1. The loss of βI spectrin alters synaptic size and composition in the ja/ja mouse.
- Author
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Stankewich, Michael C., Peters, Luanne L., and Morrow, Jon S.
- Subjects
CALCIUM-dependent protein kinase ,DENTATE gyrus ,SPECTRIN ,BLOOD transfusion ,DELETION mutation - Abstract
Introduction: Deletion or mutation of members of the spectrin gene family contributes to many neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders. While each spectrinopathy may generate distinct neuropathology, the study of ßI spectrin's role (Sptb) in the brain has been hampered by the hematologic consequences of its loss. Methods: Jaundiced mice (ja/ja) that lack ßI spectrin suffer a rapidly fatal hemolytic anemia. We have used exchange transfusion of newborn ja/ja mice to blunt their hemolytic pathology, enabling an examination of ßI spectrin deficiency in the mature mouse brain by ultrastructural and biochemical analysis. Results: ßI spectrin is widely utilized throughout the brain as the ßIΣ2 isoform; it appears by postnatal day 8, and concentrates in the CA1,3 region of the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, cerebellar granule layer, cortical layer 2, medial habenula, and ventral thalamus. It is present in a subset of dendrites and absent in white matter. Without ßI spectrin there is a 20% reduction in postsynaptic density size in the granule layer of the cerebellum, a selective loss of ankyrinR in cerebellar granule neurons, and a reduction in the level of the postsynaptic adhesion molecule NCAM. While we find no substitution of another spectrin for ßI at dendrites or synapses, there is curiously enhanced ßIV spectrin expression in the ja/ja brain. Discussion: ßIΣ2 spectrin appears to be essential for refining postsynaptic structures through interactions with ankyrinR and NCAM. We speculate that it may play additional roles yet to be discovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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