Abstract
Protease nexin-1 (PN-1), a member of the serpin superfamily, controls the activity of extracellular serine proteases and is expressed in the brain. Mutant mice overexpressing PN-1 in brain under the control of the Thy-1 promoter (Thy 1/PN-1) or lacking PN-1 (PN-1 -/-) were found to develop epileptic activity in vivo and in vitro. Theta burst-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) and NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission in the CA1 field of hippocampal slices were augmented in Thy 1/PN-1 mice and reduced in PN-1-/mice. Compensatory changes in GABA-mediated inhibition in Thy 1/PN- 1 mice suggest that altered brain PN-1 levels lead to an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 4688-4699 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Neuroscience |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1997 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Epileptiform activity
- Knock-out and transgenic mice
- Long-term potentiation
- Protease modulation
- Protease nexin-1
- Synaptical activity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience