Differential regulation of STP, LTP and LTD by structurally diverse NMDA receptor subunit-specific positive allosteric modulators

G. France, R. Volianskis, R. Ingram, N. Bannister, R. Rothärmel, M. W. Irvine, G. Fang, E. S. Burnell, K. Sapkota, B. M. Costa, D. A. Chopra, S. M. Dravid, A. T. Michael-Titus, D. T. Monaghan, J. Georgiou, Z. A. Bortolotto, D. E. Jane, G. L. Collingridge, A. Volianskis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Different types of memory are thought to rely on different types of synaptic plasticity, many of which depend on the activation of the N-Methyl-D Aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptors. Accordingly, there is considerable interest in the possibility of using positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) as cognitive enhancers. Here we firstly review the evidence that NMDA receptor-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity: short-term potentiation (STP), long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) can be pharmacologically differentiated by using NMDAR ligands. These observations suggest that PAMs of NMDAR function, depending on their subtype selectivity, might differentially regulate STP, LTP and LTD. To test this hypothesis, we secondly performed experiments in rodent hippocampal slices with UBP714 (a GluN2A/2B preferring PAM), CIQ (a GluN2C/D selective PAM) and UBP709 (a pan-PAM that potentiates all GluN2 subunits). We report here, for the first time, that: (i) UBP714 potentiates sub-maximal LTP and reduces LTD; (ii) CIQ potentiates STP without affecting LTP; (iii) UBP709 enhances LTD and decreases LTP. We conclude that PAMs can differentially regulate distinct forms of NMDAR-dependent synaptic plasticity due to their subtype selectivity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number108840
JournalNeuropharmacology
Volume202
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2022

Keywords

  • LTD
  • LTP
  • Long-term depression
  • Long-term potentiation
  • Memory
  • NMDA receptors
  • Positive allosteric modulator (PAM)
  • STP
  • Short-term potentiation
  • Synaptic plasticity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Differential regulation of STP, LTP and LTD by structurally diverse NMDA receptor subunit-specific positive allosteric modulators'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this