Syntenin is involved in the developmental regulation of neuronal membrane architecture

Syntenin is a ∼33 kDa scaffolding protein that we have shown previously to bind to kainate receptor subunits via a PDZ interaction. Here we show that syntenin has a tightly regulated developmental profile in neurons and is most abundant in the period of intense growth and synapse formation and stabilization. There is extensive colocalization of syntenin and kainate receptors with particularly intense labeling for both proteins at growth cones. Overexpression of GFP-syntenin in both young and mature neurons evokes marked changes in neuronal morphology by increasing the number of dendritic protrusions. These results are consistent with the involvement of syntenin in controlling membrane organization and suggest that by interaction with kainate receptors it may play a role in determining the formation and maturation of synapses.