Faculty Bibliography

Splenules are congenital foci of healthy splenic tissue that are separate from the main body but are structurally identical to the spleen, derived from mesenchymal buds on the left side of the mesogastrium and commonly seen in or near the tail of the pancreas. We report a case of a 58-year-old male who was found to have a pancreatic tail mass on contrast-enhanced abdominal CT, which was similarly disguised as a pancreatic tail mass on both magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and abdominal MRI. A liver spleen scintigraph with Tc sulfur colloid later proved the mass to be a splenule.

Nervous system function requires tight control over the number of synapses individual neurons receive, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate synapse number remain obscure. Here we present evidence that a trans-synaptic interaction between EphB2 in the presynaptic compartment and ephrin-B3 in the postsynaptic compartment regulates synapse density and the formation of dendritic spines. Observations in cultured cortical neurons demonstrate that synapse density scales with ephrin-B3 expression level and is controlled by ephrin-B3-dependent competitive cell-cell interactions. RNA interference and biochemical experiments support the model that ephrin-B3 regulates synapse density by directly binding to Erk1/2 to inhibit postsynaptic Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling. Together these findings define a mechanism that contributes to synapse maturation and controls the number of excitatory synaptic inputs received by individual neurons.

The development of central nervous system synapses requires precise coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic components. The EphB family controls postsynaptic development by interacting with glutamate receptors and regulating dendritic filopodia motility, but how EphBs induce the formation of presynaptic specializations is less well understood. Here, we show that knockdown of presynaptic ephrin-B1, ephrin-B2, or syntenin-1, but not ephrin-B3, prevents EphB-dependent presynaptic development. Ephrin-B1, ephrin-B2, and syntenin-1 are clustered together with presynaptic markers, suggesting that these molecules function jointly in presynaptic development. Knockdown of ephrin-B1 or ephrin-B2 reduces the number of synaptic specializations and the colocalization of syntenin-1 with synaptic markers. Simultaneous knockdown of ephrin-B1 and ephrin-B2 suggests that they function independently in the formation of synaptic contacts, but act together to recruit syntenin-1 to presynaptic terminals. Taken together, these results demonstrate that ephrin-B1 and ephrin-B2 function with EphB to mediate presynaptic development via syntenin-1.

Many cell adhesion molecules are localized at synaptic sites in neuronal axons and dendrites. These molecules bridge pre- and postsynaptic specializations but do far more than simply provide a mechanical link between cells. In this review, we will discuss the roles these proteins have during development and at mature synapses. Synaptic adhesion proteins participate in the formation, maturation, function and plasticity of synaptic connections. Together with conventional synaptic transmission mechanisms, these molecules are an important element in the trans-cellular communication mediated by synapses.

The majority of mature excitatory synapses in the CNS are found on dendritic spines and contain AMPA- and NMDA-type glutamate receptors apposed to presynaptic specializations. EphB receptor tyrosine kinase signaling has been implicated in both NMDA-type glutamate receptor clustering and dendritic spine formation, but it remains unclear whether EphB plays a broader role in presynaptic and postsynaptic development. Here, we find that EphB2 is involved in organizing excitatory synapses through the independent activities of particular EphB2 protein domains. We demonstrate that EphB2 controls AMPA-type glutamate receptor localization through PDZ (postsynaptic density-95/Discs large/zona occludens-1) binding domain interactions and triggers presynaptic differentiation via its ephrin binding domain. Knockdown of EphB2 in dissociated neurons results in decreased functional synaptic inputs, spines, and presynaptic specializations. Mice lacking EphB1-EphB3 have reduced numbers of synapses, and defects are rescued with postnatal reexpression of EphB2 in single neurons in brain slice. These results demonstrate that EphB2 acts to control the organization of specific classes of mature glutamatergic synapses.