AUTHOR=Singer Wibke , Manthey Marie , Panford-Walsh Rama , Matt Lucas , Geisler Hyun-Soon , Passeri Eleonora , Baj Gabriele , Tongiorgi Enrico , Leal Graciano , Duarte Carlos B. , Salazar Ivan L. , Eckert Philipp , Rohbock Karin , Hu Jing , Strotmann Jörg , Ruth Peter , Zimmermann Ulrike , Rüttiger Lukas , Ott Thomas , Schimmang Thomas , Knipper Marlies 

TITLE=BDNF-Live-Exon-Visualization (BLEV) Allows Differential Detection of BDNF Transcripts in vitro and in vivo

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2018.00325

DOI=10.3389/fnmol.2018.00325

ISSN=1662-5099

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Bdnf</italic> exon-IV and exon-VI transcripts are driven by neuronal activity and are involved in pathologies related to sleep, fear or memory disorders. However, how their differential transcription translates activity changes into long-lasting network changes is elusive. Aiming to trace specifically the network controlled by exon-IV and -VI derived BDNF during activity-dependent plasticity changes, we generated a transgenic reporter mouse for <bold><italic>B</italic></bold><italic>DNF</italic>-<bold><italic>l</italic></bold><italic>ive-</italic><bold><italic>e</italic></bold><italic>xon</italic>-<bold><italic>v</italic></bold><italic>isualization (BLEV</italic>), in which expression of <italic>Bdnf</italic> exon-IV and -VI can be visualized by co-expression of CFP and YFP. CFP and YFP expression was differentially activated and targeted in cell lines, primary cultures and BLEV reporter mice without interfering with BDNF protein synthesis. CFP and YFP expression, moreover, overlapped with BDNF protein expression in defined hippocampal neuronal, glial and vascular locations <italic>in vivo</italic>. So far, activity-dependent BDNF cannot be explicitly monitored independent of basal BDNF levels. The BLEV reporter mouse therefore provides a new model, which can be used to test whether stimulus-induced activity-dependent changes in BDNF expression are instrumental for long-lasting plasticity modifications.</p>