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Reelin signaling in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex contributes to age‐related alterations in cognitive function
Author(s) -
Stranahan Alexis M
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.81.3
Subject(s) - reelin , entorhinal cortex , hippocampus , neuroscience , hippocampal formation , synaptic plasticity , synaptophysin , dab1 , psychology , biology , medicine , immunohistochemistry , receptor
Reelin, a glycoprotein implicated in synaptic plasticity, is expressed by entorhinal cortical layer II neurons that project to the hippocampus. Here we report that an age‐related reduction in reelin expression in the entorhinal cortex is associated with cognitive decline. Using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, we observed decreases in the number of Reelin‐immunoreactive cells and reelin mRNA expression in the lateral entorhinal cortex of aged rats that are cognitively impaired relative to young adults and aged rats with preserved cognitive abilities. By contrast, hippocampal reelin signaling decreased with age and was not correlated with cognitive status. The lateral entorhinal cortex of aged rats with cognitive impairment also exhibited changes in other molecular markers, including increased accumulation of phosphorylated tau and decreased synaptophysin immunoreactivity. Interference with reelin signaling in the lateral entorhinal cortex of young rats was sufficient to impair both cognition and synaptic marker expression. Taken together, these findings suggest that reduced reelin expression, emanating from layer II entorhinal neurons, may contribute to network dysfunction that occurs during memory loss in aging. Grant Funding Source: startup