Increased hippocampal excitability and impaired spatial memory function in mice lacking VGLUT2 selectively in neurons defined by tyrosine hydroxylase promoter activityShow others and affiliations
2015 (English)In: Brain Structure and Function, ISSN 1863-2653, E-ISSN 1863-2661, Vol. 220, no 4, p. 2171-2190Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Three populations of neurons expressing the vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (Vglut2) were recently described in the A10 area of the mouse midbrain, of which two populations were shown to express the gene encoding, the rate-limiting enzyme for catecholamine synthesis, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH).One of these populations ("TH-Vglut2 Class1") also expressed the dopamine transporter (DAT) gene while one did not ("TH-Vglut2 Class2"), and the remaining population did not express TH at all ("Vglut2-only"). TH is known to be expressed by a promoter which shows two phases of activation, a transient one early during embryonal development, and a later one which gives rise to stable endogenous expression of the TH gene. The transient phase is, however, not specific to catecholaminergic neurons, a feature taken to advantage here as it enabled Vglut2 gene targeting within all three A10 populations expressing this gene, thus creating a new conditional knockout. These knockout mice showed impairment in spatial memory function. Electrophysiological analyses revealed a profound alteration of oscillatory activity in the CA3 region of the hippocampus. In addition to identifying a novel role for Vglut2 in hippocampus function, this study points to the need for improved genetic tools for targeting of the diversity of subpopulations of the A10 area.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2015. Vol. 220, no 4, p. 2171-2190
National Category
Neurology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-239640DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0778-9ISI: 000356874700020PubMedID: 24802380OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-239640DiVA, id: diva2:774902
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2007-5742, 2011-47472014-12-292014-12-292017-12-05Bibliographically approved
In thesis