Death receptor 6 regulates adult experience-dependent cortical plasticity.
Sensory experience alters cortical circuitry by parallel processes of axon outgrowth and pruning, but the mechanisms that control these rearrangements are poorly understood. Using in vivo 2-photon longitudinal imaging, we found a marked reduction in axonal pruning in somatosensory cortex of mice with a knock-out of the DR6 gene, which codes for Death Receptor 6. This effect was seen for both long-range horizontal excitatory connections and for the axons of inhibitory neurons. These results identify a new pathway governing axonal plasticity associated with experience-dependent changes in cortical maps.
Laboratory of Neurobiology and Laboratory of Brain Development and Repair, Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065.
Sally A
SA
Marik
Olav
O
Olsen
Marc
M
Tessier-Lavigne
Charles D
CD
Gilbert
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / Q000235:genetics; D000229:Dependovirus; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000235:genetics; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000502:physiology; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000294:innervation*
D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; C485251:Tnfrsf21 protein, mouse; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; C517671:Camk2a protein, mouse; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; C401141:glutamate decarboxylase 2