Abstract
The field of homeostatic plasticity continues to advance rapidly, highlighting the importance of stabilizing neuronal activity within functional limits in the context of numerous fundamental processes such as development, learning, and memory. Most homeostatic plasticity studies have been focused on glutamatergic synapses, while the rules that govern homeostatic regulation of other synapse types are less understood. While cholinergic synapses have emerged as a critical component in the etiology of mammalian neurodegenerative disease mechanisms, relatively few studies have been conducted on the homeostatic plasticity of such synapses, particularly in the mammalian nervous system. An exploration of homeostatic mechanisms at the cholinergic synapse may illuminate potential therapeutic targets for disease management and treatment. We will review cholinergic homeostatic plasticity in the mammalian neuromuscular junction, the autonomic nervous system, central synapses, and in relation to pathological conditions including Alzheimer disease and DYT1 dystonia. This work provides a historical context for the field of cholinergic homeostatic regulation by examining common themes, unique features, and outstanding questions associated with these distinct cholinergic synapse types and aims to inform future research in the field.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Susan Tsunoda and Elsevier for permission to reprint figures from the Tsunoda lab published in Cell Reports in 2018 and 2020. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Mai Abdel-Ghani and Dr. Amanda Schneeweis for their valuable suggestions and input.
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This work was supported by Grants to D.T.S.P.: National Institutes of Health (R21AG066016) and S.D.: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under (TL1TR001431).
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Djemil, S., Sames, A.M. & Pak, D.T.S. ACh Transfers: Homeostatic Plasticity of Cholinergic Synapses. Cell Mol Neurobiol 43, 697–709 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-022-01227-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-022-01227-2