics of a fusion of SEP with the AMPA receptor subunit GluA2 (SEP-GluA2) revealed that receptor turnover in spines is slower compared to non-spinal plasma membrane and that recovery in the spine neck and base is particularly slow (Ashby et al., 2006).”

    From Barriers in the brain: resolving dendritic spine morphology and compartmentalization (2014) · cites this paper as Ashby et al., 2006

    In “Lateral diffusion is compartmentalized at spines” and “Diffusion of AMPARs in and out of spines is limited by the neck” (pages unavailable), the paper reports slower AMPA-receptor exchange in spine heads than in nonspiny membrane and slower diffusion in the neck. It does not support particularly slow recovery at the neck base: the latter section reports that the base and dendritic shaft had indistinguishable fluorescence-loss rates, indicating relatively rapid equilibration outside the spine. The regional neck/base comparison used FLIP, not FRAP recovery. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Fluorescently-tagged plasma membrane probes in spines showed a faster recovery rate in stubby than in mushroom-shaped spines.

    “Furthermore, fluorescently-tagged plasma membrane probes in spines of different morphologies showed a faster recovery rate in stubby than in mushroom-shaped spines (Richards et al., 2004; Ashby et al., 2006), indicating that mushroom-shaped spines form a membrane compartment in which diffusion is slowed.”
  • Mushroom-shaped spines form a membrane compartment in which diffusion is slowed.

    “indicating that mushroom-shaped spines form a membrane compartment in which diffusion is slowed.”
  • Mushroom shaped spines retain AMPA receptors in the vicinity of the synapse for an increased period of time.

    “Mushroom shaped spines were found to retain AMPA receptors in the vicinity of the synapse for an increased period of time (Ashby et al., 2006; Ehlers et al., 2007; Opazo and Choquet, 2011, see Figure 3A).”
  • Two-dimensional diffusion of membrane markers and AMPA-type glutamate receptors is sensitive to the morphology of the dendritic spine.

    “Several experiments have shown that two-dimensional diffusion of membrane markers and AMPA-type glutamate receptors is sensitive to the morphology of the dendritic spine (Ashby et al., 2006; Shim et al., 2012).”

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Authors
Ashby, M. C., Maier, S. R., Nishimune, A., & Henley, J. M.
Affiliations
University of Bristol (GB)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2006-06-28
Volume
26
Issue
26
Pages
7046-7055
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W1982726026
Cited by
302
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 20
FWCI
8.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust
  • European Commission
  • Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular transport and secretion
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior
Keywords
lateral diffusion, AMPA receptors, dendritic spines, dendritic spine morphology, receptor trafficking, synapse specificity, membrane protein diffusion, synaptic plasticity, postsynaptic membrane
MeSH terms
Animals, Biological Transport, Cell Membrane, Cells, Cultured, Diffusion, Neurons, Tissue Distribution, Receptors, AMPA, Protein Transport, Photobleaching, Dendritic Spines, Green Fluorescent Proteins, Rats

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