Activity-dependent coordination of presynaptic release probability and postsynaptic GluR2 abundance at single synapses

The strength of an excitatory synapse depends on both the presynaptic release probability (p,) and the abundance of functional postsynaptic AMPA receptors. How these parameters are related or balanced at a single synapse remains unknown. By taking advantage of live fluorescence imaging in cultured hippocampal neurons where individual synapses are readily resolved, we estimate p(r) by labeling presynaptic vesicles with a styryl dye, FM1-43, while concurrently measuring postsynaptic AMPA receptor abundance at the same synapse by immunolabeling surface GluR2. We find no appreciable correlation between p, and the level of surface synaptic GluR2 under basal condition, and blocking basal neural activity has no effect on the observed lack of correlation. However, elevating network activity drives their correlation, which accompanies a decrease in mean GluR2 level. These findings provide the direct evidence that the coordination of pre- and postsynaptic parameters of synaptic strength is not intrinsically fixed but that the balance is tuned by synaptic use at individual synapses.