Perineuronal nets on CA2 pyramidal cells and parvalbumin-expressing cells differentially regulate hippocampal dependent memory

ABSTRACT Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are a specialized extracellular matrix that surround certain populations of neurons, including (inhibitory) parvalbumin (PV) expressing-interneurons throughout the brain and (excitatory) CA2 pyramidal neurons in hippocampus. PNNs are thought to regulate synaptic plasticity by stabilizing synapses and as such, could regulate learning and memory. Most often, PNN functions are queried using enzymatic degradation with chondroitinase, but that approach does not differentiate PNNs on CA2 neurons from those on adjacent PV cells. To disentangle the specific roles of PNNs on CA2 pyramidal cells and PV neurons in behavior, we generated conditional knockout mouse strains with the primary protein component of PNNs, aggrecan ( Acan ), deleted from either CA2 pyramidal cells (Amigo2 Acan KO) or from PV cells (PV Acan KO). Male and female animals of each strain were tested for social, fear, and spatial memory, as well as for reversal learning. We found that Amigo2 Acan KO animals, but not PV Acan KO animals, had impaired social memory and reversal learning. PV Acan KOs, but not Amigo2 Acan KOs had impaired contextual fear memory. These findings demonstrate independent roles for PNNs on each cell type in regulating hippocampal-dependent memory. We further investigated a potential mechanism of impaired social memory in the Amigo2 Acan KO animals and found reduced input to CA2 from the supramammillary nucleus (SuM), which signals social novelty. Additionally, Amigo2 Acan KOs lacked a social novelty-related local field potential response, suggesting that CA2 PNNs may coordinate functional SuM connections and associated physiological responses to social novelty. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Perineuronal nets (PNNs) surround both inhibitory parvalbumin (PV)-expressing neurons and excitatory CA2 pyramidal neurons, but previous studies using enzymatic degradation cannot differentiate the relative roles of PNNs in the two populations. By conditionally deleting aggrecan ( Acan ) from CA2 pyramidal neurons without affecting PNNs on PV cells, and vice versa, we discovered distinct roles of PNNs on each cell type in behavior. Social memory, which requires CA2 activity, was impaired in mice lacking CA2 PNNs, but not in those lacking PV PNNs. Cognitive flexibility, assessed by reversal learning was also impaired in mice lacking CA2 PNNs, whereas contextual fear memory was impaired in those lacking PV PNNs. Thus, PNNs on each cell type differentially contribute to different forms of hippocampal-dependent memory.