Ultrastructural Abnormalities in CA1 Hippocampus Caused by Deletion of the Actin Regulator WAVE-1

Hazai, D. and Szudoczki, R. and Ding, J. D. and Soderling, S. H. and Weinberg, R.J. and Sótonyi, Péter and Rácz, Bence (2013) Ultrastructural Abnormalities in CA1 Hippocampus Caused by Deletion of the Actin Regulator WAVE-1. PLOS ONE. ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

By conveying signals from the small GTPase family of proteins to the Arp2/3 complex, proteins of the WAVE family facilitate actin remodeling. The WAVE-1 isoform is expressed at high levels in brain, where it plays a role in normal synaptic processing, and is implicated in hippocampus-dependent memory retention. We used electron microscopy to determine whether synaptic structure is modified in the hippocampus of WAVE-1 knockout mice, focusing on the neuropil of CA1 stratum radiatum. Mice lacking WAVE-1 exhibited alterations in the morphology of both axon terminals and dendritic spines; the relationship between the synaptic partners was also modified. The abnormal synaptic morphology we observed suggests that signaling through WAVE-1 plays a critical role in establishing normal synaptic architecture in the rodent hippocampus.

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