TY - JOUR

T1 - AMPA receptor pHluorin-GluA2 reports NMDA receptor-induced intracellular acidification in hippocampal neurons

AU - Rathje, Mette

AU - Fang, Huaqiang

AU - Bachman, Julia L

AU - Anggono, Victor

AU - Gether, Ulrik

AU - Huganir, Richard L

AU - Madsen, Kenneth L

PY - 2013/8/27

Y1 - 2013/8/27

N2 - NMDA receptor activation promotes endocytosis of AMPA receptors, which is an important mechanism underlying long-term synaptic depression. The pH-sensitive GFP variant pHluorin fused to the N terminus of GluA2 (pH-GluA2) has been used to assay NMDA-mediated AMPA receptor endocytosis and recycling. Here, we demonstrate that in somatic and dendritic regions of hippocampal neurons a large fraction of the fluorescent signal originates from intracellular pH-GluA2, and that the decline in fluorescence in response to NMDA and AMPA primarily describes an intracellular acidification, which quenches the pHluorin signal from intracellular receptor pools. Neurons expressing an endoplasmic reticulum-retained mutant of GluA2 (pH-GluA2 ΔC49) displayed a larger response to NMDA than neurons expressing wild-type pH-GluA2. A similar NMDA-elicited decline in pHluorin signal was observed by expressing cytosolic pHluorin alone without fusion to GluA2 (cyto-pHluorin). Intracellular acidification in response to NMDA was further confirmed by using the ratiometric pH indicator carboxy-SNARF-1. The NMDA-induced decline was followed by rapid recovery of the fluorescent signal from both cyto-pHluorin and pH-GluA2. The recovery was sodium-dependent and sensitive to Na(+)/H(+)-exchanger (NHE) inhibitors. Moreover, recovery was more rapid after shRNA-mediated knockdown of the GluA2 binding PDZ domain-containing protein interacting with C kinase 1 (PICK1). Interestingly, the accelerating effect of PICK1 knockdown on the fluorescence recovery was eliminated in the presence of the NHE1 inhibitor zoniporide. Our results indicate that the pH-GluA2 recycling assay is an unreliable assay for studying AMPA receptor trafficking and also suggest a role for PICK1 in regulating intracellular pH via modulation of NHE activity.

AB - NMDA receptor activation promotes endocytosis of AMPA receptors, which is an important mechanism underlying long-term synaptic depression. The pH-sensitive GFP variant pHluorin fused to the N terminus of GluA2 (pH-GluA2) has been used to assay NMDA-mediated AMPA receptor endocytosis and recycling. Here, we demonstrate that in somatic and dendritic regions of hippocampal neurons a large fraction of the fluorescent signal originates from intracellular pH-GluA2, and that the decline in fluorescence in response to NMDA and AMPA primarily describes an intracellular acidification, which quenches the pHluorin signal from intracellular receptor pools. Neurons expressing an endoplasmic reticulum-retained mutant of GluA2 (pH-GluA2 ΔC49) displayed a larger response to NMDA than neurons expressing wild-type pH-GluA2. A similar NMDA-elicited decline in pHluorin signal was observed by expressing cytosolic pHluorin alone without fusion to GluA2 (cyto-pHluorin). Intracellular acidification in response to NMDA was further confirmed by using the ratiometric pH indicator carboxy-SNARF-1. The NMDA-induced decline was followed by rapid recovery of the fluorescent signal from both cyto-pHluorin and pH-GluA2. The recovery was sodium-dependent and sensitive to Na(+)/H(+)-exchanger (NHE) inhibitors. Moreover, recovery was more rapid after shRNA-mediated knockdown of the GluA2 binding PDZ domain-containing protein interacting with C kinase 1 (PICK1). Interestingly, the accelerating effect of PICK1 knockdown on the fluorescence recovery was eliminated in the presence of the NHE1 inhibitor zoniporide. Our results indicate that the pH-GluA2 recycling assay is an unreliable assay for studying AMPA receptor trafficking and also suggest a role for PICK1 in regulating intracellular pH via modulation of NHE activity.

KW - Acidosis

KW - Animals

KW - Cells, Cultured

KW - Green Fluorescent Proteins

KW - Hippocampus

KW - N-Methylaspartate

KW - Neurons

KW - Rats

KW - Rats, Wistar

KW - Receptors, AMPA

KW - Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate

KW - Thrombin

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1312982110

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1312982110

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 23940334

VL - 110

SP - 14426

EP - 14431

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

SN - 0027-8424

IS - 35

ER -