Role of the DSC1 Channel in Regulating Neuronal Excitability in Drosophila melanogaster: Extending Nervous System Stability under Stress

This chapter reviews the roles of cytokines and glial cells in chronic pain and in psychiatric disorders, especially depression. One important role of cytokines is in communicating between activated glia and neurons, at all levels of the nervous system. This process of neuroinflammation plays important roles in pain and depression. Cytokines may also directly regulate neuronal excitability. Many cytokines have been implicated in both pain and psychiatric disorders, including interleukin-1β‎ (IL-1β‎), tumor necrosis factor-α‎, and IL-6. More generally, an imbalance between type 1, pro-inflammatory cytokines and type 2, anti-inflammatory cytokines has been implicated in both pain and psychiatric disorders. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system can contribute to both pain and psychiatric disorders, in part through its actions on inflammation and the cytokine profile.

Download Full-text

Drosophila Zic family member odd-paired is needed for adult post-ecdysis maturation

Open Biology ◽

10.1098/rsob.190245 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 190245

Author(s):

Eléanor Simon ◽

Sergio Fernández de la Puebla ◽

Isabel Guerrero

Keyword(s):

Central Nervous System ◽

Nervous System ◽

Transcription Factor ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Family Member ◽

Ectopic Expression ◽

Functional Conservation ◽

The Central Nervous System ◽

Behavioural Sequence

Specific neuropeptides regulate in arthropods the shedding of the old cuticle (ecdysis) followed by maturation of the new cuticle. In Drosophila melanogaster , the last ecdysis occurs at eclosion from the pupal case, with a post-eclosion behavioural sequence that leads to wing extension, cuticle stretching and tanning. These events are highly stereotyped and are controlled by a subset of crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP) neurons through the expression of the neuropeptide Bursicon (Burs). We have studied the role of the transcription factor Odd-paired (Opa) during the post-eclosion period. We report that opa is expressed in the CCAP neurons of the central nervous system during various steps of the ecdysis process and in peripheral CCAP neurons innerving the larval muscles involved in adult ecdysis. We show that its downregulation alters Burs expression in the CCAP neurons. Ectopic expression of Opa, or the vertebrate homologue Zic2 , in the CCAP neurons also affects Burs expression, indicating an evolutionary functional conservation. Finally, our results show that, independently of its role in Burs regulation, Opa prevents death of CCAP neurons during larval development.

Download Full-text

Is It Feasible of Prophylactic Alpha-5 GABA(A) Receptor Blockade for Preventing POCD?

Science Insights ◽

10.15354/si.13.rp011 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 61-62

Author(s):

Fuzhou Wang

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

General Anesthesia ◽

Neuronal Excitability ◽

Underlying Mechanism ◽

Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽

Gaba A ◽

Inhibitory Neurotransmitter ◽

Inhalational Anesthetics ◽

Exploratory Data

GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID (GABA) is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). It plays a role in regulating neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system. Also GABA activation is considered as the basis of general anesthesia including intravenous and inhalational anesthetics. Meanwhile, cumulating evidence indicated that GABA is the underlying mechanism of post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Based on these findings, researchers are beginning to focus on GABA as the target to treat POCD, but they ignored the role of GABA in the performance of general anesthesia, especially when the blockade of GABA was given prior to surgery. It is undoubtedly risking our patients in intra-operative awareness. Our exploratory data also verified our hypothesis in which the GABA inhibition would reduce the efficacy of inhalational anesthetics.

Download Full-text

The Role of DEG/ENaC Subunit ppk8 in Regulating Neuronal Excitability in Drosophila melanogaster

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00333 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Ben-Shahar Yehuda

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Neuronal Excitability

Download Full-text

Squeezing out in a “tug of war”: The role of myosin in neural stem cell delamination

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.201702116 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 216 (5) ◽

pp. 1215-1218

Author(s):

Clara Sidor ◽

Katja Röper

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Nervous System ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Spatial Resolution ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Single Cells ◽

Apical Constriction ◽

Temporal And Spatial

Neural stem cells or neuroblasts in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo delaminate as single cells from the embryonic epidermis to give rise to the nervous system. Using this accessible system to examine the molecular mechanisms of cell ingression at a high temporal and spatial resolution, in this issue, Simões et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201608038) reveal that myosin-driven anisotropic junction loss and apical constriction are the main drivers of this process.

Download Full-text

HELZ directly interacts with CCR4–NOT and causes decay of bound mRNAs

Life Science Alliance ◽

10.26508/lsa.201900405 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (5) ◽

pp. e201900405 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aoife Hanet ◽

Felix Räsch ◽

Ramona Weber ◽

Vincenzo Ruscica ◽

Maria Fauser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Mrna Decay ◽

Low Complexity ◽

Tata Box ◽

Translational Repression ◽

Terminal Part ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Catabolite Repressor

Eukaryotic superfamily (SF) 1 helicases have been implicated in various aspects of RNA metabolism, including transcription, processing, translation, and degradation. Nevertheless, until now, most human SF1 helicases remain poorly understood. Here, we have functionally and biochemically characterized the role of a putative SF1 helicase termed “helicase with zinc-finger,” or HELZ. We discovered that HELZ associates with various mRNA decay factors, including components of the carbon catabolite repressor 4-negative on TATA box (CCR4–NOT) deadenylase complex in human and Drosophila melanogaster cells. The interaction between HELZ and the CCR4–NOT complex is direct and mediated by extended low-complexity regions in the C-terminal part of the protein. We further reveal that HELZ requires the deadenylase complex to mediate translational repression and decapping-dependent mRNA decay. Finally, transcriptome-wide analysis of Helz-null cells suggests that HELZ has a role in the regulation of the expression of genes associated with the development of the nervous system.

Download Full-text

Behavioral role of PACAP signaling reflects its selective distribution in glutamatergic and GABAergic neuronal subpopulations

10.1101/2020.07.31.231795 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Limei Zhang ◽

Vito S. Hernández ◽

Charles R. Gerfen ◽

Sunny Z. Jiang ◽

Lilian Zavala ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Neuronal Excitability ◽

Knock Out ◽

Neuronal Markers ◽

Glutamatergic Neurons ◽

Sensory Modalities ◽

New Perspective ◽

Knock Out Mice ◽

Transporter Expression

AbstractThe neuropeptide PACAP, acting as a co-transmitter, increases neuronal excitability, which may enhance anxiety and arousal associated with threat conveyed by multiple sensory modalities. The distribution of neurons expressing PACAP and its receptor, PAC1, throughout the mouse nervous system was determined, in register with expression of glutamatergic and GABAergic neuronal markers, to develop a coherent chemoanatomical picture of PACAP’s role in brain motor responses to sensory input. A circuit role for PACAP was tested by observing fos activation of brain neurons after olfactory threat cue in wild type and PACAP knockout mice. Neuronal activation, and behavioral response, were blunted in PACAP knock-out mice, accompanied by sharply down-regulated vesicular transporter expression in both GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons expressing PACAP and its receptor. This report signals a new perspective on the role of neuropeptide signaling in supporting excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in the nervous system within functionally coherent polysynaptic circuits.

Download Full-text

Proneural genes influence gliogenesis in Drosophila

Development ◽

10.1242/dev.121.2.429 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 121 (2) ◽

pp. 429-438 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A. Giangrande

Keyword(s):

Nervous System ◽

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Genetic Analysis ◽

Glial Cells ◽

Sensory Organ ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Sensory Organs ◽

Genetic Pathway ◽

Organ Differentiation

Fly glial cells in the wing peripheral nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster originate from underlying epithelial cells. Two findings indicate that gliogenesis is closely associated with neurogenesis. First, it only occurs in regions that also give rise to sensory organs. Second, in mutants that induce the development of ectopic sensory organs glial cells develop at new positions. These findings prompted a genetic analysis to establish whether glial and sensory organ differentiation depend on the same genes. Loss of function mutations of the achaete-scute complex lead to a significant reduction of sensory bristles and glial cells. Genes within the complex affect gliogenesis with different strength and display some functional redundancy. Thus, neurogenesis and gliogenesis share the same genetic pathway. Despite these similarities, however, the mechanism of action of the achaete-scute complex seems to be different in the two processes. Neural precursors express products of the complex, therefore the role of these genes on neurogenesis is direct. However, markers specific to glial cells do not colocalize with products of the achaete-scute complex, showing that the complex affects gliogenesis indirectly. These observations lead to the hypothesis that gliogenesis is induced by the presence of sensory organ cells, either the precursor or its progeny.

Download Full-text