title: Ephrin-B3 coordinates timed axon targeting and amygdala spinogenesis for innate fear behaviour.
abstract: Innate emotion response to environmental stimuli is a fundamental brain function that is controlled by specific neural circuits. Dysfunction of early emotional circuits may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. However, how the functional circuits are formed to prime initial emotional behaviours remain elusive. We reveal here using gene-targeted mutations an essential role for ephrin-B3 ligand-like activity in the development of innate fear in the neonatal brain. We further demonstrate that ephrin-B3 controls axon targeting and coordinates spinogenesis and neuronal activity within the amygdala. The morphological and behavioural abnormalities in ephrin-B3 mutant mice are rescued by conditional knock-in of wild-type ephrin-B3 during the critical period when axon targeting and fear responses are initiated. Our results thus define a key axonal molecule that participates in the wiring of amygdala circuits and helps bring about fear emotion during the important adolescence period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Institute of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.|Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Division, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.|Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016 Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Na
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Division, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xian-Dong
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Institute of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Suya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Health Sciences, Shanghai Institues for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences/Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Hanyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016 Shenyang, China.
authors.forename: Jing-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neuroscience and Developmental Biology, Kent Waldrep Center for Basic Research on Nerve Growth and Regeneration, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390 Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henkemeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Division, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Tumor Microenvironment and Inflammation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 200025 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Nan-Jie
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D036389:Ephrin-B3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D007323:Instinct; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D055495:Neurogenesis; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D036389:Ephrin-B3