Glutamate and early functional NMDA Receptors promote axonal elongation modulating both actin cytoskeleton dynamics and H2O2 production dependent on Rac1 activity

NMDA Receptors (NMDARs) have essential functions in the nervous system, including neuronal maturation, neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. Following membrane depolarization and glutamate activation, NMDARs mediate Ca2+ influx into neurons, activating Ca2+ signaling cascades with key roles in neuronal function. However, no studies have been reported on the roles of glutamate and NMDARs during early neuronal development. Although NMDARs classically act at the postsynaptic membrane, the present results indicate that neurons express functional NMDARs during polarity acquisition and localize them in the axonal compartment early in development; at this stage, cultured neurons spontaneously release glutamate. In addition, pharmacological and genetic experiments for NMDARs loss- and gain-of-function modulated neuronal polarization and axonal elongation antagonistically. An intracellular mechanism involving Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum, activation of the Rho GTPase Rac1, and actin cytoskeleton rearrangements at the axonal growth cone couples these morphological changes. Moreover, NMDAR activity regulates the physiological intracellular production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) via a Rac1/NADPH oxidase complex to support neuronal development. Optogenetic Rac1 activation simultaneously promoted lamellipodia formation and H2O2 production suggesting functional coupling between these seemingly unconnected events. The mechanism presented here involves a dual function for the Rac1 protein that depends on glutamate and NMDAR activity. Based on these findings, we suggest that early physiological and spontaneous glutamate release activates NMDARs to promote early neuronal development before synapse formation, indicating that glutamate is necessary for neurotransmission, early neuronal development, and axonal growth.