In vitro synaptogenesis between the somata of identified Lymnaea neurons requires protein synthesis but not extrinsic growth factors or substrate adhesion molecules.
Nerve growth factors, substrate and cell adhesion molecules, and protein synthesis are considered necessary for most developmental programs, including cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, axogenesis, pathfinding, and synaptic plasticity. Their direct involvement in synapse formation, however, has not yet been fully determined. The neurite outgrowth that precedes synaptogenesis is contingent on protein synthesis, the availability of externally supplied growth factors, and substrate adhesion molecules. It is therefore difficult to ascertain whether these factors are also needed for synapse formation. To examine this issue directly we reconstructed synapses between the cell somata of identified Lymnaea neurons. We show that when paired in the presence of brain conditioned medium (CM), mutual inhibitory chemical synapses between neurons right pedal dorsal 1 (RPeD1) and visceral dorsal 4 (VD4) formed in a soma-soma configuration (86%; n = 50). These synapses were reliable and target cell specific and were similar to those seen in the intact brain. To test whether synapse formation between RPeD1 and VD4 required de novo protein synthesis, the cells were paired in the presence of anisomycin (a nonspecific protein synthesis blocker). Chronic anisomycin treatment (18 hr) after cell pairing completely blocked synaptogenesis between RPeD1 and VD4 (n = 24); however, it did not affect neuronal excitability or responsiveness to exogenously applied transmitters (n = 7), nor did chronic anisomycin treatment affect synaptic transmission between pairs of cells that had formed synapses (n = 5). To test the growth and substrate dependence of synapse formation, RPeD1 and VD4 were paired in the absence of CM [defined medium; (n = 22)] on either plain plastic culture dishes (n = 10) or glass coverslips (n = 10). Neither CM nor any exogenous substrate was required for synapse formation. In summary, our data provide direct evidence that synaptogenesis in this system requires specific, cell contact-induced, de novo protein synthesis but does not depend on extrinsic growth factors or substrate adhesion molecules.