Relative contribution of TARPs γ-2 and γ-7 to cerebellar excitatory synaptic transmission and motor behavior

AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) are the primary means through which the CNS carries out rapid, excitatory postsynaptic signaling. Members of the transmembrane AMPAR regulatory protein (TARP) family of AMPAR auxiliary proteins are essential for the localization and function of AMPARs. Yet TARP family members differ in the ways in which they regulate AMPAR function. Much is known about the function of “typical” TARPs such as γ-2, but little about “atypical” TARPs such as γ-7. Using the cerebellar cortex as a model system, in which well-defined neuronal cell types exhibit differential expression of both γ-2 and γ-7, we examined the relative roles of these two TARP family members in both excitatory synaptic transmission and motor behavior related to cerebellar function.