Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is motile within dendritic spines, but the mechanisms underlying its regulation are\npoorly understood. To address this issue, we have simultaneously imaged morphology and ER content of dendritic\nspines in cultured dissociated mouse hippocampal neurons. Over a 10 min period, spines were highly dynamic,\nwith spines both increasing and decreasing in volume. ER was present in approximately 50% of spines and was also\nhighly dynamic, with a net increase over this period of time. Inhibition of the endogenous activation of NMDA\nreceptors resulted in a reduction in ER growth. Conversely, augmentation of the synaptic activation of NMDA\nreceptors, by elimination of striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP), resulted in enhanced ER growth.\nTherefore, NMDA receptors rapidly regulate spine ER dynamics.
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