Long-term potentiation in mice lacking the neural cell adhesion molecule L1.

Genetic evidence indicates that cell adhesion molecules of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgCAMs) are critical for activity-dependent synapse formation at the neuromuscular junction in Drosophila and have also been implicated in synaptic remodelling during learning in Aplysia (see [1] for review). In mammals, a widely adopted model for the process of learning at the cellular level is long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampal formation. Studies in vitro have shown that antibodies to the IgCAMs L1 and NCAM reduce LTP in CA1 neurons of rat hippocampus, suggesting a role for these molecules in the modulation of synaptic efficacy, perhaps by regulating synaptic remodelling [2]. A role for NCAM in LTP has been confirmed in mice lacking NCAM [3] (but see [4]), but similar studies have not been reported for L1. Here we examine LTP in the hippocampus of mice lacking L1 [5,6], using different experimental protocols in three different laboratories. In tests of LTP in vitro and in vivo we found no significant differences between mutant animals and controls. Thus, contrary to expectation, our data suggest that L1 function is not necessary for the establishment or maintenance of LTP in the hippocampus. Impaired performance in spatial learning exhibited by L1 mutants may therefore not be due to hippocampal dysfunction [6].