薬理学講座では、入力依存的なスパイン （ シナプス近傍の膨らみ）（＋神経細胞）での分子変化をGFP標識できるAiCE-Tgを開発し脳の、広い意味での可塑性（分子可塑性）を研究するツール、記憶という生理現象や関連病理の解析の糸口、と期待して研究展開しています。

Abstract Sneak peak　
The F-actin capping protein CapZ accumulates more in dendritic spines within regions where a long-term potentiation (LTP)-inducing stimulus has been applied. With the goal of developing an in vivo synaptic plasticity marker, we produced a transgenic mouse line, called AiCE-Tg, in which CapZ tagged with enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP-CapZ) is expressed in some spines. Twenty minutes after unilateral visual or somatosensory stimulation in AiCE-Tg mice, EGFP-CapZ signals were intensified in a subset of dendritic spines in stimulated cortices, and that difference was abolished by NMDA receptor blockade. Immunolabeling of α-actinin, a PSD-95 binding protein that can recruit AMPA receptors to postsynaptic sites, showed that α-actinin localization was more frequent/more accumulated in the brightest EGFP-CapZ spines (top 100) than in less bright spines (top 1000). This input-dependent redistribution of EGFP-CapZ may reflect LTP-like changes in vivo and thus may provide a useful tool for synaptic plasticity research.

References　SciRep2020　JEM2022 (日本語での説明文はこちらをクリック)

Fig. 3G in JEM 2022 shows the absence of “eat me signal”; PS on EGFP-CapZ positive (~Active) spines in the AiCE-Tg mice.
© 2022 Kurematsu et al. Originally published in Journal of Experimental Medicine

Email：　makiky@kph.bunri-u.ac.jp / makiky-tky@umin.ac.jp