Development
Author: Delfina Mercedes Romero | Email: delfina.romero@conicet.gov.ar
Delfina Mercedes Romero1°, Maria Muñoz Osorio1°, Ana Paula De Vincenti1°, Juan Emilio Belforte2°, Mariano Soiza Reilly3°, Fernanda Ledda4°, Gustavo Paratcha4°
1° IBCN, Prof. E. De Robertis. Facultad de Cs. Médicas, UBA. Conicet
2° IFIBIO, BERNARDO HOUSSAY. Facultad de Cs. Médicas, UBA. Conicet
3° IFIBYNE. Facultad de Cs. Exactas y Naturales, UBA. Conicet
4° IIBBA. FIL. Conicet
During nervous system development, the formation of synaptic circuits occurs under a precise control of the axon and dendritic growth. Abnormalities in neuronal connectivity could contribute to the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Studies in humans and animal models indicate that alterations on the excitatory/inhibitory synaptic balance are present in neurodevelopmental psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders and Rett syndrome. In addition, alterations in neural morphology and synaptic architecture could contribute to behavioural defects in mouse models associated with such psychiatric conditions. Neurotrophic factors, like the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptor GFRalpha1 (GFRa1) play a critical role in dendritic arborisation and spine maturation in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Despite this evidence, the role of GDNF/GFRa1 receptor in the maturation and remodelling of synaptic circuits in different forebrain regions still remains poorly understood. To investigate this, we generated new conditional mutant mice with selective ablation of GFRa1 in different populations of forebrain neurons. These mice lines will allow us to determine the specific involvement of GDNF/GFRa1 in forebrain circuits associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.