The contribution of structural remodeling to long-term adult brain plasticity is unclear. Here, we investigate features of GABAergic interneuron dendrite dynamics and extract clues regarding its potential role in cortical function and circuit plasticity. We show that remodeling interneurons are contained within a "dynamic zone" corresponding to a superficial strip of layers 2/3, and remodeling dendrites respect the lower border of this zone. Remodeling occurs primarily at the periphery of dendritic fields with addition and retraction of new branch tips. We further show that dendrite remodeling is not intrinsic to a specific interneuron class. These data suggest that interneuron remodeling is not a feature predetermined by genetic lineage, but rather, it is imposed by cortical laminar circuitry. Our findings are consistent with dynamic GABAergic modulation of feedforward and recurrent connections in response to top-down feedback and suggest a structural component to functional plasticity of supragranular neocortical laminae.dendrite ͉ inhibitory ͉ plasticity ͉ two-photon microscopy ͉ visual cortex D espite decades of evidence for functional plasticity of the adult brain, manifested in our ability to learn and the continual adaptation of primary sensory maps (1, 2), the existence and role of structural remodeling (3, 4) in circuit plasticity remains controversial. Structural plasticity of excitatory projection neurons that enables circuit remodeling during development wanes as "critical periods" close and circuits mature, suggesting that in the adult, other mechanisms are likely recruited for functional remodeling.To investigate the extent of structural plasticity in the mammalian brain, we previously used a multiphoton microscope system for chronic in vivo imaging of neuronal morphology in the intact rodent cerebral cortex (5). Using this system, we imaged and reconstructed the dendritic trees of neurons in visual cortex of thy1-GFP-S transgenic mice (6). These mice express GFP in a random subset of neurons sparsely distributed within the superficial cortical layers that are optically accessible through surgically implanted cranial windows. This enables examination of dendritic branch dynamics in individual neurons over several months. Our results confirmed recent in vivo imaging studies showing that excitatory projection neurons show little, if any, change in branch tip length over time (7,8). Surprisingly, we found that GABAergic interneurons in layer (L) 2/3 of visual cortex undergo arbor remodeling occurring over days to weeks (5). Although most work related to circuit plasticity in the adult brain has focused on excitatory connectivity, inhibition is clearly critical for mature circuit function. The superficial neocortical layers contain a remarkably heterogeneous population of nonpyramidal interneurons that differ in their cellular targeting and hence function within the cortical circuit (9-11) and may not be uniform in their propensity for structural change. Stratification of the mammalian neocortex into c...

Modifications of neuronal circuits allow the brain to adapt and change with experience. This plasticity manifests during development and throughout life, and can be remarkably long lasting. Many electrophysiological and molecular mechanisms are common to the seemingly diverse types of activity-dependent functional adaptation that take place during developmental critical periods, learning and memory, and alterations to sensory map representations in the adult. Experience-dependent plasticity is triggered when neuronal excitation activates cellular signaling pathways from the synapse to the nucleus that initiate new programs of gene expression. The protein products of activity-regulated genes then work via a diverse array of cellular mechanisms to modify neuronal functional properties. They fine-tune brain circuits by strengthening or weakening synaptic connections or by altering synapse numbers. Their effects are further modulated by posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms, often also dependent on activity, that control activity-regulated gene transcript and protein function. Thus, the cellular response to neuronal activity integrates multiple tightly coordinated mechanisms to precisely orchestrate long-lasting, functional and structural changes in brain circuits.

Use-dependent selection of optimal connections is a key feature of neural circuit development and, in the mature brain, underlies functional adaptation, such as is required for learning and memory. Activity patterns guide circuit refinement through selective stabilization or elimination of specific neuronal branches and synapses. The molecular signals that mediate activity-dependent synapse and arbor stabilization and maintenance remain elusive. We report that knockout of the activity-regulated gene cpg15 in mice delays developmental maturation of axonal and dendritic arbors visualized by anterograde tracing and diolistic labeling, respectively. Electrophysiology shows that synaptic maturation is also delayed, and electron microscopy confirms that many dendritic spines initially lack functional synaptic contacts. While circuits eventually develop, in vivo imaging reveals that spine maintenance is compromised in the adult, leading to a gradual attrition in spine numbers. Loss of cpg15 also results in poor learning. cpg15 knockout mice require more trails to learn, but once they learn, memories are retained. Our findings suggest that CPG15 acts to stabilize active synapses on dendritic spines, resulting in selective spine and arbor stabilization and synaptic maturation, and that synapse stabilization mediated by CPG15 is critical for efficient learning.

During development, experience plays a crucial role in sculpting neuronal connections. Patterned neural activity guides formation of functional neural circuits through the selective stabilization of some synapses and the pruning of others. Activity-regulated factors are fundamental to this process, but their roles in synapse stabilization and maturation is still poorly understood. CPG15, encoded by the activity-regulated gene candidate plasticity gene 15, is a small, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked, extracellular protein that promotes synapse stabilization. Here we show that global knock-out of cpg15 results in abnormal postnatal development of the excitatory network in visual cortex and an associated disruption in development of visual receptive field properties. In addition, whereas repeated stimulation induced potentiation and depression in wild-type mice, the depression was slower in cpg15 knock-out mice, suggesting impairment in short-term depression-like mechanisms. These findings establish the requirement for cpg15 in activity-dependent development of the visual system and demonstrate the importance of timely excitatory network development for normal visual function.

Nuclear import and export is mediated by an evolutionarily conserved family of soluble transport factors, the karyopherins (referred to as importins and exportins). The yeast karyopherin Kap114p has previously been shown to import histones H2A and H2B, Nap1p, and a component of the preinitiation complex (PIC), TBP. Using a proteomic approach, we have identified several potentially new cargoes for Kap114p. These cargoes include another PIC component, the general transcription factor IIB or Sua7p, which interacted directly with Kap114p. Consistent with its role as a Sua7p import factor, deletion of KAP114 led to specific mislocalization of Sua7p to the cytoplasm. An interaction between Sua7p and TBP was also detected in cytosol, raising the possibility that both Sua7p and TBP can be coimported by Kap114p. We have also shown that Kap114p possesses multiple overlapping binding sites for its partners, Sua7p, Nap1p, and H2A and H2B, as well as RanGTP and nucleoporins. In addition, we have assembled an in vitro complex containing Sua7p, Nap1p, and histones H2A and H2B, suggesting that this Kap may import several proteins simultaneously. The import of more than one cargo at a time would increase the efficiency of each import cycle and may allow the regulation of coimported cargoes. INTRODUCTIONIn eukaryotic cells the nucleocytoplasmic transport of most proteins and some RNAs is mediated by an evolutionarily conserved family of soluble transport factors, the karyopherins (also referred to as importins and exportins; reviewed in Weis, 2003;Harel and Forbes, 2004;Mosammaparast and Pemberton, 2004). After synthesis in the cytoplasm, most nuclear protein cargoes are bound by a member of the karyopherin family, through direct interaction with a nuclear localization sequence contained in the cargo protein. Transport through the nuclear pore complex occurs via transient interactions of the karyopherin with the NPC. Once in the nucleus, the karyopherin encounters a high concentration of RanGTP, which acts as a regulator of transport. Interaction of the karyopherin with RanGTP leads to dissociation of the karyopherin from its nuclear cargo (Weis, 2003;Harel and Forbes, 2004;Mosammaparast and Pemberton, 2004). In some circumstances, nuclear-binding partners of the cargo appear to also play a role in stimulating the dissociation of Kap and cargo (Senger et al., 1998;Lee and Aitchison, 1999;Pemberton et al., 1999). In yeast, there are 14 members of the karyopherin family, with Ͼ20 members in mammalian cells (Mosammaparast and Pemberton, 2004). Karyopherins appear to function in either nuclear import or nuclear export, with only two examples of a Kap that works in both directions (Weis, 2003;Harel and Forbes, 2004;Mosammaparast and Pemberton, 2004). In yeast, 11 members of the karyopherin family must import at least 1500 nuclear proteins, suggesting that each receptor must have many cargoes. To date specific transport receptor-cargo pairs have only been shown for ϳ30 cargoes; in addition the NLS sequences recognized by most Kaps is n...

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