Exploring The Funtion Of Postsynaptic Protein SAPAP4 In Learning And Memory

SAPAP(SAP90/PSD-95-associated protein,SAPAP)family proteins are located in postsynaptic density(PSD).With its interaction with PSD-95 and Shank family,they are thought to form a key postsynaptic scaffolding complex that plays an important role in the formation,stabilization,plasticity and signal transduction of the excitatory synapses.SAPAPs are widely distributed in the central nervous system,while its subtypes have different distributions and function.As one subtype of SAPAPS,SAPAP4 are widely distributed in the hippocampus,cerebral cortex,striatum,amygdala,and many other parts of the brain associated with learning and memory.However,its role in learning and memory still remains unclear.In our preliminary study,SAPAP4 knock-out mice are successfully generated.In this study,we will use a cohoront of behavioral tasks to explore the effect of SAPAP4 deletion on the learning and memory.We have investigated the emotional memory of SAPAP4 knock-out mice using fear conditioning and passive avoidance test.The results show that SAPAP4 knock-out mice may have cued and contextual fear memory defects,and also have abnormal exploratory behavior.We have investigated the spatial learning and memory of SAPAP4 knock-out mice using T maze and Morris water maze.The results suggest that SAPAP4 knock-out mice may have slight spatial learning and memory defects.In addition,we also found that SAPAP4 knock-out mice weighed significantly less than wild type mice at 4 months and 7 months of age,respectively.In conclusion,our results provide more evidence to understand the learning and memory behavioral phenotypes of SAPAP4 knock-out mice,and help us to understand the molecular mechanisms of SAPAP4 in learning and memory.