Neuregulins and neuronal plasticity: possible relevance in schizophrenia

Novartis Found Symp. 2008:289:165-77; discussion 177-9, 193-5. doi: 10.1002/9780470751251.ch13.

Abstract

Polymorphisms in the Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) and ErbB4 receptor genes have been associated with schizophrenia in numerous cohort and family studies, and biochemical measurements from postmortem prefrontal cortex homogenates suggest that NRG/ErbB signalling is altered in schizophrenia. Moreover, recent work from our group, and from others, indicates that NRG/ErbB signalling has a role in regulating glutamatergic transmission--an intriguing finding given that glutamatergic hypofunction has been proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis underlying schizophrenia. Here we will provide a brief background of the complexity of the NRG/ErbB signalling system. We will then focus on how NRG1 reverses (depotentiates) long-term potentiation (LTP) at hippocampal Schaeffer collateral--CA1 glutamatergic synapses in the adult brain. Specifically, we found that NRG1 depotentiates LTP in an activity- and time-dependent manner. A role of endogenous NRG for regulating plasticity at hippocampal synapses is supported by experiments demonstrating that ErbB receptor antagonists completely block LTP depotentiation by brief theta-pulse stimuli, a subthreshold stimulus paradigm that reverses LTP in live animals. Preliminary results indicate that NRG1-mediated LTP depotentiation is NMDA receptor independent, and manifests as an internalization of GluR1-containing AMPA receptors. The importance of the NRG/ ErbB signalling pathway in regulating homeostasis at glutamatergic synapses, and its possible implications for schizophrenia, will be discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Brain / physiopathology*
  • Genetic Variation
  • Humans
  • Long-Term Potentiation
  • Neuregulin-1 / physiology
  • Neuregulins / genetics
  • Neuregulins / physiology*
  • Neuronal Plasticity / physiology*
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / physiology
  • Schizophrenia / physiopathology*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Neuregulin-1
  • Neuregulins
  • Receptor, ErbB-2