Purkinje cell loss and motor coordination defects in profilin1 mutant mice

Profilin1 is an actin monomer-binding protein, essential for cytoskeletal dynamics. Based on its broad expression in the brain and the localization at excitatory synapses (hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse, cerebellar parallel fiber (PF)-Purkinje cell (PC) synapse), an important role for profilin1 in brain development and synapse physiology has been postulated. We recently showed normal physiology of hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses in the absence of profilin1, but impaired glial cell binding and radial migration of cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs). Consequently, brain-specific inactivation of profilin1 by exploiting conditional mutants and Nestin-mediated cre expression resulted in a cerebellar hypoplasia, aberrant organization of cerebellar cortex layers, and ectopic CGNs. Apart from these findings we noted a loss of PCs and an irregularly shaped PC layer in adult mutants. In this study, we show that PC migration and development are not affected in profilin1 mutants, suggesting cell type-specific functions for profilin1 in PCs and CGNs. PC loss begins during the second postnatal week and progresses until adulthood with no further impairment in aged mutants. In Nestin-cre profilin1 mutants, defects in cerebellar cortex cytoarchitecture are associated with impaired motor coordination. However, in L7-cre mutants, lacking profilin1 specifically in PCs, the cerebellar cortex cytoarchitecture is unchanged. Thereby, our results demonstrate that the loss of PCs is not caused by cell-autonomous defects, but presumably by impaired CGN migration. Finally, we show normal functionality of PF-PC synapses in the absence of profilin1. In summary, we conclude that profilin1 is crucially important for brain development, but dispensable for the physiology of excitatory synapses.