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Pleiser S, Banchaabouchi MA, Samol-Wolf A, Farley D, Welz T, Wellbourne-Wood J, Gehring I, Linkner J, Faix J, Riemenschneider MJ, Dietrich S, Kerkhoff E. Enhanced fear expression in Spir-1 actin organizer mutant mice. Eur J Cell Biol 2013; 93:225-37. [PMID: 24345451 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2013.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2013] [Revised: 11/01/2013] [Accepted: 11/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Spir proteins nucleate actin filaments at vesicle membranes and facilitate intracellular transport processes. The mammalian genome encodes two Spir proteins, namely Spir-1 and Spir-2. While the mouse spir-2 gene has a rather broad expression pattern, high levels of spir-1 expression are restricted to the nervous system, oocytes, and testis. Spir-1 mutant mice generated by a gene trap method have been employed to address Spir-1 function during mouse development and in adult mouse tissues, with a specific emphasis on viability, reproduction, and the nervous system. The gene trap cassette disrupts Spir-1 expression between the N-terminal KIND domain and the WH2 domain cluster. Spir-1 mutant mice are viable and were born in a Mendelian ratio. In accordance with the redundant function of Spir-1 and Spir-2 in oocyte maturation, spir-1 mutant mice are fertile. The overall brain anatomy of spir-1 mutant mice is not altered and visual and motor functions of the mice remain normal. Microscopic analysis shows a slight reduction in the number of dendritic spines on cortical neurons. Detailed behavioral studies of the spir-1 mutant mice, however, unveiled a very specific and highly significant phenotype in terms of fear learning in male mice. In contextual and cued fear conditioning experiments the male spir-1 mutant mice display increased fear memory when compared to their control littermates. Our data point toward a particular function of the vesicle associated Spir-1 actin organizer in neuronal circuits determining fear behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Pleiser
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Mumna Al Banchaabouchi
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Mouse Biology Unit, Via Ramarini 32, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy; Campus Vienna Biocenter, CSF - Campus Science Support Facilities GmbH, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 7, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Annette Samol-Wolf
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Dominika Farley
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Mouse Biology Unit, Via Ramarini 32, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy
| | - Tobias Welz
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Joel Wellbourne-Wood
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Isabell Gehring
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jörn Linkner
- Hannover Medical School, Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Carl-Neuberg Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Jan Faix
- Hannover Medical School, Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Carl-Neuberg Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Markus J Riemenschneider
- Regensburg University Hospital, Department of Neuropathology, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Susanne Dietrich
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Eugen Kerkhoff
- University Hospital Regensburg, Department of Neurology, Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
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