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The stress hormone corticosterone conditions AMPAR surface trafficking and synaptic potentiation

Nature Neuroscience volume 11, pages 868–870 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Corticosterone facilitates hippocampal glutamate transmission, but the cellular pathways by which AMPA receptor (AMPAR) signaling is adjusted remain elusive. Single quantum-dot imaging in live rat hippocampal neurons revealed that corticosterone triggers, via distinct corticosteroid receptors, time-dependent increases in GluR2-AMPAR surface mobility and synaptic surface GluR2 content. Furthermore, corticosterone potentiates the increase of synaptic surface GluR2 contents by a chemical long-term potentiation stimulus, revealing the influence that corticosterone has on AMPAR trafficking.

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Figure 1: Corticosterone (Cort) rapidly regulates GluR2-AMPAR surface trafficking and amplifies the GluR2-AMPAR synaptic content response to a chemical LTP stimulus via mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs).
Figure 2: Corticosterone (Cort) slowly increases by means of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) surface GluR2-AMPAR content and diffusion and prevents synaptic AMPAR potentiation through lateral diffusion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank F.A. Stephenson for providing antibodies to NR1 subunit, R.L. Huganir for providing antibodies to GluR1 subunit, C. Breillat, B. Teissier and D. Bouchet for technical assistance, and G. Marsicano and F. Georges for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Conseil Régional d'Aquitaine, Ministère de la Recherche, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, the Human Frontier Science Organization and Agence Nationale de la Recherche.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physiologie Cellulaire de la Synapse, UMR 5091 CNRS, Université Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, 33077, France

    Laurent Groc & Daniel Choquet

  2. Centre de Recherches INSERM U862, Equipe AVENIR Mécanismes Moléculaires de l'Adaptation, Université Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux, 33077, France

    Francis Chaouloff

Authors
  1. Laurent Groc
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  2. Daniel Choquet
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  3. Francis Chaouloff
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Contributions

L.G. and F.C. developed and supervised the project and conducted the experiments. L.G., D.C. and F.C. wrote the manuscript. L.G. conducted the data analyses.

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Correspondence to Laurent Groc.

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Supplementary Figures 1–3 and Supplementary Methods (PDF 1175 kb)

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Groc, L., Choquet, D. & Chaouloff, F. The stress hormone corticosterone conditions AMPAR surface trafficking and synaptic potentiation. Nat Neurosci 11, 868–870 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2150

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