Expansion of the dentate mossy fiber–CA3 projection in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor-enriched mouse hippocampus

• BDNF expression is chronically increased in the hippocampus of TgBDNF mice.
• Mossy fiber volume in CA3 is enlarged by 2–3 months of age in TgBDNF mice.
• At seizure-prone ages (6–7 months) mossy fiber volume increases further.
• By 8 months, granule cell number is also significantly increased in TgBDNF mice.

Structural changes that alter hippocampal functional circuitry are implicated in learning impairments, mood disorders and epilepsy. Reorganization of mossy fiber (MF) axons from dentate granule cells is one such form of plasticity. Increased neurotrophin signaling is proposed to underlie MF plasticity, and there is evidence to support a mechanistic role for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in this process. Transgenic mice overexpressing BDNF in the forebrain under the α-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II promoter (TgBDNF mice) exhibit spatial learning deficits at 2–3 months of age, followed by the emergence of spontaneous seizures at ∼6 months. These behavioral changes suggest that chronic increases in BDNF progressively disrupt hippocampal functional organization. To determine if the dentate MF pathway is structurally altered in this strain, the present study employed Timm staining and design-based stereology to compare MF distribution and projection volumes in transgenic and wild-type mice at 2–3 months, and at 6–7 months. Mice in the latter age group were assessed for seizure vulnerability with a low dose of pilocarpine given 2 h before euthanasia. At 2–3 months, TgBDNF mice showed moderate expansion of CA3-projecting MFs (∼20%), with increased volumes measured in the suprapyramidal (SP-MF) and intra/infrapyramidal (IIP-MF) compartments. At 6–7 months, a subset of transgenic mice exhibited increased seizure susceptibility, along with an increase in IIP-MF volume (∼30%). No evidence of MF sprouting was seen in the inner molecular layer. Additional stereological analyses demonstrated significant increases in molecular layer (ML) volume in TgBDNF mice at both ages, as well as an increase in granule cell number by 8 months of age. Collectively, these results indicate that sustained increases in endogenous BDNF modify dentate structural organization over time, and may thereby contribute to the development of pro-epileptic circuitry.