title: Type-II cadherins modulate neural activity in cultured rat hippocampal neurons.
abstract: Cadherins, cell adhesion molecules widely expressed in the nervous system, are thought to be involved in synapse formation and function. To explore the role of cadherins in neuronal activity, we performed electrophysiological and morphological analyses of rat hippocampal cultured neurons overexpressing type-II cadherins, such as cadherin-6B and cadherin-7. We found that cadherin-6B increased but cadherin-7 decreased the number of protrusions of dendritic spines, and affected the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents. Our results suggest that type-II cadherins may modulate neural activity by regulating neuronal morphology.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Biolinguistics, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurotani
authors.forename: Kenta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okanoya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D055369:Miniature Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins