Latrophilin-2 and latrophilin-3 are redundantly essential for parallel-fiber synapse function in cerebellum

Latrophilin-2 (Lphn2) and latrophilin-3 (Lphn3) are adhesion GPCRs that serve as postsynaptic recognition molecules in CA1 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, where they are localized to distinct dendritic domains and are essential for different sets of excitatory synapses. Here, we studied Lphn2 and Lphn3 in the cerebellum. We show that latrophilins are abundantly and differentially expressed in the cerebellar cortex. Using conditional KO mice, we demonstrate that the Lphn2/3 double-deletion but not the deletion of Lphn2 or Lphn3 alone suppresses parallel-fiber synapses and reduces parallel-fiber synaptic transmission by ~50% without altering release probability. Climbing-fiber synapses, conversely, were unaffected. Even though ~50% of total cerebellar Lphn3 protein is expressed in Bergmann glia, Lphn3 deletion from Bergmann glia did not detectably impair excitatory or inhibitory synaptic transmission. Our studies demonstrate that Lphn2 and Lphn3 are selectively but redundantly required in Purkinje cells for parallel-fiber synapses.