Neuroligins are transmembrane cell adhesion proteins with a key role in the regulation of excitatory and inhibitory synapses. Based on previous in vitro and ex vivo studies, neuroligin-1 (NL1) has been suggested to play a selective role in the function of glutamatergic synapses. However, the role of NL1 has not yet been investigated in the brain of live animals. We studied the effects of NL1-deficiency on synaptic transmission in the hippocampal dentate gyrus using field potential recordings evoked by perforant path stimulation in urethane-anesthetized NL1 knockout (KO) mice. We report that in NL1 KOs the activation of glutamatergic perforant path granule cell inputs resulted in reduced synaptic responses. In addition, NL1 KOs displayed impairment in long-term potentiation. Furthermore, field EPSP-population spike (E-S) coupling was greater in NL1 KO than WT mice and paired-pulse inhibition was reduced, indicating a compensatory rise of excitability in NL1 KO granule cells. Consistent with changes in excitatory transmission, NL1 KOs showed a significant reduction in hippocampal synaptosomal expression levels of the AMPA receptor subunit GluA2 and NMDA receptor subunits GluN1, GluN2A and GluN2B. Taken together, we provide first evidence that NL1 is essential for normal excitatory transmission and long-term synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus of intact animals. Our data provide insights into synaptic and circuit mechanisms of neuropsychiatric abnormalities such as learning deficits and autism.

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Here, we studied whether the lack of APP affects the synaptic properties in the dentate gyrus by measuring granule cell field potentials evoked by perforant path stimulation in anesthetized 9-11-month-old APP-deficient mice in vivo. We found decreased paired-pulse facilitation, indicating altered presynaptic short-term plasticity in the APP-deficient dentate gyrus. In contrast, excitatory synaptic strength and granule cell firing were unchanged in APP knockout mice. Likewise, long-term potentiation (LTP) induced by a theta-burst stimulation protocol was not impaired in the absence of APP. These findings suggest that the deletion of APP may affect presynaptic plasticity of synaptic transmission at the perforant path-granule cell synapse but leaves synaptic efficacy intact and LTP preserved, possibly due to functional redundancy within the APP gene family.

Amyloid precursor-like protein 1 (APLP1) is a transmembrane synaptic protein belonging to the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene family. Although the role of this gene family-in particular of APP-has been intensely studied in the context of Alzheimer's disease, the physiological roles of its family members remain poorly understood. In particular, the function of APLP1, which is predominantly expressed in the nervous system, has remained enigmatic. Since APP has been implicated in synaptic plasticity, we wondered whether APLP1 could play a similar role. First, using in situ hybridization and laser microdissection combined with reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) we observed that Aplp1 mRNA is highly expressed in dentate granule cells. Having this examined, we studied synaptic plasticity at the perforant path-granule cell synapses in the dentate gyrus of APLP1-deficient mice in vivo. Analysis of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials evoked by stimulation of perforant path fibers revealed increased excitatory transmission in APLP1-deficient mice. Moreover, we observed decreased paired-pulse inhibition of population spikes indicating a decrease in network inhibition upon deletion of APLP1. In contrast, short-term presynaptic plasticity (STP) as well as long-term synaptic plasticity (LTP) was unchanged in the absence of APLP1. Based on these results we conclude that APLP1 deficiency on its own does not lead to defects in synaptic plasticity, but affects synaptic transmission and network inhibition in the dentate gyrus.

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