Synapse-to-Nucleus Communication through NFAT Is Mediated by L-type Ca²⁺ Channel Ca²⁺ Spike Propagation to the Soma.

ABSTRACT: Long-term information storage in the brain requires continual modification of the neuronal transcriptome. Synaptic inputs located hundreds of micrometers from the nucleus can regulate gene transcription, requiring high-fidelity, long-range signaling from synapses in dendrites to the nucleus in the cell soma. Here, we describe a synapse-to-nucleus signaling mechanism for the activity-dependent transcription factor NFAT. NMDA receptors activated on distal dendrites were found to initiate L-type Ca²⁺ channel (LTCC) spikes that quickly propagated the length of the dendrite to the soma. Surprisingly, LTCC propagation did not require voltage-gated Na⁺ channels or back-propagating action potentials. NFAT nuclear recruitment and transcriptional activation only occurred when L

SUBMITTER: Wild AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6521872 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature