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Requirement of TrkB for synapse elimination in developing cerebellar Purkinje cells

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Brain Cell Biology

Abstract

The receptor tyrosine kinase TrkB and its ligands, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), are critically important for growth, survival and activity-dependent synaptic strengthening in the central nervous system. These TrkB-mediated actions occur in a highly cell-type specific manner. Here we report that cerebellar Purkinje cells, which are richly endowed with TrkB receptors, develop a normal morphology in trkB-deficient mice. Thus, in contrast to other types of neurons, Purkinje cells do not need TrkB for dendritic growth and spine formation. Instead, we find a moderate delay in the maturation of GABAergic synapses and, more importantly, an abnormal multiple climbing fiber innervation in Purkinje cells in trkB-deficient mice. Thus, our results demonstrate an involvement of TrkB receptors in synapse elimination and reveal a new role for receptor tyrosine kinases in the brain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Neurowissenschaften, Technische Universität München, Biedersteiner Strasse 29, 80802, München, Germany

    Laurens W. J. Bosman, Jana Hartmann, Michael Noll-Hussong & Arthur Konnerth

  2. Institut für Physiologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, Germany

    Jaroslaw J. Barski & Alexandra Lepier

  3. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, USA

    Louis F. Reichardt

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  1. Laurens W. J. Bosman
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  2. Jana Hartmann
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  3. Jaroslaw J. Barski
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  4. Alexandra Lepier
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  6. Louis F. Reichardt
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  7. Arthur Konnerth
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Correspondence to Arthur Konnerth.

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Bosman, L.W.J., Hartmann, J., Barski, J.J. et al. Requirement of TrkB for synapse elimination in developing cerebellar Purkinje cells. Brain Cell Bio 35, 87–101 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11068-006-9002-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11068-006-9002-z

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