Fig. 5.

The level of catenin proteins in the postsynaptic fraction of Shank3 KO mice. a The PSD fractions from WT and KO mice lacking the larger SPN-Ank-containing isoforms of Shank3 were prepared and analyzed by Western blotting using the antibodies indicated. Three major isoforms of Shank3 are present, according to [21]. The larger bands of Shank3 (containing α, β variants) detected in the WT PSD samples are absent in the PSD of Shank3 KO mice, indicating the lack of isoforms of Shank3 containing N-terminal SPN-Ank domains. b The level of δ-catenin quantified as the δ-catenin/Tubulin ratio shows a significant decrease in the PSD fraction of the Shank3 KO mice. c, d The representative blot and graph show that the postsynaptic localization of β-catenin does not change in the absence of the Shank3 N-terminus. e, f The representative blot and graph show the level of δ-catenin in the P2 fraction of Shank3 KO animals containing membrane associated proteins is not affected by the absence of Shank3 N-terminus. g, h Using a specific antibody for detecting N-cadherin in the isolated PSD fractions of Shank3 KO and WT mice shows that the level of N-cadherin is slightly but not significantly reduced in the postsynaptic fraction KO mice lacking the larger SPN-Ank-containing isoforms of Shank3 (n = 6 WT and 6 KO animals for all graphs, **p < 0.01, unpaired T-test; data are shown as mean ± SD)