Mice with heterozygous knockout of Col2a1 show subtle early skeletal manifestations that bear some resemblance to those of human spine disorders.

Presynaptic kainate-type glutamate receptors (KARs) regulate glutamate release probability and short-term plasticity in various areas of the brain. Here we show that long-term depression (LTD) in the area CA1 of neonatal rodent hippocampus is associated with an upregulation of tonic inhibitory KAR activity, which contributes to synaptic depression and causes a pronounced increase in short-term facilitation of transmission. This increased KAR function was mediated by high-affinity receptors and required activation of NMDA receptors, nitric oxide (NO) synthetase, and postsynaptic calcium signaling. In contrast, KAR activity was irreversibly downregulated in response to induction of long-term potentiation in a manner that depended on activation of the TrkB-receptor of BDNF. Both tonic KAR activity and its plasticity were restricted to early stages of synapse development and were lost in parallel with maturation of the network due to ongoing BDNF-TrkB signaling. These data show that presynaptic KARs are targets for activity-dependent modulation via diffusible messengers NO and BDNF, which enhance and depress tonic KAR activity at immature synapses, respectively. The plasticity of presynaptic KARs in the developing network allows nascent synapses to shape their response to incoming activity. In particular, upregulation of KAR function after LTD allows the synapse to preferentially pass high-frequency afferent activity. This can provide a potential rescue from synapse elimination by uncorrelated activity and also increase the computational dynamics of the developing CA3-CA1 circuitry.

Transgenic mice carrying an internally deleted human type II collagen gene (COL2A1) were used to study bone growth and development. This mutation has previously been shown to disturb the development of collagen fibrils in articular cartilage, causing chondrodysplasia and osteoarthritis. Type II collagen expression in bones was investigated with immunohistochemistry. The development and mineralization of the skeleton and anthropometric measurements on bones were evaluated using X-rays and dynamic histomorphometry. Type II collagen was expressed in the cartilage of developing bones. The bones of transgenic mice were smaller compared with the controls. The bone mass remained almost unchanged in transgenic mice after 1 month of age, leading to differences of 47% in trabecular bone volume (P = 0.012) and 40% in trabecular thickness (P < 0.01) at the age of 3 months compared with controls. At the age of 3 months the eroded surface per bone volume was 31% greater in transgenic mice compared with controls (P < 0.05). Trabecular thickness correlated positively with body weight (R = 0.71, P < 0.001). Interestingly, body weight correlated with bone volume in control mice (R = 0.27, P < 0.01), but no correlation was observed in transgenic mice. The disturbed synthesis of cartilage-specific type II collagen in growing transgenic mice retarded bone development, increased bone resorption, and altered tissue properties. This led to a negative net bone balance and small bone size. The results support the idea that an altered synthesis of cartilage-specific molecule(s) can disturb postnatal bone development and growth.