| First Author | von Bohlen und Halbach O | Year | 2006 |
| Journal | Biol Psychiatry | Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 9 | Pages | 793-800 |
| PubMed ID | 16325153 | Mgi Jnum | J:112826 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3663809 | Doi | 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.08.025 |
| Citation | von Bohlen und Halbach O, et al. (2006) Regional- and age-dependent reduction in trkB receptor expression in the hippocampus is associated with altered spine morphologies. Biol Psychiatry 59(9):793-800 |
| abstractText | BACKGROUND: Changes in densities and in the morphology of dendritic spines in the hippocampus are linked to hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), spatial learning, and depression. Decreased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels seem to contribute to depression. Through its receptor trkB, BDNF is also involved in hippocampal LTP and hippocampus-dependent learning. Conditionally gene-targeted mice in which the ablation of trkB is restricted to the forebrain and occurs only during postnatal development display impaired learning and LTP. METHODS: To examine whether there is a link among impaired hippocampal synaptic plasticity, altered spines, and trkB receptors, we performed a quantitative analysis of spine densities and spine length in the hippocampal area CA1 and the dentate gyrus in conditional mutant mice (trkB(lox/lox)CaMKII-CRE mice). TrkB protein and mRNA levels were assayed using Western blot and in situ hybridization analysis. RESULTS: Fifteen-week-old mutant mice exhibit specific reductions in spine densities and a significant increase in spine length of apical and basal dendrites in area CA1. These alterations correlate with a time- and region-specific reduction in full-length trkB mRNA in the hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS: TrkB functions in structural remodeling of hippocampal dendritic spines, which in turn may affect synaptic transmission and plasticity. |
