title: Deletion of neuronal gap junction protein connexin 36 impairs hippocampal LTP.
abstract: In the mammalian CNS, deletion of neuronal gap junction protein, connexin 36 (Cx36), causes deficiencies in learning and memory. Here we tested whether Cx36 deletion affects the hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), which is considered as a cellular model of learning and memory mechanisms. We report that in acute slices of the hippocampal CA1 area, LTP is reduced in Cx36 knockout mice as compared to wild-type mice. Western blot analysis of NMDA receptor subunits indicates a higher NR2A/NR2B ratio in Cx36 knockout mice, indicating that there is shift in the threshold for LTP induction in knockout animals. Data suggest a possibility that learning and memory deficiencies in Cx36 knockout mice are due to deficiencies in LTP mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 2146 W. 39th Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Yongfu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Andrei B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Belousov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017630:Connexins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein
chemical_list: D017630:Connexins; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D000097004:Gap Junction delta-2 Protein