Alterations in mRNA transcription have been associated with changes in brain functions. We wanted to examine if fear conditioning causes long-term changes in transcriptome profiles in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and hippocampus using RNA-Seq and laser microdissection microscopy. We further aimed to uncover whether these changes are involved in memory formation by monitoring their levels in EphB2lacZ/lacZ mice, which lack EphB2 forward signaling and can form short-term fear conditioning memory but not long-term fear conditioning memory. We found transcriptome signatures unique to each brain region that are comprise of specific cellular pathways. We also revealed that fear conditioning leads to alterations in mRNAs levels 24 h after training in hippocampal neuropil, but not in hippocampal cell layers or BLA. The two main groups of altered mRNAs encode proteins involved in neuronal transmission, neuronal morphogenesis and neuronal development and the vast majority are known to be enriched in neurons. None of these mRNAs levels were altered by fear conditioning in EphB2lacZ/lacZ mice, which were also impaired in long-term fear memory. We show here that fear conditioning leads to an enduring alteration in mRNAs levels in hippocampal neuropil that is dependent on processes mediated by EphB2 that are needed for long-term memory formation. © 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Subhajit Jana, Monica Dines, Maya Lalzar, Raphael Lamprecht. Fear Conditioning Leads to Enduring Alterations in RNA Transcripts in Hippocampal Neuropil that are Dependent on EphB2 Forward Signaling. Molecular neurobiology. 2023 Apr;60(4):2320-2329
PMID: 36637747
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