ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2012
Glutamatergic synapse formation is promoted by α7-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
90 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 138 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prenatal Primary Prevention of Mental Illness by Micronutrient Supplements in Pregnancy.The American journal of psychiatry · 2018Pooled it
- Transcriptional and functional profiles of muscarinic receptor-expressing neurons in primate lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Cholinergic modulation of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell excitability in ArxExperimental neurology · 2026Article
- Greater Increase in Hippocampal Activity During the Early Postnatal Period After Preterm Birth Is Associated With Better Cognitive and Motor Outcomes at 18 Months.Developmental neurobiology · 2026Article
- Impacts of perinatal nicotine exposure on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression and glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the mouse auditory brainstem.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Targeting high-affinity nicotinic receptors protects against the functional consequences of β-amyloid in mouse hippocampus.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- Dampened α7 nAChR activity contributes to audiogenic seizures and hyperactivity in a mouse model of Fragile X Syndrome.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Intrinsic Infant Hippocampal Function Supports Inhibitory Processing.Developmental psychobiology · 2024Article
- Enhancing cognitive function in chronic TBI: The Role of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor modulation.Experimental neurology · 2024Article
- Nicotine: From Discovery to Biological Effects.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- The human acetylcholinesterase C-terminal T30 peptide activates neuronal growth through alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the mTOR pathway.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Review
- p85S6K sustains synaptic GluA1 to ameliorate cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease.Translational neurodegeneration · 2023Article
- Targeted gene delivery to the brain using CDX-modified chitosan nanoparticles.BioImpacts : BI · 2023Article
- Interactions between the Nicotinic and Endocannabinoid Receptors at the Plasma Membrane.Membranes · 2022Review
- Axonal α7* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors modulate glutamatergic signaling and synaptic vesicle organization in ventral hippocampal projections.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2022Article
- Acute effects of the imidacloprid metabolite desnitro-imidacloprid on human nACh receptors relevant for neuronal signaling.Archives of toxicology · 2021Article
- Nanoscale Sub-Compartmentalization of the Dendritic Spine Compartment.Biomolecules · 2021Review
- Cannabinoid receptor GPR55 activation blocks nicotine use disorder by regulation of AMPAR phosphorylation.Psychopharmacology · 2021Article
- Unbalanced Regulation of α7 nAChRs by Ly6h and NACHO Contributes to Neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's Disease.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2021Article
30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Glutamate is the primary excitatory transmitter in adult brain, acting through synapses on dendritic spines and shafts. Early in development, however, when glutamatergic synapses are only beginning to form, nicotinic cholinergic excitation is already widespread; it is mediated by acetylcholine activating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) that generate waves of activity across brain regions. A major class of nAChRs contributing at this time is a species containing α7 subunits (α7-nAChRs). These receptors are highly permeable to calcium, influence a variety of calcium-dependent events, and are diversely distributed throughout the developing CNS. Here we show that α7-nAChRs unexpectedly promote formation of glutamatergic synapses during development. The dependence on α7-nAChRs becomes clear when comparing wild-type (WT) mice with mice constitutively lacking the α7-nAChR gene. Ultrastructural analysis, immunostaining, and patch-clamp recording all reveal synaptic deficits when α7-nAChR input is absent. Similarly, nicotinic activation of α7-nAChRs in WT organotypic culture, as well as cell culture, increases the number of glutamatergic synapses. RNA interference demonstrates that the α7-nAChRs must be expressed in the neuron being innervated for normal innervation to occur. Moreover, the deficits persist throughout the developmental period of major de novo synapse formation and are still fully apparent in the adult. GABAergic synapses, in contrast, are undiminished in number under such conditions. As a result, mice lacking α7-nAChRs have an altered balance in the excitatory/inhibitory input they receive. This ratio represents a fundamental feature of neural networks and shows for the first time that endogenous nicotinic cholinergic signaling plays a key role in network construction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.