| First Author | Tata BK | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | Sci Rep | Volume | 7 |
| Pages | 42463 | PubMed ID | 28209974 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:302869 | Mgi Id | MGI:6510073 |
| Doi | 10.1038/srep42463 | Citation | Tata BK, et al. (2017) Rabconnectin-3alpha is required for the morphological maturation of GnRH neurons and kisspeptin responsiveness. Sci Rep 7:42463 |
| abstractText | A few hundred hypothalamic neurons form a complex network that controls reproduction in mammals by secreting gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Timely postnatal changes in GnRH secretion are essential for pubertal onset. During the juvenile period, GnRH neurons undergo morphological remodeling, concomitantly achieving an increased responsiveness to kisspeptin, the main secretagogue of GnRH. However, the link between GnRH neuron activity and their morphology remains unknown. Here, we show that brain expression levels of Dmxl2, which encodes the vesicular protein rabconnectin-3alpha, determine the capacity of GnRH neurons to be activated by kisspeptin and estradiol. We also demonstrate that Dmxl2 expression levels control the pruning of GnRH dendrites, highlighting an unexpected role for a vesicular protein in the maturation of GnRH neuronal network. This effect is mediated by rabconnectin-3alpha in neurons or glial cells afferent to GnRH neurons. The widespread expression of Dmxl2 in several brain areas raises the intriguing hypothesis that rabconnectin-3alpha could be involved in the maturation of other neuronal populations. |
