Olfactory bulb granule cells are axon-less, inhibitory interneurons that regulate the activity of the excitatory output neurons, the mitral and tufted cells, through reciprocal dendrodendritic synapses located on granule cell spines. These contacts are established in the distal apical dendritic compartment, while granule cell basal dendrites and more proximal apical segments bear spines that receive glutamatergic inputs from the olfactory cortices. This synaptic connectivity is vital to olfactory circuit function and is remodeled during development, and in response to changes in sensory activity and lifelong granule cell neurogenesis. Manipulations that alter levels of the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in vivo have significant effects on dendritic spine morphology, maintenance and activity-dependent plasticity for a variety of CNS neurons, yet little is known regarding BDNF effects on bulb granule cell spine maturation or maintenance. Here we show that, in vivo, sustained bulbar over-expression of BDNF produces a marked increase in granule cell spine density that includes an increase in mature spines on their apical dendrites. Morphometric analysis demonstrated that changes in spine density were most notable in the distal and proximal apical domains, indicating that multiple excitatory inputs are potentially modified by BDNF. Our results indicate that increased levels of endogenous BDNF can promote the maturation and/or maintenance of dendritic spines on granule cells, suggesting a role for this factor in modulating granule cell functional connectivity within adult olfactory circuitry.

Structural changes that alter hippocampal functional circuitry are implicated in learning impairments, mood disorders and epilepsy. Reorganization of mossy fiber (MF) axons from dentate granule cells is one such form of plasticity. Increased neurotrophin signaling is proposed to underlie MF plasticity, and there is evidence to support a mechanistic role for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in this process. Transgenic mice overexpressing BDNF in forebrain under the α-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II promoter (TgBDNF mice) exhibit spatial learning deficits at 2–3 months of age, followed by the emergence of spontaneous seizures at ~6 months. These behavioral changes suggest that chronic increases in BDNF progressively disrupt hippocampal functional organization. To determine if the dentate MF pathway is structurally altered in this strain, the present study employed Timm staining and design-based stereology to compare MF distribution and projection volumes in transgenic and wild-type mice at 2–3 months, and at 6–7 months. Mice in the latter age group were assessed for seizure vulnerability with a low dose of pilocarpine given 2 hrs before euthanasia. At 2–3 months, TgBDNF mice showed moderate expansion of CA3-projecting MFs (~20%), with increased volumes measured in the suprapyramidal (SP-MF) and intra/infrapyramidal (IIP-MF) compartments. At 6–7 months, a subset of transgenic mice exhibited increased seizure susceptibility, along with an increase in IIP-MF volume (~30%). No evidence of MF sprouting was seen in the inner molecular layer. Additional stereological analyses demonstrated significant increases in molecular layer (ML) volume in TgBDNF mice at both ages, as well as an increase in granule cell number by 8 months of age. Collectively, these results indicate that sustained increases in endogenous BDNF modify dentate structural organization over time, and may thereby contribute to the development of pro-epileptic circuitry.