Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Author: Micaela Daiana Garcia | Email: mdgarcia@fmed.uba.ar
Micaela Daiana Garcia1°2°, Fernanda Ledda2°, Gustavo Paratcha1°
1° Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias (IBCN)-CONICET-UBA, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires
2° Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires (IIBBA)-CONICET, Fundación Instituto Leloir
The formation of neuronal connectivity requires precise molecular and functional control of different processes such as axonal growth, dendrite complexity and synapse formation. Several reports describe the participation of different Tetraspanin (TSPAN) family members in the development of central and peripheral neurons. However, very little is known about the role of TSPAN8 in hippocampal dendrite development and synaptic connectivity. In this work we describe the expression of TSPAN8 into the rat hippocampus and cortex along the pre and postnatal development. Different approaches showed that TSPAN8 is present in the adult hippocampal CA1-CA3 and dentate gyrus neurons, as well as in somatosensorial and cortical motor neurons. By using subcellular fractionation, we show that TSPAN8 is expressed in rat hippocampal synaptic fraction, suggesting its participation in synapsis. Moreover, we found that a reduction of levels of TSPAN8 results in an increase in dendrite growth, branching and dendritic spine formation. Altogether these results suggest that TSPAN8 regulates the arborization complexity and dendritic spine formation. Additionally, we found a possible participation of TSPAN8 on the development of hippocampal excitatory synaptic contacts.