Autocrine signaling by an <i>Aplysia</i> neurotrophin forms a presynaptic positive feedback loop.

ABSTRACT: Whereas short-term plasticity is often initiated on one side of the synapse, long-term plasticity involves coordinated changes on both sides, implying extracellular signaling. We have investigated the possible signaling role of an Aplysia neurotrophin (ApNT) in facilitation induced by serotonin (5HT) at sensory-to-motor neuron synapses in culture. ApNT is an ortholog of mammalian BDNF, which has been reported to act as either an anterograde, retrograde, or autocrine signal, so that its pre- and postsynaptic sources and targets remain unclear. We now report that ApNT acts as a presynaptic autocrine signal that forms part of a positive feedback loop with ApTrk and PKA. That loop stimulates spontaneous transmitter release, which recruits postsynaptic mechanisms, and presynaptic protein

SUBMITTER: Jin I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6255211 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature