title: Important roles of Vilse in dendritic architecture and synaptic plasticity.
abstract: Vilse/Arhgap39 is a Rho GTPase activating protein (RhoGAP) and utilizes its WW domain to regulate Rac/Cdc42-dependent morphogenesis in Drosophila and murine hippocampal neurons. However, the function of Vilse in mammalian dendrite architecture and synaptic plasticity remained unclear. In the present study, we aimed to explore the possible role of Vilse in dendritic structure and synaptic function in the brain. Homozygous knockout of Vilse resulted in premature embryonic lethality in mice. Changes in dendritic complexity and spine density were noticed in hippocampal neurons of Camk2a-Cre mediated forebrain-specific Vilse knockout (VilseΔ/Δ) mice. VilseΔ/Δmice displayed impaired spatial memory in water maze and Y-maze tests. Electrical stimulation in hippocampal CA1 region revealed that the synaptic transmission and plasticity were defected in VilseΔ/Δmice. Collectively, our results demonstrate that Vilse is essential for embryonic development and required for spatial memory.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemical Sciences, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jin-Yu
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Li-Jen
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Superintendent Office, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Yuanpei University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.|Department of Medical Technology, Jen-Teh Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ho-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemical Sciences, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-An
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Yuan
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemical Sciences, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mau-Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005804:Genes, Lethal / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C000629273:Arhgap39 protein, mouse; D020690:GTPase-Activating Proteins; C085379:rho GTPase-activating protein