The NMDA receptor activation by d-serine and glycine is controlled by an astrocytic Phgdh-dependent serine shuttle

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Oct 8;116(41):20736-20742. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1909458116. Epub 2019 Sep 23.

Abstract

Astrocytes express the 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (Phgdh) enzyme required for the synthesis of l-serine from glucose. Astrocytic l-serine was proposed to regulate NMDAR activity by shuttling to neurons to sustain d-serine production, but this hypothesis remains untested. We now report that inhibition of astrocytic Phgdh suppressed the de novo synthesis of l-and d-serine and reduced the NMDAR synaptic potentials and long-term potentiation (LTP) at the Schaffer collaterals-CA1 synapse. Likewise, enzymatic removal of extracellular l-serine impaired LTP, supporting an l-serine shuttle mechanism between glia and neurons in generating the NMDAR coagonist d-serine. Moreover, deletion of serine racemase (SR) in glutamatergic neurons abrogated d-serine synthesis to the same extent as Phgdh inhibition, suggesting that neurons are the predominant source of the newly synthesized d-serine. We also found that the synaptic NMDAR activation in adult SR-knockout (KO) mice requires Phgdh-derived glycine, despite the sharp decline in the postnatal glycine levels as a result of the emergence of the glycine cleavage system. Unexpectedly, we also discovered that glycine regulates d-serine metabolism by a dual mechanism. The first consists of tonic inhibition of SR by intracellular glycine observed in vitro, primary cultures, and in vivo microdialysis. The second involves a transient glycine-induce d-serine release through the Asc-1 transporter, an effect abolished in Asc-1 KO mice and diminished by deleting SR in glutamatergic neurons. Our observations suggest that glycine is a multifaceted regulator of d-serine metabolism and implicate both d-serine and glycine in mediating NMDAR synaptic activation at the mature hippocampus through a Phgdh-dependent shuttle mechanism.

Keywords: Phgdh; d-serine; gliotransmission; glycine; tripartite synapse.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Astrocytes / cytology
  • Astrocytes / metabolism*
  • Glycine / metabolism*
  • Hippocampus / cytology
  • Hippocampus / metabolism
  • Long-Term Potentiation
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Neurons / cytology
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase / genetics
  • Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase / metabolism*
  • Racemases and Epimerases / physiology*
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / genetics
  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / metabolism*
  • Serine / metabolism*
  • Synapses / physiology*

Substances

  • Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
  • Serine
  • Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase
  • Racemases and Epimerases
  • serine racemase
  • Glycine