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Age-related expression of Neurexin1 and Neuroligin3 is correlated with presynaptic density in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of male mice

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A Correction to this article was published on 04 September 2019

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Abstract

Neurexin1 (Nrxn1) and Neuroligin3 (Nlgn3) are cell adhesion proteins, which play an important role in synaptic plasticity that declines with advancing age. However, the expression of these proteins during aging has not been analyzed. In the present study, we have examined the age-related changes in the expression of these proteins in cerebral cortex and hippocampus of 10-, 30-, 50-, and 80-week-old male mice. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis indicated that messenger RNA (mRNA) level of Nrxn1 and Nlgn3 significantly increased from 10 to 30 weeks and then decreased at 50 weeks in both the regions. However, in 80-week-old mice, Nrxn1 and Nlgn3 were further downregulated in cerebral cortex while Nrxn1 was downregulated and Nlgn3 was upregulated in hippocampus. These findings were corroborated by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence results. When the expression of Nrxn1 and Nlgn3 was correlated with presynaptic density marker synaptophysin, it was found that synaptophysin protein expression in cerebral cortex was high at 10 weeks and decreased gradually up to 80 weeks, whereas in hippocampus, it decreased until 50 weeks and then increased remarkably at 80 weeks. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that synaptophysin had a strong relation with Nrxn1 and Nlgn3 in cerebral cortex and with Nlgn3 in hippocampus. Thus, these findings showed that Nrxn1 and Nlgn3 are differentially expressed in cerebral cortex and hippocampus which might be responsible for alterations in synaptic plasticity during aging.

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Change history

  • 04 September 2019

    The corresponding author noticed in his published paper that the images (30 weeks, CC, 10, 30 and 50 weeks DG) of fig. 3b are inadvertently duplicated with the images of fig. 3a. Now, these images have been replaced in the corrected panel (Fig. 3b) below.

  • 04 September 2019

    The corresponding author noticed in his published paper that the images (30 weeks, CC, 10, 30 and 50 weeks DG) of fig. 3b are inadvertently duplicated with the images of fig. 3a. Now, these images have been replaced in the corrected panel (Fig. 3b) below.

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Acknowledgments

The present study was supported by grants from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to MKT [BT/PR3996/MED/97/57/2011], and research fellowship to DK from the Council of Scientific Industrial Research, India [09/013(0253)/2009-EMR-I].

Conflict of interest

The authors do not have any potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal, or academic aspect.

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  1. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Brain Research Centre, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Dhiraj Kumar & M. K. Thakur

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  1. Dhiraj Kumar
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  2. M. K. Thakur
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Correspondence to M. K. Thakur.

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Kumar, D., Thakur, M.K. Age-related expression of Neurexin1 and Neuroligin3 is correlated with presynaptic density in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of male mice. AGE 37, 17 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-015-9752-6

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