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Calcitonin gene-related peptide potentiates synaptic responses at developing neuromuscular junction

Nature volume 363, pages 76–79 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

PROTEIN phosphorylation is important in synaptic transmission and plasticity1. At the neuromuscular junction, phosphorylation of acetylcholine (ACh) receptor-channels increases the rate of agonist-induced channel desensitization2. In contrast, potentiation of ACh channel activity through protein phosphorylation has not been described. We report here that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide present at presynaptic motor nerve terminals3,4, enhances the postsynaptic response at developing neuromuscular junctions by increasing the burst duration of embryonic ACh channels. The effect of CGRP on these ACh channels is mimicked by dibutyryl-cyclic AMP and by cAMP-dependerit protein kinase (PKA) and prevented by a specific peptide inhibitor of PKA. Moreover, postsynaptic inhibition of PKA reduced the amplitude and decay time of spontaneous synaptic currents, suggesting that endogenous CGRP may act as a potentiating factor during the early phase of synaptogenesis.

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Author notes

  1. Wen-mei Fu

    Present address: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Rockefeller University, New York, New York, 10021, USA

    Bai Lu & Paul Greengard

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10021, USA

    Wen-mei Fu & Mu-ming Poo

Authors
  1. Bai Lu
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  2. Wen-mei Fu
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  3. Paul Greengard
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  4. Mu-ming Poo
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Lu, B., Fu, Wm., Greengard, P. et al. Calcitonin gene-related peptide potentiates synaptic responses at developing neuromuscular junction. Nature 363, 76–79 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/363076a0

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