Abstract
Neuronal differentiation and development of synaptic specializations are strongly influenced by cellular interactions. We compared the effects of interaction with distinct autonomic targets on the molecular and biophysical differentiation of 'upstream' neuron–neuron synapses. Contact with cardiac tissue induced expression of nicotinic receptor channels (nAChRs) distinct from those induced by renal tissue in presynaptic autonomic neurons. The kinetics of cholinergic currents at interneuronal synapses are dictated by the peripheral target contacted. Analysis of the nAChR channel subtypes and subunits in individual neurons demonstrated that the profile of transmitter receptors expressed at mature neuron–neuron synapses develops from the convergent influences of input-derived (anterograde) and target-specific (retrograde) signals.
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Acknowledgements
We thank P. Flood for help in initial aspects of these studies, M. Kopal and A. Tang for technical assistance, J. Turner for editorial assistance and our colleagues S. Siegelbaum and A. MacDermott for comments on this work. We also thank N. Mendell for mathematical statistics consults and D. Talmage for detailed review of molecular methods and analyses. This work was supported by NS29071 to L.W.R. and P.D. and by NS35090 to D.S.M.
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Devay, P., McGehee, D., Yu, C. et al. Target-specific control of nicotinic receptor expression at developing interneuronal synapses in chick. Nat Neurosci 2, 528–534 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/9183
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/9183
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