Region-specific effects of Scrapper on the abundance of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid in the mouse brain

Sci Rep. 2020 May 4;10(1):7435. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64277-w.

Abstract

The brain consists of various areas with anatomical features. Neurons communicate with one another via excitatory or inhibitory synaptic transmission. Altered abundance of neurotransmitters, including glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), in specific brain regions is closely involved in severe neurological diseases, such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. SCRAPPER, a ubiquitin E3 ligase, regulates synaptic transmission. Scrapper gene deficiency results in defective neurotransmission due to excessive secretion of neurotransmitters. The present study employed matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry to analyze the abundance of amino acid neurotransmitters in Scrapper knockout (SCR-KO) mice. SCR-KO mice exhibited significantly increased glutamate levels in the isocortex (CTX), corpus callosum (CC), thalamus (TH), midbrain (MB), cerebellar cortex (CBX), and caudoputamen (CP) and increased GABA levels in the CTX, CC, TH, MB, CBX and hypothalamus (HY) compared with wild-type mice. These findings indicate that Scrapper deficiency leads to upregulated glutamate and GABA levels in multiple regions. Our results show a differential, region-specific effect of Scrapper on the abundance of glutamate and GABA.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials
  • F-Box Proteins / genetics*
  • F-Box Proteins / metabolism*
  • Glutamic Acid / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Neurotransmitter Agents / metabolism
  • Synapses / metabolism
  • Synaptic Transmission
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • Tissue Distribution
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / metabolism*

Substances

  • F-Box Proteins
  • Fbxl20 protein, mouse
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Neurotransmitter Agents
  • Glutamic Acid
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid