Dynamic assembly of ribbon synapses and circuit maintenance in a vertebrate sensory system

Haruhisa Okawa, Wan-Qing Yu, Ulf Matti, Karin Schwarz, Benjamin Odermatt, Haining Zhong, Yoshihiko Tsukamoto, Leon Lagnado, Fred Rieke, Frank Schmitz and Rachel O. L. Wong ()
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Haruhisa Okawa: University of Washington
Wan-Qing Yu: University of Washington
Ulf Matti: Saarland University
Karin Schwarz: Saarland University
Benjamin Odermatt: University of Bonn
Haining Zhong: Oregon Health and Science University
Yoshihiko Tsukamoto: Hyogo College of Medicine
Leon Lagnado: University of Sussex
Fred Rieke: University of Washington
Frank Schmitz: Saarland University
Rachel O. L. Wong: University of Washington

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Ribbon synapses transmit information in sensory systems, but their development is not well understood. To test the hypothesis that ribbon assembly stabilizes nascent synapses, we performed simultaneous time-lapse imaging of fluorescently-tagged ribbons in retinal cone bipolar cells (BCs) and postsynaptic densities (PSD95-FP) of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Ribbons and PSD95-FP clusters were more stable when these components colocalized at synapses. However, synapse density on ON-alpha RGCs was unchanged in mice lacking ribbons (ribeye knockout). Wildtype BCs make both ribbon-containing and ribbon-free synapses with these GCs even at maturity. Ribbon assembly and cone BC-RGC synapse maintenance are thus regulated independently. Despite the absence of synaptic ribbons, RGCs continued to respond robustly to light stimuli, although quantitative examination of the responses revealed reduced frequency and contrast sensitivity.

Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-019-10123-1

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10123-1

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