Neurotrophin-3 from the dentate gyrus supports postsynaptic sites of mossy fiber-CA3 synapses and hippocampus-dependent cognitive functions.

ABSTRACT: At the center of the hippocampal tri-synaptic loop are synapses formed between mossy fiber (MF) terminals from granule cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) and proximal dendrites of CA3 pyramidal neurons. However, the molecular mechanism regulating the development and function of these synapses is poorly understood. In this study, we showed that neurotrophin-3 (NT3) was expressed in nearly all mature granule cells but not CA3 cells. We selectively deleted the NT3-encoding Ntf3 gene in the DG during the first two postnatal weeks to generate a Ntf3 conditional knockout (Ntf3-cKO). Ntf3-cKO mice of both sexes had normal hippocampal cytoarchitecture but displayed impairments in contextual memory, spatial reference memory, and nest building. Furthermore, male Ntf3-cKO mice exhibited anxiety-like beh

SUBMITTER: Tan JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11176039 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature