Oxytocin Signaling Is Necessary for Synaptic Maturation of Adult-Born Neurons

Authors

Brandon T Pekarek
Mikhail Kochukov
Brittney Lozzi
Timothy Wu
Patrick J Hunt
Burak Tepe
Elizabeth Hanson Moss
Evelyne K Tantry
Jessica L Swanson
Sean W Dooling
Mayuri Patel
Benjamin D W Belfort
Juan M Romero
Suyang Bao
Matthew C Hill
Benjamin R Arenkiel

Publication Date

11-1-2022

Journal

Genes Development

DOI

10.1101/gad.349930.122

PMID

36617877

PMCID

PMC9851403

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

11-1-2022

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Mice, Animals, Oxytocin, Receptors, Oxytocin, Neurons, Olfactory Bulb, Neurogenesis

Abstract

Neural circuit plasticity and sensory response dynamics depend on forming new synaptic connections. Despite recent advances toward understanding the consequences of circuit plasticity, the mechanisms driving circuit plasticity are unknown. Adult-born neurons within the olfactory bulb have proven to be a powerful model for studying circuit plasticity, providing a broad and accessible avenue into neuron development, migration, and circuit integration. We and others have shown that efficient adult-born neuron circuit integration hinges on presynaptic activity in the form of diverse signaling peptides. Here, we demonstrate a novel oxytocin-dependent mechanism of adult-born neuron synaptic maturation and circuit integration. We reveal spatial and temporal enrichment of oxytocin receptor expression within adult-born neurons in the murine olfactory bulb, with oxytocin receptor expression peaking during activity-dependent integration. Using viral labeling, confocal microscopy, and cell type-specific RNA-seq, we demonstrate that oxytocin receptor signaling promotes synaptic maturation of newly integrating adult-born neurons by regulating their morphological development and expression of mature synaptic AMPARs and other structural proteins.