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Aβ induces astrocytic glutamate release, extrasynaptic NMDA receptor activation, and synaptic loss
Talantova M, Sanz-Blasco S, Zhang X, Xia P, Akhtar MW, Okamoto S, Dziewczapolski G, Nakamura T et al.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2013-06-17
Topic: Disease mechanisms in lab and animal studies
Synaptic loss is the cardinal feature linking neuropathology to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanism of synaptic damage remains incompletely understood. Here, using FRET-based glutamate sensor imaging, we show that amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) engages α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to induce release of astrocytic glutamate, which in turn activates extrasynaptic NMDA receptors (eNMDARs) on neurons. In hippocampal autapses, this eNMDAR activity is followed by reduction in evoked and miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs). Decreased mEPSC frequency may reflect early synaptic injury because of concurrent eNMDAR-mediated NO production, tau phosphorylation, and caspase-3 activation, each of which is implicated in spine loss. In hippocampal slices, oligomeric Aβ induces eNMDAR-mediated synaptic depression. In AD-transgenic mice compared with wild type, whole-cell recordings revealed excessive tonic eNMDAR activity accompanied by eNMDAR-sensitive loss of mEPSCs. Importantly, the improved NMDAR antagonist NitroMemantine, which selectively inhibits extrasynaptic over physiological synaptic NMDAR activity, protects synapses from Aβ-induced damage both in vitro and in vivo.
Key findings
- In AD-transgenic mice compared with wild type, whole-cell recordings revealed excessive tonic eNMDAR activity accompanied by eNMDAR-sensitive loss of mEPSCs.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23776240) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Talantova, M., Sanz-Blasco, S., Zhang, X., Xia, P., Akhtar, M. W., Okamoto, S., et al. (2013). Aβ induces astrocytic glutamate release, extrasynaptic NMDA receptor activation, and synaptic loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1306832110
Vancouver
Talantova M, Sanz-Blasco S, Zhang X, Xia P, Akhtar MW, Okamoto S, et al. Aβ induces astrocytic glutamate release, extrasynaptic NMDA receptor activation, and synaptic loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013. doi:10.1073/pnas.1306832110. PMID: 23776240.
BibTeX
@article{talantova2013-23776240,
author = {Talantova, M. and Sanz-Blasco, S. and Zhang, X. and Xia, P. and Akhtar, M. W. and Okamoto, S. and Dziewczapolski, G. and Nakamura, T. and others},
title = {{Aβ induces astrocytic glutamate release, extrasynaptic NMDA receptor activation, and synaptic loss}},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1306832110},
pmid = {23776240},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1306832110}
}