Drebrin A, one of the most abundant neuron-specific F-actin-binding proteins, is found exclusively in dendrites and is particularly concentrated in dendritic spines receiving excitatory inputs. We investigated the role of drebrin A in synaptic transmission and found that overexpression of drebrin A augmented the glutamatergic synaptic transmission, probably through an increase of active synapti...

Two syntaxin 1 (STX1) isoforms, HPC-1/STX1A and STX1B, are coexpressed in neurons and function as neuronal target membrane (t)-SNAREs. However, little is known about their functional differences in synaptic transmission. STX1A null mutant mice develop normally and do not show abnormalities in fast synaptic transmission, but monoaminergic transmissions are impaired. In the present study, we foun...

Glutamate behaves as the principal excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate central nervous system and recently demonstrates intercellular signaling activities in periphery cancer cells. How the glutamatergic transmission is organized and operated in cancer stem cells remains undefined. We have identified a glutamatergic transmission circuit in embryonal carcinoma stem cells. The circuit i...

Neural activity enhances adult neurogenesis, enabling experience to influence the construction of new circuits. GABAA receptor-mediated depolarization of newborn neurons in the adult and developing brain promotes glutamatergic synaptic integration since chronic reduction of GABA depolarization impairs morphological maturation and formation of glutamatergic synapses. Here we demonstrate an acute...

objective(s) the central nucleus of the amygdala (cea) is a forebrain structure which is important in regulation of ingestive behavior and there is direct and circumstantial evidence to indicate that some circuits involved with feeding behavior include glutamatergic elements. the present study examined whether administration of nma (n-methyl-dl-aspartic acid) or mk801 into the cea altered water...

Glutamatergic transmission in the vertebrate brain requires the involvement of glia cells, in a continuous molecular dialogue. Glial glutamate receptors and transporters are key molecules that sense synaptic activity and by these means modify their physiology in the short and long term. Posttranslational modifications that regulate protein-protein interactions and modulate transmitter removal a...