Hippocampal Wnt3a is Necessary and Sufficient for Contextual Fear Memory Acquisition and Consolidation.

ABSTRACT: The Wnt signaling pathway plays critical roles in development. However, to date, the role of Wnts in learning and memory in adults is still not well understood. Here, we aimed to investigate the roles and mechanisms of Wnts in hippocampal-dependent contextual fear conditioning (CFC) memory formation in adult mice. CFC training induced the secretion and expression of Wnt3a and the activation of its downstream Wnt/Ca(2+) and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways in the dorsal hippocampus (DH). Intrahippocampal infusion of Wnt3a antibody impaired CFC acquisition and consolidation, but not expression. Using the Wnt antagonist sFRP1 or the canonical Wnt inhibitor Dkk1, we found that Wnt/Ca(2+) and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways were involved in acquisition and consolidation, respectively. Moreover

SUBMITTER: Xu N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4626827 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature