PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chi Bun Chan
AU  - Xia Liu
AU  - Sompol Pradoldej
AU  - Chunhai Hao
AU  - Jie An
AU  - Manuel Yepes
AU  - Hongbo R. Luo
AU  - Keqiang Ye
TI  - Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Enhancer Regulates Neuronal Dendritogenesis and Survival in Neocortex
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1129-11.2011
DP  - 2011 Jun 01
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 8083--8092
VI  - 31
IP  - 22
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/22/8083.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/22/8083.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2011 Jun 01; 31
AB  - Phosphoinositide 3-kinase enhancer (PIKE) binds and enhances phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt activities. However, its physiological functions in brain have never been explored. Here we show that PIKE is important in regulating the neuronal survival and development of neocortex. During development, enhanced apoptosis is observed in the ventricular zone of PIKE knock-out (PIKE−/−) cortex. Moreover, PIKE−/− neurons show reduced dendritic complexity, dendritic branch length, and soma size. These defects are due to the reduced PI3K/Akt activities in PIKE−/− neurons, as the impaired dendritic arborization can be rescued when PI3K/Akt cascade is augmented in vitro or in PIKE−/−PTEN−/− double-knock-out mice. Interestingly, PIKE−/− mice display behavioral abnormality in locomotion and spatial navigation. Because of the diminished PI3K/Akt activities, PIKE−/− neurons are more vulnerable to glutamate- or stroke-induced neuronal cell death. Together, our data established the critical role of PIKE in regulating neuronal survival and development by substantiating the PI3K/Akt pathway.