Fig. 5

Reduced mushroom spine and modifications to synapse-associated proteins in the ventral hippocampus of Vrk2^−/− mice. A Dendritic spine density and morphological analysis of Vrk2^−/− mice ventral hippocampus pyramidal neurons. Scale bars represent 5 μm. With no difference in total density (P = 0.664), Vrk2^−/− mice showed a much lower number of mushroom spines (P = 0.0265) and a significantly higher number of thin spines (P = 0.0039). Vrk2^+/+, n = 37; Vrk2^−/−, n = 40. Two-tailed t-tests were used to compare the total number of dendritic spines, and two-way ANOVA was used to determine the various morphologies. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01. B KEGG pathway and GO analyses of the 50 significantly down-regulated phosphorylated proteins in Vrk2^−/− mice. C Protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks of the 50 significantly down-regulated phosphorylated proteins in Vrk2^−/− mice. D Pclo phosphorylation at serine 1563 and Itpr2 phosphorylation at serine 937 were significantly downregulated after deletion of Vrk2 (P = 0.049 for Pclo and P = 0.010 for Itpr2, two-tailed t-test). n = 3 per group. Error bars indicate mean ± SD