- A critical role for VEGF and VEGFR2 in NMDA receptor synaptic function and fear-related behavior (2016)
- Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be required for the action of antidepressant therapies but its impact on brain synaptic function is poorly characterized. Using a combination of electrophysiological, single-molecule imaging and conditional transgenic approaches, we identified the molecular basis of the VEGF effect on synaptic transmission and plasticity. VEGF increases the postsynaptic responses mediated by the N-methyl-d-aspartate type of glutamate receptors (GluNRs) in hippocampal neurons. This is concurrent with the formation of new synapses and with the synaptic recruitment of GluNR expressing the GluN2B subunit (GluNR-2B). VEGF induces a rapid redistribution of GluNR-2B at synaptic sites by increasing the surface dynamics of these receptors within the membrane. Consistently, silencing the expression of the VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2) in neural cells impairs hippocampal-dependent synaptic plasticity and consolidation of emotional memory. These findings demonstrated the direct implication of VEGF signaling in neurons via VEGFR2 in proper synaptic function. They highlight the potential of VEGF as a key regulator of GluNR synaptic function and suggest a role for VEGF in new therapeutic approaches targeting GluNR in depression.
- Synaptic phospholipids as a new target for cortical hyperexcitability and E/I balance in psychiatric disorders (2018)
- Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a synaptic phospholipid, which regulates cortical excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance and controls sensory information processing in mice and man. Altered synaptic LPA signaling was shown to be associated with psychiatric disorders. Here, we show that the LPA-synthesizing enzyme autotaxin (ATX) is expressed in the astrocytic compartment of excitatory synapses and modulates glutamatergic transmission. In astrocytes, ATX is sorted toward fine astrocytic processes and transported to excitatory but not inhibitory synapses. This ATX sorting, as well as the enzymatic activity of astrocyte-derived ATX are dynamically regulated by neuronal activity via astrocytic glutamate receptors. Pharmacological and genetic ATX inhibition both rescued schizophrenia-related hyperexcitability syndromes caused by altered bioactive lipid signaling in two genetic mouse models for psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, ATX inhibition did not affect naive animals. However, as our data suggested that pharmacological ATX inhibition is a general method to reverse cortical excitability, we applied ATX inhibition in a ketamine model of schizophrenia and rescued thereby the electrophysiological and behavioral schizophrenia-like phenotype. Our data show that astrocytic ATX is a novel modulator of glutamatergic transmission and that targeting ATX might be a versatile strategy for a novel drug therapy to treat cortical hyperexcitability in psychiatric disorders.
