MeCP2 Deficiency Disrupts Activity-dependent Presynaptic Plasticity in the Mossy Fiber Projections in the Hippocampus

MARIA LAURA BERTOLDI; MARIA INÉS ZALOSNIK FIGUEROA; MARIA CAROLINA FABIO; SUSAN AJA; GERMAN A ROTH; GABRIELE RONNETT; ALICIA LAURA DEGANO

Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

Frontiers Media SA

Lugar: Lausanne ; Año: 2019

ethyl Cytosine Binding Protein 2 (MeCP2) is a structural chromosomal protein involved in the regulation of gene expression.Mutations in the gene encoding MeCP2 result in Rett Syndrome, (RTT) a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder. RTT is one of fewAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) whose cause was identified as a single gene mutation. Remarkably, abnormal levels of MeCP2have been associated to other neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as neuropsychiatric disorders. Therefore, many studies havebeen oriented to investigate the role of MeCP2 in the nervous system.In the present work, we explore cellular and molecular mechanisms affecting synaptic plasticity events in vivo in the hippocampusof MeCP2 mutant mice. While most studies addressed postsynaptic defects in the absence of MeCP2, we took advantage of an invivo activity-paradigm (seizures), two models of MeCP2 deficiency, and neurobiological assays to reveal novel defects inpresynaptic structural plasticity in the hippocampus in RTT