Mesophasic organization of GABAA receptors in hippocampal inhibitory synapse

Information processing in the brain depends on synaptic transmission and plasticity, which in turn require specialized organization of neurotransmitter receptors and scaffolding proteins within the postsynaptic density (PSD). However, how these molecules are organized in situ remains largely elusive, limiting our mechanistic understanding of synaptic formation and functions. Here, we have developed template-free classification of over-sampled sub-tomograms to analyze cryo-electron tomograms of hippocampal synapses, enabling us to identify type-A gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor (GABAAR) in inhibitory synapses and determine its in situ structure at 19 angstrom resolution. We found that these receptors are organized hierarchically: from GABAAR super-complexes with a fixed 11-nm inter-receptor distance but variable relative angles, through semi-ordered two-dimensional receptor networks with reduced Voronoi entropy, to mesophasic assembly with a sharp phase boundary. This assembly aligns with condensates of postsynaptic scaffolding proteins and putative presynaptic vesicle release sites. Such mesophasic self-organization may allow synapses to achieve a Goldilocks state with a delicate balance between stability and flexibility, enabling both reliability and plasticity in information processing.