The first and last names of the first author, Julien Falk, were transposed. The name is correct as shown in the author list printed here.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a new, intercellular signalling molecule in the brain that has an important role in adult hippocampal plasticity. Mice lacking the LPA1 receptor exhibit motor, emotional and cognitive alterations. However, the potential relationship among these concomitant impairments was unclear. Wild-type and maLPA1-null mice were tested on the hole-board for habituation and spatial learning. MaLPA1-null mice exhibited reduced exploration in a novel context and a defective intersession habituation that also revealed increased anxiety-like behaviour throughout the hole-board testing. In regard to spatial memory, maLPA1 nulls failed to reach the controls’ performance at the end of the reference memory task. Moreover, their defective working memory on the first training day suggested a delayed acquisition of the task’s working memory rule, which is also a long term memory component. The temporal interval between trials and the task’s difficulty may explain some of the deficits found in these mice. Principal components analysis revealed that alterations found in each behavioural dimension were independent. Therefore, exploratory and emotional impairments did not account for the cognitive deficits that may be attributed to maLPA1 nulls’ hippocampal malfunction.

BackgroundThe lysophosphatidic acid LPA1 receptor regulates plasticity and neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus. Here, we studied whether absence of the LPA1 receptor modulated the detrimental effects of chronic stress on hippocampal neurogenesis and spatial memory.Methodology/Principal FindingsMale LPA1-null (NULL) and wild-type (WT) mice were assigned to control or chronic stress conditions (21 days of restraint, 3 h/day). Immunohistochemistry for bromodeoxyuridine and endogenous markers was performed to examine hippocampal cell proliferation, survival, number and maturation of young neurons, hippocampal structure and apoptosis in the hippocampus. Corticosterone levels were measured in another a separate cohort of mice. Finally, the hole-board test assessed spatial reference and working memory. Under control conditions, NULL mice showed reduced cell proliferation, a defective population of young neurons, reduced hippocampal volume and moderate spatial memory deficits. However, the primary result is that chronic stress impaired hippocampal neurogenesis in NULLs more severely than in WT mice in terms of cell proliferation; apoptosis; the number and maturation of young neurons; and both the volume and neuronal density in the granular zone. Only stressed NULLs presented hypocortisolemia. Moreover, a dramatic deficit in spatial reference memory consolidation was observed in chronically stressed NULL mice, which was in contrast to the minor effect observed in stressed WT mice.Conclusions/SignificanceThese results reveal that the absence of the LPA1 receptor aggravates the chronic stress-induced impairment to hippocampal neurogenesis and its dependent functions. Thus, modulation of the LPA1 receptor pathway may be of interest with respect to the treatment of stress-induced hippocampal pathology.

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