Mice deficient in synaptic protease neurotrypsin show impaired spaced long-term potentiation and blunted learning-induced modulation of dendritic spines

Neurotrypsin (NT) is a neuronal trypsin-like serine protease whose mutations cause severe mental retardation in humans. NT is activated in vitro by Hebbian-like conjunction of pre- and postsynaptic activities, which promotes the formation of dendritic filopodia via proteolytic cleavage of the proteoglycan agrin. Here, we investigated the functional importance of this mechanism for synaptic plasticity, learning, and extinction of memory. We report that juvenile neurotrypsin-deficient (NT(−/−)) mice exhibit impaired long-term potentiation induced by a spaced stimulation protocol designed to probe the generation of new filopodia and their conversion into functional synapses. Behaviorally, juvenile NT(−/−) mice show impaired contextual fear memory and have a sociability deficit. The latter persists in aged NT(−/−) mice, which, unlike juvenile mice, show normal recall but impaired extinction of contextual fear memories. Structurally, juvenile mutants exhibit reduced spine density in the CA1 region, fewer thin spines, and no modulation in the density of dendritic spines following fear conditioning and extinction in contrast to wild-type littermates. The head width of thin spines is reduced in both juvenile and aged NT(−/−) mice. In vivo delivery of adeno-associated virus expressing an NT-generated fragment of agrin, agrin-22, but not a shorter agrin-15, elevates the spine density in NT(−/−) mice. Moreover, agrin-22 co-aggregates with pre- and postsynaptic markers and increases the density and size of presynaptic boutons and presynaptic puncta, corroborating the view that agrin-22 supports the synaptic growth. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00018-023-04720-z.