title: Dcf1 Triggers Dendritic Spine Formation and Facilitates Memory Acquisition.
abstract: Dendritic spines, a special kind of structure in nerve cells, play a key role in performing cellular function. Structural abnormalities of the dendritic spine may contribute to synaptic dysfunction and have been implicated in memory formation. However, the molecular mechanisms that trigger dendritic spine loss remain unclear. Here, we show that the absence of dendritic cell factor 1 (Dcf1) appeared dendritic spines dysplasia, which in turn leads to the damage of learning and memory; in contrast, enhancing Dcf1 expression rescues dendritic spines morphology and function, indicating a pivotal role of Dcf1 in cellular function. Electrophysiological test indicates that there is a significant reduction in the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents in Dcf1-/-knockout (KO) mice. Subsequent to optogenetic ignition, we observed a weaker neuronal activation in Dcf1 KO mice, explaining the neural circuit cause. On molecular mechanism, we demonstrated an unprecedented discovery that Dcf1 triggers the dendritic spine and synaptic function through the recruitment of Lcn2 and activation of PSD95-NMDAR signaling. Removing this brake leads to memory damage. Our results highlight an unexpected regulatory mechanism of dendritic spine development and formation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Ruili
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Guanghong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Huang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1239 SiPing Road, Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Rongfei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1239 SiPing Road, Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Yuqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of molecular neural biology, School of life sciences, Shanghai University, 333 Nanchen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China. wtq@shu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Tieqiao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000076122:Disks Large Homolog 4 Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071068:Lipocalin-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D008568:Memory; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000076122:Disks Large Homolog 4 Protein; D000071068:Lipocalin-2; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein; C000626540:Tmem59 protein, mouse; C501447:Dlg4 protein, mouse; C071332:Lcn2 protein, mouse
keywords: Dcf1; Dendritic spine; Development; Memory; Recruitment