| First Author | Tárnok K | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | J Neurochem | Volume | 104 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 818-29 |
| PubMed ID | 18005003 | Mgi Jnum | J:130648 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3772030 | Doi | 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2007.05051.x |
| Citation | Tarnok K, et al. (2008) NMDA receptor NR2B subunit over-expression increases cerebellar granule cell migratory activity. J Neurochem 104(3):818-29 |
| abstractText | Glutamate acting on NMDA receptors (NMDARs) is known to influence cerebellar granule cell migration. Subunit composition of NMDARs in granule cells changes characteristically during development: NR2B subunit containing receptors are abundant during migration towards the internal granule cell layer but are gradually replaced by NR2A and/or NR2C subunits once the final position is reached. Cerebellar granule cell migration was investigated using mutant mouse lines either with a deletion of the NR2C gene (NR2C(-/-) mice) or expressing NR2B instead of the NR2C subunit (NR2C-2B mice). BrdU-labeling revealed that over-expression of NR2B increased granule cell translocation in vivo, while the lack of NR2C subunit did not have any detectable effects on cell migration. Cellular composition of wild-type and mutant dissociated cerebellar granule cell cultures isolated from 10-day-old cerebella were similar, but NR2C-2B cultures had elevated level of NR2B subunits and intracellular Ca2+ imaging revealed higher sensitivity towards the addition of NR2B-selective antagonist in vitro. Time-lapse videomicroscopic observations revealed that average migratory velocity and the proportion of translocating cell bodies were significantly higher in NR2C-2B than in wild-type cultures. Our results provide evidence that NR2B-containing NMDARs can have specialized roles during granule cell migration and can increase migratory speed. |
