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Science 4 November 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5749, pp. 858 - 863
DOI: 10.1126/science.1117541
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Reports

Retrograde Signaling by Syt 4 Induces Presynaptic Release and Synapse-Specific Growth

Motojiro Yoshihara,* Bill Adolfsen, Kathleen T. Galle, J. Troy Littleton

The molecular pathways involved in retrograde signal transduction at synapses and the function of retrograde communication are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that postsynaptic calcium 2+ ion (Ca2+) influx through glutamate receptors and subsequent postsynaptic vesicle fusion trigger a robust induction of presynaptic miniature release after high-frequency stimulation at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions. An isoform of the synaptotagmin family, synaptotagmin 4 (Syt 4), serves as a postsynaptic Ca2+ sensor to release retrograde signals that stimulate enhanced presynaptic function through activation of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)–cAMP-dependent protein kinase pathway. Postsynaptic Ca2+ influx also stimulates local synaptic differentiation and growth through Syt 4–mediated retrograde signals in a synapse-specific manner.

Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Biology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: motojiro{at}mit.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Temperature-Dependent Developmental Plasticity of Drosophila Neurons: Cell-Autonomous Roles of Membrane Excitability, Ca2+ Influx, and cAMP Signaling.
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Characterization of the role of the Synaptotagmin family as calcium sensors in facilitation and asynchronous neurotransmitter release.
S. Saraswati, B. Adolfsen, and J. T. Littleton (2007)
PNAS 104, 14122-14127
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Non-NMDA-Type Glutamate Receptors Are Essential for Maturation But Not for Initial Assembly of Synapses at Drosophila Neuromuscular Junctions..
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)