Nectin-3 modulates the structural plasticity of dentate granule cells and long-term memory

Nectin-3, a cell adhesion molecule enriched in hippocampal neurons, has been implicated in stress-related cognitive disorders. Nectin-3 is expressed by granule cells in the dentate gyrus (DG), but it remains unclear whether nectin-3 in DG modulates the structural plasticity of dentate granule cells and hippocampus-dependent memory. In this study, we found that DG nectin-3 expression levels were developmentally regulated and reduced by early postnatal stress exposure in adult mice. Most importantly, knockdown of nectin-3 levels in all DG neuron populations by adeno-associated virus (AAV) mimicked the cognitive effects of early-life stress, and impaired long-term spatial memory and temporal order memory. Moreover, AAV-mediated DG nectin-3 knockdown increased the density of doublecortin-immunoreactive differentiating cells under proliferation and calretinin-immunoreactive immature neurons, but markedly decreased calbindin immunoreactivity, indicating that nectin-3 modulates the differentiation and maturation of adult-born DG granule cells. Using retrovirus to target newly generated DG neurons, we found that selective nectin-3 knockdown in new DG neurons also impaired long-term spatial memory. In addition, suppressing nectin-3 expression in new DG neurons evoked a reduction of dendritic spines, especially thin spines. Our data indicate that nectin-3 expressed in DG neurons may modulate adult neurogenesis, dendritic spine plasticity and the cognitive effects of early-life stress.