| First Author | Egawa J | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | Cereb Cortex | Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 9 | Pages | 3255-3266 |
| PubMed ID | 28981594 | Mgi Jnum | J:264264 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6195128 | Doi | 10.1093/cercor/bhx196 |
| Citation | Egawa J, et al. (2018) Neuron-Targeted Caveolin-1 Promotes Ultrastructural and Functional Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity. Cereb Cortex 28(9):3255-3266 |
| abstractText | A delicate interneuronal communication between pre- and postsynaptic membranes is critical for synaptic plasticity and the formation of memory. Evidence shows that membrane/lipid rafts (MLRs), plasma membrane microdomains enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids, organize presynaptic proteins and postsynaptic receptors necessary for synaptic formation and signaling. MLRs establish a cell polarity that facilitates transduction of extracellular cues to the intracellular environment. Here we show that neuron-targeted overexpression of an MLR protein, caveolin-1 (SynCav1), in the adult mouse hippocampus increased the number of presynaptic vesicles per bouton, total excitatory type I glutamatergic synapses, number of same-dendrite multiple-synapse boutons, increased myelination, increased long-term potentiation, and increased MLR-localized N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunits (GluN1, GluN2A, and GluN2B). Immunogold electron microscopy revealed that Cav-1 localizes to both the pre- and postsynaptic membrane regions as well as in the synaptic cleft. These findings, which are consistent with a significant increase in ultrastructural and functional synaptic plasticity, provide a fundamental framework that underlies previously demonstrated improvements in learning and memory in adult and aged mice by SynCav1. Such observations suggest that Cav-1 and MLRs alter basic aspects of synapse biology that could serve as potential therapeutic targets to promote neuroplasticity and combat neurodegeneration in a number of neurological disorders. |
