Editorial

Hook-up of GluA2, GRIP and liprin-α for cholinergic muscarinic receptor-dependent LTD in the hippocampus

Long-Jun Wu¹ , Yu-Tian Wang² and Min Zhuo^1,3

¹  Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada

²  Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada

³  Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-746, Korea

author email corresponding author email

Molecular Brain 2009, 2:17doi:10.1186/1756-6606-2-17

Published:	17 June 2009

Abstract

The molecular mechanism underlying muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-dependent LTD (mAChR-LTD) in the hippocampus is less studied. In a recent study, a novel mechanism is described. The induction of mAChR-LTD required the activation of protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP), and the expression was mediated by AMPA receptor endocytosis via interactions between GluA2, GRIP and liprin-α. The hook-up of these proteins may result in the recruitment of leukocyte common antigen-related receptor (LAR), a PTP that is known to be involved in AMPA receptor trafficking. Interestingly, the similar molecular interaction cannot be applied to mGluR-LTD, despite the fact that the same G-protein involved in LTD is activated by both mAChR and mGluR. This discovery provides key molecular insights for cholinergic dependent cognitive function, and mAChR-LTD can serve as a useful cellular model for studying the roles of cholinergic mechanism in learning and memory.