Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Science, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Department for Life Quality Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Neurobiol Dis. 2021 Jun;153:105304. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105304. Epub 2021 Feb 20.
CDKL5 (cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5) deficiency disorder (CDD) is a severe neurodevelopmental encephalopathy characterized by early-onset epilepsy and intellectual disability. Studies in mouse models have linked CDKL5 deficiency to defects in neuronal maturation and synaptic plasticity, and disruption of the excitatory/inhibitory balance. Interestingly, increased density of both GABAergic synaptic terminals and parvalbumin inhibitory interneurons was recently observed in the primary visual cortex of Cdkl5 knockout (KO) mice, suggesting that excessive GABAergic transmission might contribute to the visual deficits characteristic of CDD. However, the functional relevance of cortical GABAergic circuits abnormalities in these mutant mice has not been investigated so far. Here we examined GABAergic circuits in the perirhinal cortex (PRC) of Cdkl5 KO mice, where we previously observed impaired long-term potentiation (LTP) associated with deficits in novel object recognition (NOR) memory. We found a higher number of GABAergic (VGAT)-immunopositive terminals in the PRC of Cdkl5 KO compared to wild-type mice, suggesting that increased inhibitory transmission might contribute to LTP impairment. Interestingly, while exposure of PRC slices to the GABA receptor antagonist picrotoxin had no positive effects on LTP in Cdkl5 KO mice, the selective GABA receptor antagonist CGP55845 restored LTP magnitude, suggesting that exaggerated GABA receptor-mediated inhibition contributes to LTP impairment in mutants. Moreover, acute in vivo treatment with CGP55845 increased the number of PSD95 positive puncta as well as density and maturation of dendritic spines in PRC, and restored NOR memory in Cdkl5 KO mice. The present data show the efficacy of limiting excessive GABA receptor-mediated signaling in improving synaptic plasticity and cognition in CDD mice.
CDKL5(细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶样 5)缺乏症(CDD)是一种严重的神经发育性脑病,其特征为早发性癫痫和智力残疾。在小鼠模型中的研究将 CDKL5 缺乏与神经元成熟和突触可塑性缺陷以及兴奋性/抑制性平衡破坏联系起来。有趣的是,最近在 Cdkl5 敲除(KO)小鼠的初级视觉皮层中观察到 GABA 能突触末梢和 Parvalbumin 抑制性中间神经元的密度增加,这表明过度的 GABA 能传递可能导致 CDD 特有的视觉缺陷。然而,到目前为止,还没有研究这些突变小鼠皮质 GABA 能回路异常的功能相关性。在这里,我们检查了 Cdkl5 KO 小鼠的 Perirhinal 皮层(PRC)中的 GABA 能回路,我们之前在该区域观察到与新物体识别(NOR)记忆缺陷相关的长时程增强(LTP)受损。我们发现 Cdkl5 KO 小鼠的 PRC 中 GABA 能(VGAT)免疫阳性末梢数量较高,这表明增加的抑制性传递可能有助于 LTP 受损。有趣的是,虽然 PRC 切片暴露于 GABA 受体拮抗剂 Picrotoxin 对 Cdkl5 KO 小鼠的 LTP 没有积极影响,但选择性 GABA 受体拮抗剂 CGP55845 恢复了 LTP 幅度,这表明过度的 GABA 受体介导的抑制有助于突变体中的 LTP 受损。此外,急性体内给予 CGP55845 增加了 PRC 中 PSD95 阳性突触及树突棘密度和成熟度,并恢复了 Cdkl5 KO 小鼠的 NOR 记忆。本数据显示,限制过度的 GABA 受体介导的信号传递可有效改善 CDD 小鼠的突触可塑性和认知能力。