Organization of the Core Structure of the Postsynaptic Density

Much is known about the composition and function of the postsynaptic density (PSD), but less is known about its molecular organization. We use EM tomography to delineate the organization of PSDs at glutamatergic synapses in rat hippocampal cultures. The core of the PSD is dominated by vertically ori...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2008-03, Vol.105 (11), p.4453-4458
Main Authors: Chen, Xiaobing, Winters, Christine, Azzam, Rita, Li, Xiang, Galbraith, James A., Leapman, Richard D., Reese, Thomas S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AMPA receptors
Animals
Antibodies
Biological Sciences
Brain
Cell Membrane - metabolism
Disks Large Homolog 4 Protein
Family members
Glutamate receptors
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - metabolism
Membrane Proteins - metabolism
Membranes
Microscopy, Immunoelectron
Models, Molecular
Molecules
N methyl D aspartate receptors
Neurons
Neurosciences
Postsynaptic density
Rats
Receptors, Glutamate - ultrastructure
Synapses
Synapses - metabolism
Synapses - ultrastructure
Tomography
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Summary:Much is known about the composition and function of the postsynaptic density (PSD), but less is known about its molecular organization. We use EM tomography to delineate the organization of PSDs at glutamatergic synapses in rat hippocampal cultures. The core of the PSD is dominated by vertically oriented filaments, and ImmunoGold labeling shows that PSD-95 is a component of these filaments. Vertical filaments contact two types of transmembrane structures whose sizes and positions match those of glutamate receptors and intermesh with two types of horizontally oriented filaments lying 10-20 nm from the postsynaptic membrane. The longer horizontal filaments link adjacent NMDAR-type structures, whereas the smaller filaments link both NMDA- and AMPAR-type structures. The orthogonal, interlinked scaffold of filaments at the core of the PSD provides a structural basis for understanding dynamic aspects of postsynaptic function.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0800897105