Synaptic protein expression in the medial temporal lobe and frontal cortex following chronic bilateral vestibular loss

Abstract

Several studies have reported that bilateral vestibular deafferentation (BVD) results in the disruption of place cell function and theta activity in the hippocampus. Recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in humans demonstrated that bilateral but not unilateral vestibular loss is associated with a bilateral atrophy of the hippocampus. In this study we investigated whether BVD in rats resulted in changes in the expression of four proteins related to neuronal plasticity, synaptophysin, SNAP-25, drebrin and neurofilament-L, in the hippocampal subregions (CA1, CA2/3, the DG) and the entorhinal (EC), perirhinal (PRC) and frontal cortices (FC), using western blotting. At 6 months following BVD, there were no significant differences in the expression of synaptophysin in any region. There were also no significant differences in SNAP-25 expression in CA1, CA2/3, EC, PRC, or the FC; however, there was a significant increase in SNAP-25 expression in the DG compared to sham controls. Drebrin A and E expression was significantly reduced in the EC and drebrin A was significantly reduced in the FC of BVD animals. NF-L expression was not significantly different in CA1, CA2/3, DG, EC, or the PRC. However, its expression was significantly reduced in the FC of BVD animals. These data suggest that circumscribed neurochemical changes in SNAP-25, drebrin and NF-L expression occur in the DG, EC, and the FC over 6 months following BVD.