A sex difference in the response of the rodent postsynaptic density to synGAP haploinsufficiency

Abstract

SynGAP is a postsynaptic density (PSD) protein that binds to PDZ domains of the scaffold protein PSD-95. We previously reported that heterozygous deletion of Syngap1 in mice is correlated with increased steady-state levels of other key PSD proteins that bind PSD-95, although the level of PSD-95 remains constant (Walkup et al., 2016). For example, the ratio to PSD-95 of Transmembrane AMPA-Receptor-associated Proteins (TARPs), which mediate binding of AMPA-type glutamate receptors to PSD-95, was increased in young Syngap1+/-mice. Here we show that only females and not males show a highly significant correlation between an increase in TARP and a decrease in synGAP in the PSDs of Syngap1+/-rodents. The data reveal a sex difference in the adaptation of the PSD scaffold to synGAP haploinsufficiency.