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Pruning and loss of excitatory synapses by the parkin ubiquitin ligase.
- Source :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; 12/9/2008, Vol. 105 Issue 49, p19492-19497, 6p, 2 Color Photographs, 2 Graphs
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Mutations in the PARK2 gene cause hereditary Parkinson disease (PD). The PARK2 gene product, termed parkin, is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates the transfer of ubiquitin onto diverse substrate proteins. Despite progress in defining the molecular properties and substrates of parkin, little is known about its physiological function. Here, we show that parkin regulates the function and stability of excitatory glutamatergic synapses. Postsynaptic expression of parkin dampens excitatory synaptic transmission and causes a marked loss of excitatory synapses onto hippocampal neurons. Conversely, knockdown of endogenous parkin or expression of PD-linked parkin mutants profoundly enhances synaptic efficacy and triggers a proliferation of glutamatergic synapses. This proliferation is associated with increased vulnerability to synaptic excitotoxicity. Thus, parkin negatively regulates the number and strength of excitatory synapses. Increased excitatory drive produced by disruption of parkin may contribute to the pathophysiology of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- PARKINSON'S disease & genetics
UBIQUITIN
LIGASES
SYNAPSES
NEURONS
HIPPOCAMPUS (Brain)
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00278424
- Volume :
- 105
- Issue :
- 49
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 35875731
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0802280105