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. 2011 Sep 1:4:33.
doi: 10.1186/1756-6606-4-33.

Impaired spatial and contextual memory formation in galectin-1 deficient mice

Masanori Sakaguchi  1 , Maithe Arruda-Carvalho, Na Hyea Kang, Yoichi Imaizumi, Françoise Poirier, Hideyuki Okano, Paul W Frankland
Affiliations

Impaired spatial and contextual memory formation in galectin-1 deficient mice

Masanori Sakaguchi et al. Mol Brain. .

Abstract

Galectins are a 15 member family of carbohydrate-binding proteins that have been implicated in cancer, immunity, inflammation and development. While galectins are expressed in the central nervous system, little is known about their function in the adult brain. Previously we have shown that galectin-1 (gal-1) is expressed in the adult hippocampus, and, in particular, in putative neural stem cells in the subgranular zone. To evaluate how gal-1 might contribute to hippocampal memory function here we studied galectin-1 null mutant (gal-1-/-) mice. Compared to their wildtype littermate controls, gal-1-/- mice exhibited impaired spatial learning in the water maze and contextual fear learning. Interestingly, tone fear conditioning was normal in gal-1-/- mice suggesting that loss of gal-1 might especially impact hippocampal learning and memory. Furthermore, gal-1-/- mice exhibited normal motor function, emotion and sensory processing in a battery of other behavioral tests, suggesting that non-mnemonic performance deficits are unlikely to account for the spatial and contextual learning deficits. Together, these data reveal a role for galectin-carbohydrate signalling in hippocampal memory function.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Characterization of gal-1 expression in adult mouse hippocampus. (A) In wild type hippocampus, gal-1 expression (red; arrows) was found in the DG, CA3 and CA1. Blue = nuclei visualized by Hoechst 33258. (B) In gal-1-/- mice, the signal was completely absent indicating the specificity of our gal-1 staining. (C) In the GCL of the DG, gal-1 signal was never co-localized in NeuN-positive cells. (D) In the GCL, the vast majority of gal-1 positive cells were GFAP-positive (arrows). (E and F) In the CA3, gal-1 positive cells were always NeuN-positive (E, arrow), but not GFAP-positive (F). (G and H) In the CA1, gal-1 positive cells were either NeuN-positive (G, arrow) or NeuN-negative/GFAP-negative (G, arrowhead, H). Scale bars: (A-B), 100 μm; (C-H), 5 μm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Contextual fear memory deficits in gal-1-/- mice. (A) Experimental design used to fear condition WT (n = 11) and gal-1-/- (n = 15) mice. (B) Shock reactivity in WT (black bar) vs. gal-1-/- (white bar) mice. (C) Freezing in context test in WT (black bars) vs. gal-1-/- (white bar) mice. (D) Freezing in tone test in context B (WT, closed circles; gal-1-/- mice, open circles). The tone was presented after 120 s.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Normal contextual fear conditioning in gal-1-/- mice after strong training. (A) Experimental design used to fear condition (3 tone-shock pairs) WT (n = 10) and gal-1-/- (n = 12) mice. (B) Freezing during training in WT (closed circles) and gal-1-/- mice (open circles). (C) Freezing in context test in WT (black bars) vs. gal-1-/- (white bar) mice. (D) Freezing in tone test in context B (WT, closed circles; gal-1-/- mice, open circles). The tone was presented after 120 s.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Spatial learning deficits in gal-1-/- mice in the hidden platform version of the water maze. (A) Escape latencies during training for WT (n = 14; closed circles) and gal-1-/- (n = 15; open circles) mice. (B) Probe test data showing percent time searching target (T) zone (black bars) vs. average of three other equivalent zones (white bars) for WT and gal-1-/- mice (* < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
General behavior in gal-1-/- mice. (A) Latencies to find platform for WT (n = 3; closed circles) vs. gal-1-/- mice (n = 3; open circles) in the visible version of the water maze. (B) Latency to locate visible platform moved to opposite quadrant for WT (n = 3; black bar) and gal-1-/- (n = 3; white bar) mice. (C). Swim speed for WT (n = 3; closed circles) vs. gal-1-/- mice (n = 3; open circles) across training days in the visible version of the water maze. (D) Distance travelled in open field for WT (n = 12; black circles) vs. gal-1-/- mice (n = 17; white circles). (E) Exploratory activity in outer, middle and inner regions of an open field for WT (black bars) vs. gal-1-/- mice (white bars) in open field test. (F) Startle responses evoked by different intensity noise bursts (0, 75-100 dB) for WT (n = 13; closed circles) vs. gal-1-/- mice (n = 8; open circles). (G) Prepulse inhibition using three different intensity prepulses WT (n = 13; black bars) vs. gal-1-/- mice (n = 8; white bars).
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