Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: BDNF-TrkB signaling promotes synaptic GluN2A-NMDA receptor expression and network hyperexcitability in cultured hippocampal neurons and during status epilepticus
doi: 10.1101/2025.10.13.682007
Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Representative images of hippocampal neurons that were transfected with wild-type (WT) or phospho-mutant, kinase-deficient Pyk2 (Y402F) at DIV 12, and at DIV 15 were maintained under control conditions or stimulated with BDNF (50 ng/ml) for 10 min, live-immunostained for GluN2A (using an antibody against an extracellular epitope in the GluN2A N terminus), fixed and permeabilized, and further immunostained for Flag (transfection marker) and MAP2. Scale bar, 5 µm. Images illustrated in ( A ) were analyzed for the total number ( B ), area ( C ), and intensity ( D ) of surface GluN2A puncta per dendritic length. Synaptic (PSD-95-colocalized) surface GluN2A number ( E ), area ( F ), and intensity ( G ) of puncta per µm of excitatory synapses (number of puncta PSD-95-vGluT1 colocalized per µm), were also analyzed. Data are normalized to the mean of the empty vector control (Flag) and are means ± SEM of 45 - 34 cells per condition, in at least three independent experiments performed in different preparations. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001 by Kruskal-Wallis’s test and Dunn’s multiple comparisons test.
Article Snippet: To label surface GluN2A-NMDAR, live neurons (low-density hippocampal cultures) were incubated for 10 min at room temperature with an antibody against an extracellular epitope of the GluN2A N-terminus (1:100; AGC-002, Alomone Labs) diluted in a saline buffer (145 mM NaCl, 5 mM glucose, 10 mM HEPES, 5 mM KCl, 1.8 mM CaCl 2 , 1 mM MgCl 2, [pH 7.3]), as previously described ( ).
Techniques: Transfection, Mutagenesis, Control, Marker, Plasmid Preparation