Elsevier

Neuroscience

Volume 170, Issue 1, 29 September 2010, Pages 189-199
Neuroscience

Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Research Paper
The expression of non-clustered protocadherins in adult rat hippocampal formation and the connecting brain regions

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.05.027Get rights and content

Abstract

Non-clustered protocadherins (PCDHs) are calcium-dependent adhesion molecules which have attracted attention for their possible roles in the neuronal circuit formation during development and their implications in the neurological disorders such as autism and mental retardation. Previously, we found that a subset of the non-clustered PCDHs exhibited circuit-dependent expression patterns in thalamo-cortical connections in early postnatal rat brain, but such patterns disappeared in adulthood. In this study, we identified that the non-clustered PCDHs showed differential expression patterns along the septotemporal axis in the subregions of adult hippocampus and dentate gyrus with topographical preferences. The expressions of PCDH1, PCDH9, PCDH10 and PCDH20 showed septal preferences, whereas the expressions of PCDH8, PCDH11, PCDH17 and PCDH19 showed temporal preferences, suggesting that they play roles in the formation/maintenance of intrahippocampal circuits. PCDHs also exhibited the region-specific expression patterns in the areas connected to hippocampal formation such as entorhinal cortex, lateral septum, and basolateral amygdaloid complex. Furthermore, the expression levels of three PCDHs (PCDH8, PCDH19 and PCDH20) were regulated by the electroconvulsive shock stimulation of the brain in the adult hippocampus and dentate gyrus. These results suggest that non-clustered PCDHs are involved in the maintenance and plasticity of adult hippocampal circuitry.

Section snippets

Animals and treatments

Sprague–Dawley adult male rats (Biogenomics, Seoul, Korea; weighting 180–250 g) were maintained at 20–24 °C with 40–70% humidity and a 12-h alternating light/dark cycle. Rats received a single ECS via ear-clip electrodes (voltage, 150 V; shock duration, 0.5 s). Sham treatment was also performed following the same procedure as the ECS, but without electrical stimulation. Rats were decapitated 1 h 3 h 6 h 12 h and 24 h after the treatment. After decapitation, brains were rapidly removed and

Expression of non-clustered PCDHs in the adult hippocampus and dentate gyrus

The expressions of 12 non-clustered PCDHs were examined in the sections of two coronal and one sagittal levels (Fig. 1). Among the 12 non-clustered PCDHs examined in this study, all except PCDH21 showed signals stronger than film background in the adult hippocampus and dentate gyrus (DG) (Fig. 1A). In general, eight non-clustered PCDHs (PCDH1, PCDH7, PCDH8, PCDH9, PCDH10, PCDH17, PCDH19 and PCDH20) showed stronger and broader expressions than others (PCDH11, PCDH15, PCDH18 and PCDH21). The

Discussion

In this study, we determined the expression patterns of non-clustered PCDHs in the adult rat HF and the connected subregions. HF consists of several compartments, namely into CA1, CA2, CA3, DG and subiculum (Anderson et al., 1971, Amaral and Witter, 1989). The DG receives the inputs from the EC, which is relayed to CA3 and subsequently to CA1. The subiculum receives the inputs from EC and CA1 and send outputs outside HF (Anderson et al., 1971, Amaral and Witter, 1989). Cumulative evidence

Conclusion

In summary, we found the topographical preference and activity-dependent nature of non-clustered PCDH expressions in the adult hippocampus, raise the possibility that non-clustered PCDHs may play roles in the specification and topographical arrangement of adult hippocampal circuits, which contributes to the neuronal plasticity under the physiological and pathological conditions in adult brain.

Acknowledgments

We thank Choi KM and Chin JH for their technical supports. This work was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation grant (2009K001284 to HK, 2009K001259 to WS) funded by the Korean government. A part of this work was technically supported by the core facility service of 21C Frontier Brain Research Center.

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