Topic: presynaptic plasticity

Presynaptic forms of plasticity occur throughout the nervous system and play an important role in learning and memory but the underlying molecular mechanisms are insufficiently understood. Here we show that the small GTPase Rab3 is a key mediator of cyclic AMP (cAMP)-induced presynaptic plasticity in Drosophila. Pharmacological and optogenetic cAMP production triggered concentration-dependent alterations of synaptic transmission, including potentiation and depression of evoked neurotransmitter release, as well as strongly facilitated spontaneous release. These changes correlated with a nanosco

The full-length amyloid precursor protein (APP), a key player in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is ubiquitously expressed throughout the brain. It is known to be abundantly expressed in presynaptic compartments where it interacts with proteins of the presynaptic release machinery. However, the physiological functions of APP in the CNS still remain to be investigated. Here we study the physiological role of APP in presynaptic plasticity and information transfer within the hippocampus. We deleted APP and the related protein APLP2 in dentate gyrus granular cells (GCs) using a viral gene transfer strat