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, Rachel O.L. Wong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number2167
JournalNature communications
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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