RGS14 is a natural suppressor of both synaptic plasticity in CA2 neurons and hippocampal-based learning and memory
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Learning and memory have been closely linked to strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons (i.e., synaptic plasticity) within the dentate gyrus (DG)-CA3-CA1 trisynaptic circuit of the hippocampus. Conspicuously absent from this circuit is area CA2, an intervening hippocampal region that is poorly understood. Schaffer collateral synapses on CA2 neurons are distinct from those on other hippocampal neurons in that they exhibit a perplexing lack of synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP). Here we demonstrate that the signaling protein RGS14 is highly enriched in CA2 pyramidal neurons and plays a role in suppression of both synaptic plasticity at these synapses and hippocampal-based learning and memory. RGS14 is a scaffolding protein that integrates G protein and H-Ras/ERK/MAP kinase signaling pathways, thereby making it well positioned to suppress plasticity in CA2 neurons. Supporting this idea, deletion of exons 2-7 of the RGS14 gene yields mice that lack RGS14 (RGS14-KO) and now express robust LTP at glutamatergic synapses in CA2 neurons with no impact on synaptic plasticity in CA1 neurons. Treatment of RGS14-deficient CA2 neurons with a specific MEK inhibitor blocked this LTP, suggesting a role for ERK/MAP kinase signaling pathways in this process. When tested behaviorally, RGS14-KO mice exhibited marked enhancement in spatial learning and in object recognition memory compared with their wild-type littermates, but showed no differences in their performance on tests of nonhippocampal-dependent behaviors. These results demonstrate that RGS14 is a key regulator of signaling pathways linking synaptic plasticity in CA2 pyramidal neurons to hippocampal-based learning and memory but distinct from the canonical DG-CA3-CA1 circuit.
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Emory University, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Center for Research Resources
Awards: G1324178722, G1908135934, G2260320945, G243208949, G2884093039, G3072841544, G351718288, G418840138, G436868585, G5752142520, G6128266226, Mechanisms Of Synaptic Plasticity In The Adult And Developing Nervous System, G9000003361, G9000012314, G9000236499, G9000255775, G9000306622, G9000319151, G9000330810, Graduate Training in the Pharmacological Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W2039668561