scholarly journals Loss of KHSRP Increases Neuronal Growth and Synaptic Transmission and Alters Memory Consolidation Through RNA Stabilization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Olguin ◽  
Priyanka Patel ◽  
Michela Dell’Orco ◽  
Amy S. Gardiner ◽  
Robert Cole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Memory Consolidation ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Axon Growth ◽  
Neurite Growth ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Spine Density

ABSTRACTThe KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KHSRP) is an RNA-binding protein linked to decay of AU-rich element containing mRNAs. We have previously shown that KHSRP destabilizes the mRNA encoding the growth-associated protein GAP-43 and decreases neurite growth in cultured embryonic neurons. In contrast, loss of KHSRP stabilizes Gap43 mRNA and increases neurite growth. Here, we have tested functions of neural KHSRP in vivo. We find upregulation of 1460 mRNAs in the neocortex of adult Khsrp−/− mice, of which 527 bind to KHSRP with high specificity. These KHSRP targets are involved in pathways for neuronal morphology, axon guidance, neurotransmission and long-term memory. Neocortical neurons show increased axon growth and dendritic spine density in Khsrp−/− mice. Analyses of neuronal cultures from embryonic Khsrp−/− mice point to a neuron-intrinsic alteration in axonal and dendritic growth and elevations in KHSRP-target mRNAs, including subcellularly localized mRNAs. Hippocampus and infralimbic cortex of Khsrp−/− mice show presynaptic elevations in neurotransmission. The Khsrp−/− mice have significant deficits in both trace conditioning and attention set-shifting tasks compared Khsrp+/+ mice, indicating impaired prefrontal- and hippocampal-dependent memory consolidation with loss of KHSRP. Overall, our results indicate that prenatal deletion of KHSRP impairs neuronal development resulting in alterations in neuronal morphology and function by changing post-transcriptional control of neuronal gene expression.

scholarly journals A psychiatric disease-related circular RNA controls synaptic gene expression and cognition

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 2712-2727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber J. Zimmerman ◽  
Alexander K. Hafez ◽  
Stephen K. Amoah ◽  
Brian A. Rodriguez ◽  
Michela Dell’Orco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Frontal Cortex ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Psychiatric Disease ◽  
Mammalian Brain ◽  
Neuronal Cultures

Abstract Although circular RNAs (circRNAs) are enriched in the mammalian brain, very little is known about their potential involvement in brain function and psychiatric disease. Here, we show that circHomer1a, a neuronal-enriched circRNA abundantly expressed in the frontal cortex, derived from Homer protein homolog 1 (HOMER1), is significantly reduced in both the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal cultures from patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Moreover, alterations in circHomer1a were positively associated with the age of onset of SCZ in both the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). No correlations between the age of onset of SCZ and linear HOMER1 mRNA were observed, whose expression was mostly unaltered in BD and SCZ postmortem brain. Using in vivo circRNA-specific knockdown of circHomer1a in mouse PFC, we show that it modulates the expression of numerous alternative mRNA transcripts from genes involved in synaptic plasticity and psychiatric disease. Intriguingly, in vivo circHomer1a knockdown in mouse OFC resulted in specific deficits in OFC-mediated cognitive flexibility. Lastly, we demonstrate that the neuronal RNA-binding protein HuD binds to circHomer1a and can influence its synaptic expression in the frontal cortex. Collectively, our data uncover a novel psychiatric disease-associated circRNA that regulates synaptic gene expression and cognitive flexibility.

scholarly journals Functional characterization of Neurofilament Light b splicing and misbalance in zebrafish

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
DL Demy ◽  
ML Campanari ◽  
R Munoz-Ruiz ◽  
HD Durham ◽  
BJ Gentil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Neuronal Development ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Axon Growth ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Neurofilament Light ◽  
Cytoplasmic Inclusions

AbstractNeurofilaments (NFs), a major cytoskeletal component of motor neurons, play a key role in their differentiation, establishment and maintenance of their morphology and mechanical strength. The de novo assembly of these neuronal intermediate filaments requires the presence of the neurofilament light subunit, NEFL, which expression is reduced in motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This study used zebrafish as a model to characterize the NEFL homologue neflb, which encodes two different isoforms via splicing of the primary transcript (neflbE4 and neflbE3). In vivo imaging showed that neflb is crucial for proper neuronal development, and that disrupting the balance between its two isoforms specifically affects NF assembly and motor axon growth, with resulting motor deficits. This equilibrium is also disrupted upon partial depletion of TDP-43, a RNA binding protein that is mislocalized into cytoplasmic inclusions in ALS. The study supports interaction of NEFL expression and splicing with TDP-43 in a common pathway, both biologically and pathogenetically.

scholarly journals Early Effects of Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate, and 5-Fluorouracil on Neuronal Morphology and Hippocampal-Dependent Behavior in a Murine Model

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie E Anderson ◽  
Madison Trujillo ◽  
Taylor McElroy ◽  
Thomas Groves ◽  
Tyler Alexander ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Dendritic Morphology ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Spine Density ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Female Mice ◽  
Cytokine Analysis ◽  
Early Effects

Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women. Fortunately, BC survival rates have increased because the implementation of adjuvant chemotherapy leading to a growing population of survivors. However, chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments (CICIs) affect up to 75% of BC survivors and may be driven by inflammation and oxidative stress. Chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments can persist 20 years and hinder survivors’ quality of life. To identify early effects of CMF administration in mice, we chose to evaluate adult female mice at 2-week postchemotherapy. Mice received weekly IP administration of CMF (or saline) for 4 weeks, completed behavioral testing, and were sacrificed 2 weeks following their final CMF injection. Behavioral results indicated long-term memory (LTM) impairments postchemotherapy, but did not reveal short-term memory deficits. Dendritic morphology and spine data found increases in overall spine density within CA1 basal and CA3 basal dendrites, but no changes in DG, CA1 apical, or CA3 apical dendrites. Further analysis revealed decreases in arborization across the hippocampus (DG, CA1 apical and basal, CA3 apical and basal). These physiological changes within the hippocampus correlate with our behavioral data indicating LTM impairments following CMF administration in female mice 2-week postchemotherapy. Hippocampal cytokine analysis identified decreases in IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-3, IL-10, and TNF-α levels.

scholarly journals Differentiation-induced Colocalization of the KH-type Splicing Regulatory Protein with Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein and the c-srcPre-mRNA

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 774-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan P. Hall ◽  
Sui Huang ◽  
Douglas L. Black
Keyword(s):  
Rna Binding ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cell ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cells ◽  
Neuroblastoma Cell Line ◽  
Polypyrimidine Tract ◽  
Polypyrimidine Tract Binding ◽  
Polypyrimidine Tract Binding Protein

We have examined the subcellular localization of the KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KSRP). KSRP is a multidomain RNA-binding protein implicated in a variety of cellular processes, including splicing in the nucleus and mRNA localization in the cytoplasm. We find that KSRP is primarily nuclear with a localization pattern that most closely resembles that of polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB). Colocalization experiments of KSRP with PTB in a mouse neuroblastoma cell line determined that both proteins are present in the perinucleolar compartment (PNC), as well as in other nuclear enrichments. In contrast, HeLa cells do not show prominent KSRP staining in the PNC, even though PTB labeling identified the PNC in these cells. Because both PTB and KSRP interact with the c-src transcript to affect N1 exon splicing, we examined the localization of the c-src pre-mRNA by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The src transcript is present in specific foci within the nucleus that are presumably sites of src transcription but are not generally perinucleolar. In normally cultured neuroblastoma cells, these src RNA foci contain PTB, but little KSRP. However, upon induced neuronal differentiation of these cells, KSRP occurs in the same foci with src RNA. PTB localization remains unaffected. This differentiation-induced localization of KSRP with src RNA correlates with an increase in src exon N1 inclusion. These results indicate that PTB and KSRP do indeed interact with the c-src transcript in vivo, and that these associations change with the differentiated state of the cell.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Pausing in the Bacillus subtilis pyr Operon In Vitro: a Role in Transcriptional Attenuation?

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (16) ◽  
pp. 4764-4771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hesheng Zhang ◽  
Robert L. Switzer
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Stem Loop ◽  
Nucleotide Biosynthesis ◽  
Pyrimidine Nucleotide ◽  
Transcriptional Pausing

ABSTRACT The genes encoding the enzymes of pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis (pyr genes) are regulated in Bacillus subtilis and many other bacterial species by transcriptional attenuation. When UMP or UTP is bound to the PyrR regulatory protein, it binds to pyr mRNA at specific sequences and secondary structures in the RNA. Binding to this site prevents formation of an antiterminator stem-loop in the RNA and permits formation of a downstream terminator, leading to reduced expression of the pyr genes lying downstream from the terminator. The functioning of several other transcriptional attenuation systems has been shown to involve transcriptional pausing; this observation stimulated us to use single-round transcription of pyr genes to test for formation of paused transcripts in vitro. Using templates with each of the three known B. subtilis pyr attenuation sites, we identified one major pause site in each in which the half-life of the paused transcript was increased four- to sixfold by NusA. In each case pausing at the NusA-stimulated site prevented formation of a complete antiterminator stem-loop, while it resulted in increased time for a PyrR binding loop to form and for PyrR to bind to this loop. Thus, the pausing detected in vitro is potentially capable of playing a role in establishing the correct timing for pyr attenuation in vivo. With two of three pyr templates the combination of NusA with PyrR markedly stimulated termination of transcription at the normal termination sites. This suggests that NusA, by stabilizing pausing, plays a role in termination of pyr transcription in vivo.

scholarly journals The Disease-Associated Proteins Drosophila Nab2 and Ataxin-2 Interact with Shared RNAs and Coregulate Neuronal Morphology

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Christopher Rounds ◽  
Edwin B Corgiat ◽  
Changtian Ye ◽  
Joseph A Behnke ◽  
Seth M Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rna Binding ◽  
Rna Binding Proteins ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
Functional Protein ◽  
Specific Subset ◽  
Drosophila Brain ◽  
Ataxin 2

Abstract Nab2 encodes the Drosophila melanogaster member of a conserved family of zinc finger polyadenosine RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) linked to multiple steps in post-transcriptional regulation. Mutation of the Nab2 human ortholog ZC3H14 gives rise to an autosomal recessive intellectual disability but understanding of Nab2/ZC3H14 function in metazoan nervous systems is limited, in part because no comprehensive identification of metazoan Nab2/ZC3H14-associated RNA transcripts has yet been conducted. Moreover, many Nab2/ZC3H14 functional protein partnerships remain unidentified. Here, we present evidence that Nab2 genetically interacts with Ataxin-2 (Atx2), which encodes a neuronal translational regulator, and that these factors coordinately regulate neuronal morphology, circadian behavior, and adult viability. We then present the first high-throughput identifications of Nab2- and Atx2-associated RNAs in Drosophila brain neurons using RNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing (RIP-Seq). Critically, the RNA interactomes of each RBP overlap, and Nab2 exhibits high specificity in its RNA associations in neurons in vivo, associating with a small fraction of all polyadenylated RNAs. The identities of shared associated transcripts (e.g., drk, me31B, stai) and of transcripts specific to Nab2 or Atx2 (e.g., Arpc2 and tea) promise insight into neuronal functions of, and genetic interactions between, each RBP. Consistent with prior biochemical studies, Nab2-associated neuronal RNAs are overrepresented for internal A-rich motifs, suggesting these sequences may partially mediate Nab2 target selection. These data support a model where Nab2 functionally opposes Atx2 in neurons, demonstrate Nab2 shares associated neuronal RNAs with Atx2, and reveal Drosophila Nab2 associates with a more specific subset of polyadenylated mRNAs than its polyadenosine affinity alone may suggest.

scholarly journals RTP801 REGULATES MOTOR CORTEX SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION AND LEARNING

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Pérez-Sisqués ◽  
N Martín-Flores ◽  
M Masana ◽  
J Solana ◽  
A Llobet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Synaptic Transmission ◽  
Neuronal Plasticity ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Neuronal Cultures ◽  
Spine Density

ABSTRACTRTP801/REDD1 is a stress-regulated protein whose upregulation is necessary and sufficient to trigger neuronal death in in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases and is up regulated in compromised neurons in human postmortem brains of both neurodegenerative disorders. Indeed, in both Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease mouse models, RTP801 knockdown alleviates motor-learning deficits.Here, we investigated the physiological role of RTP801 in neuronal plasticity. RTP801 is found in rat, mouse and human synapses. The absence of RTP801 enhanced excitatory synaptic transmission in both neuronal cultures and brain slices from RTP801 knock-out (KO) mice. Indeed, RTP801 KO mice showed improved motor learning, which correlated with lower spine density but increased basal filopodia and mushroom spines in the motor cortex layer V. This paralleled with higher levels of synaptosomal GluA1 and TrkB receptors in homogenates derived from KO mice motor cortex, proteins that are associated with synaptic strengthening. Altogether, these results indicate that RTP801 has an important role modulating neuronal plasticity in motor learning.

scholarly journals Engineering a conserved RNA regulatory protein repurposes its biological function in vivo

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandita D Bhat ◽  
Kathleen L McCann ◽  
Yeming Wang ◽  
Dallas R Fonseca ◽  
Tarjani Shukla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genome Engineering ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Biological Function ◽  
Rna Binding Proteins ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Motif Length ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Preferential Binding

PUF (PUmilio/FBF) RNA-binding proteins recognize distinct elements. In C. elegans, PUF-8 binds to an 8-nt motif and restricts proliferation in the germline. Conversely, FBF-2 recognizes a 9-nt element and promotes mitosis. To understand how motif divergence relates to biological function, we first determined a crystal structure of PUF-8. Comparison of this structure to that of FBF-2 revealed a major difference in a central repeat. We devised a modified yeast 3-hybrid screen to identify mutations that confer recognition of an 8-nt element to FBF-2. We identified several such mutants and validated structurally and biochemically their binding to 8-nt RNA elements. Using genome engineering, we generated a mutant animal with a substitution in FBF-2 that confers preferential binding to the PUF-8 element. The mutant largely rescued overproliferation in animals that spontaneously generate tumors in the absence of puf-8. This work highlights the critical role of motif length in the specification of biological function.

scholarly journals Functional Characterization of Neurofilament Light Splicing and Misbalance in Zebrafish

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1238
Author(s):  
Doris Lou Demy ◽  
Maria Letizia Campanari ◽  
Raphael Munoz-Ruiz ◽  
Heather D. Durham ◽  
Benoit J. Gentil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Axon Growth ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Neurofilament Light ◽  
Cytoplasmic Inclusions

Neurofilaments (NFs), a major cytoskeletal component of motor neurons, play a key role in the differentiation, establishment and maintenance of their morphology and mechanical strength. The de novo assembly of these neuronal intermediate filaments requires the presence of the neurofilament light subunit (NEFL), whose expression is reduced in motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study used zebrafish as a model to characterize the NEFL homologue neflb, which encodes two different isoforms via a splicing of the primary transcript (neflbE4 and neflbE3). In vivo imaging showed that neflb is crucial for proper neuronal development, and that disrupting the balance between its two isoforms specifically affects the NF assembly and motor axon growth, with resultant motor deficits. This equilibrium is also disrupted upon the partial depletion of TDP-43 (TAR DNA-binding protein 43), an RNA-binding protein encoded by the gene TARDBP that is mislocalized into cytoplasmic inclusions in ALS. The study supports the interaction of the NEFL expression and splicing with TDP-43 in a common pathway, both biologically and pathogenetically.

scholarly journals Multimerization of human cytomegalovirus regulatory protein UL69 via a domain that is conserved within its herpesvirus homologues

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lischka ◽  
Marco Thomas ◽  
Zsolt Toth ◽  
Regina Mueller ◽  
Thomas Stamminger
Keyword(s):  
Human Cytomegalovirus ◽  
Nuclear Export ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Transcriptional Level ◽  
Homologous Proteins ◽  
Interaction Domain ◽  
Self Association

The UL69 protein of human cytomegalovirus is a multifunctional regulatory protein that has counterparts in all herpesviruses. Some of these proteins have been shown to function primarily at the post-transcriptional level in promoting nuclear export of viral transcripts. Consistently, this group has reported recently that pUL69 is an RNA-binding, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein that facilitates the cytoplasmic accumulation of unspliced mRNA via its interaction with the cellular mRNA export factor UAP56. Evidence has been presented to suggest that some of the pUL69 homologues self-interact and function in vivo as multimers. Herein, the possibility of pUL69 self-association was examined and it has been demonstrated that pUL69 can interact with itself in vitro and in vivo in order to form high-molecular-mass complexes. The self-interaction domain within pUL69 was mapped to a central domain of this viral protein that is conserved within the homologous proteins of other herpesviruses, suggesting that multimerization is a conserved feature of this protein family.

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