| First Author | Iwata R | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | Cell Rep | Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 1257-64 |
| PubMed ID | 25159148 | Mgi Jnum | J:229380 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5751806 | Doi | 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.07.047 |
| Citation | Iwata R, et al. (2014) RacGAP alpha2-chimaerin function in development adjusts cognitive ability in adulthood. Cell Rep 8(5):1257-64 |
| abstractText | A major concern in neuroscience is how cognitive ability in adulthood is affected and regulated by developmental mechanisms. The molecular bases of cognitive development are not well understood. We provide evidence for the involvement of the alpha2 isoform of Rac-specific guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase)-activating protein (RacGAP) alpha-chimaerin (chimerin) in this process. We generated and analyzed mice with global and conditional knockouts of alpha-chimaerin and its isoforms (alpha1-chimaerin and alpha2-chimaerin) and found that alpha-chimaerin plays a wide variety of roles in brain function and that the roles of alpha1-chimaerin and alpha2-chimaerin are distinct. Deletion of alpha2-chimaerin, but not alpha1-chimaerin, beginning during early development results in an increase in contextual fear learning in adult mice, whereas learning is not altered when alpha2-chimaerin is deleted only in adulthood. Our findings suggest that alpha2-chimaerin acts during development to establish normal cognitive ability in adulthood. |
