The mitochondrial calcium uniporter is necessary for synaptic plasticity and proper mitochondrial morphology and distribution in the distal dendrites of CA2 neurons.
Katy E PannoniQuentin S FischerRenesa TarannumMikel L CawleyMayd M AlsalmanNicole AcostaChisom EzigboDaniela V GilLogan A CampbellShannon FarrisPublished in: bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology (2023)
The mitochondrial calcium uniporter regulates plasticity selectively at synapses in CA2 distal dendrites.The MCU-cKO induced LTP deficit at synapses in CA2 distal dendrites correlates with a trending reduction in spine density.Loss of MCU in CA2 results in ultrastructural changes in dendritic mitochondria that suggest an increase in mitochondrial fragmentation. These ultrastructural changes could result in functional consequences, such as decreased ATP production, that could underlie the plasticity deficit.