Possible correlated variation of GABAA receptor α3 expression with hippocampal cholinergic neurostimulating peptide precursor protein in the hippocampus

Cholinergic neural activation from the medial septal nucleus to hippocampus plays a crucial role in episodic memory as a regulating system for glutamatergic neural activation in the hippocampus. As a candidate regulating factor for acetylcholine synthesis in the medial septal nucleus, hippocampal cholinergic neurostimulating peptide (HCNP) was purified from the soluble fraction of young adult rat hippocampus. HCNP is released from its precursor protein (HCNP-pp), also referred to as phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein 1. We recently reported that HCNP-pp conditional knockout (KO) mice, in which the HCNP-pp gene was knocked out at 3 months of age by tamoxifen injection, display no significant behavioral abnormalities, whereas HCNP-pp KO mice have a diminished cholinergic projection to CA1 and a decreased of theta activity in CA1. In this study, to address whether HCNP-pp reduction in early life is associated with behavioral changes, we evaluated the behavior of HCNP-pp KO mice in which HCNP-pp was downregulated from an early phase (postnatal days 14-28). As unexpected, HCNP-pp KO mice had no behavioral deficits. However, a significant positive correlation between HCNP-pp and gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA(A)) receptor alpha 3 subunit mRNA expression was found in individuals. This finding suggests involvement of HCNP-pp in regulating GABA(A) receptor alpha 3 gene expression. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

Cholinergic neural activation from the medial septal nucleus to hippocampus is crucial for episodic memory and regulation of glutamatergic neural activation. HCNP, a peptide involved in acetylcholine synthesis, was found to have no significant impact on behavior in HCNP-pp KO mice. However, there is a possible involvement of HCNP-pp in regulating the expression of the GABA(A) receptor alpha 3 gene.