Regulation of Postsynaptic Stability by the L-type Calcium Channel Ca(V)1.3 and its Interaction with PDZ Proteins

Alterations in dendritic spine morphology and postsynaptic structure are a hallmark of neurological disorders. Particularly spine pruning of striatal medium spiny neurons and aberrant rewiring of corticostriatal synapses have been associated with the pathology of Parkinson’s disease and L-DOPA induced dyskinesia, respectively. Owing to its low activation threshold the neuronal L-type calcium channel Ca(V)1.3 is particularly critical in the control of neuronal excitability and thus in the calcium-dependent regulation of neuronal functions. Ca(V)1.3 channels are located in dendritic spines and contain a C-terminal class 1 PDZ domain-binding sequence. Until today the postsynaptic PDZ domain proteins shank, densin-180, and erbin have been shown to interact with Ca(V)1.3 channels and to modulate their current properties. Interestingly experimental evidence suggests an involvement of all three PDZ proteins as well as Ca(V)1.3 itself in regulating dendritic and postsynaptic morphology. Here we briefly review the importance of Ca(V)1.3 and its proposed interactions with PDZ proteins for the stability of dendritic spines. With a special focus on the pathology associated with Parkinson’s disease, we discuss the hypothesis that Ca(V)1.3 L-type calcium channels may be critical modulators of dendritic spine stability.