scholarly journals Regulation of neuronal mRNA splicing and Tau isoform ratio by ATXN3 through deubiquitylation of splicing factors

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreia Neves-Carvalho ◽  
Sara Duarte-Silva ◽  
Joana Silva ◽  
Bruno Almeida ◽  
Sasja Heetveld ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe ubiquitylation/deubiquitylation balance in cells is maintained by Deubiquitylating enzymes, including ATXN3. The precise role of this protein, mutated in SCA3, remains elusive, as few substrates for its deubiquitylating activity were identified. Therefore, we characterized the ubiquitome of neuronal cells lacking ATXN3, and found altered polyubiquitylation in a large proportion of proteins involved in RNA metabolism, including splicing factors. Using transcriptomic analysis and reporter minigenes we confirmed that splicing was globally altered in these cells. Among the targets with altered splicing was SRSF7 (9G8), a key regulator of MAPT (Tau) exon 10 splicing. Loss-of-function of ATXN3 led to a deregulation of MAPT exon 10 splicing resulting in a decreased 4R/3R-Tau ratio. Similar alterations were found in the brain of a SCA3 mouse and humans, pointing to a relevant role of this mechanism in SCA3, and establishing a previously unsuspected link between two key proteins involved in different neurodegenerative disorders.

2018 ◽  
Vol 215 (12) ◽  
pp. 3038-3056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-Hao Wang ◽  
Pai Liu ◽  
Xia Liu ◽  
Shan Ping Yu ◽  
Jian-Zhi Wang ◽  
...  

SRPK2 is abnormally activated in tauopathies including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). SRPK2 is known to play an important role in pre–mRNA splicing by phosphorylating SR-splicing factors. Dysregulation of tau exon 10 pre–mRNA splicing causes pathological imbalances in 3R- and 4R-tau, leading to neurodegeneration; however, the role of SRPK2 in these processes remains unclear. Here we show that delta-secretase (also known as asparagine endopeptidase; AEP), which is activated in AD, cleaves SRPK2 and increases its nuclear translocation as well as kinase activity, augmenting exon 10 inclusion. Conversely, AEP-uncleavable SRPK2 N342A mutant increases exon 10 exclusion. Lentiviral expression of truncated SRPK2 increases 4R-tau isoforms and accelerates cognitive decline in htau mice. Uncleavable SRPK2 N342A expression improves synaptic functions and prevents spatial memory deficits in tau intronic mutant FTDP-17 transgenic mice. Hence, AEP mediates tau-splicing imbalance in tauopathies via cleaving SRPK2.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan P. Fernandez ◽  
Miguel A. Moreno-Mateos ◽  
Andre Gohr ◽  
Shun Hang Chan ◽  
Manuel Irimia ◽  
...  

AbstractPre-mRNA splicing is a critical step of gene expression in eukaryotes. Transcriptome-wide splicing patterns are complex and primarily regulated by a diverse set of recognition elements and associated RNA-binding proteins. The retention and splicing (RES) complex is formed by three different proteins (Bud13p, Pml1p and Snu17p) and is involved in splicing in yeast. However, the importance of the RES complex for vertebrate splicing, the intronic features associated with its activity, and its role in development are unknown. In this study, we have generated loss-of-function mutants for the three components of the RES complex in zebrafish and showed that they are required during early development. The mutants showed a marked neural phenotype with increased cell death in the brain and a decrease in differentiated neurons. Transcriptomic analysis of bud13, snip1 (pml1) and rbmx2 (snu17) mutants revealed a global defect in intron splicing, with strong mis-splicing of a subset of introns. We found these RES-dependent introns were short, rich in GC and flanked by GC depleted exons, all of which are features associated with intron definition. Using these features we developed a predictive model that classifies RES dependent introns. Altogether, our study uncovers the essential role of the RES complex during vertebrate development and provides new insights into its function during splicing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 581-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambreen Fatima ◽  
Yasir Hasan Siddique

Flavonoids are naturally occurring plant polyphenols found universally in all fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants. They have emerged as a promising candidate in the formulation of treatment strategies for various neurodegenerative disorders. The use of flavonoid rich plant extracts and food in dietary supplementation have shown favourable outcomes. The present review describes the types, properties and metabolism of flavonoids. Neuroprotective role of various flavonoids and the possible mechanism of action in the brain against the neurodegeneration have been described in detail with special emphasis on the tangeritin.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (23) ◽  
pp. 10315-10328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukinori Minoshima ◽  
Tetsuya Hori ◽  
Masahiro Okada ◽  
Hiroshi Kimura ◽  
Tokuko Haraguchi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We identified CENP-50 as a novel kinetochore component. We found that CENP-50 is a constitutive component of the centromere that colocalizes with CENP-A and CENP-H throughout the cell cycle in vertebrate cells. To determine the precise role of CENP-50, we examined its role in centromere function by generating a loss-of-function mutant in the chicken DT40 cell line. The CENP-50 knockout was not lethal; however, the growth rate of cells with this mutation was slower than that of wild-type cells. We observed that the time for CENP-50-deficient cells to complete mitosis was longer than that for wild-type cells. Centromeric localization of CENP-50 was abolished in both CENP-H- and CENP-I-deficient cells. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that CENP-50 interacted with the CENP-H/CENP-I complex in chicken DT40 cells. We also observed severe mitotic defects in CENP-50-deficient cells with apparent premature sister chromatid separation when the mitotic checkpoint was activated, indicating that CENP-50 is required for recovery from spindle damage.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 652
Author(s):  
Tiffany Bergot ◽  
Eric Lippert ◽  
Nathalie Douet-Guilbert ◽  
Séverine Commet ◽  
Laurent Corcos ◽  
...  

Deregulation of pre-mRNA splicing is observed in many cancers and hematological malignancies. Genes encoding splicing factors are frequently mutated in myelodysplastic syndromes, in which SF3B1 mutations are the most frequent. SF3B1 is an essential component of the U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle that interacts with branch point sequences close to the 3’ splice site during pre-mRNA splicing. SF3B1 mutations mostly lead to substitutions at restricted sites in the highly conserved HEAT domain, causing a modification of its function. We found that SF3B1 was aberrantly spliced in various neoplasms carrying an SF3B1 mutation, by exploring publicly available RNA sequencing raw data. We aimed to characterize this novel SF3B1 transcript, which is expected to encode a protein with an insertion of eight amino acids in the H3 repeat of the HEAT domain. We investigated the splicing proficiency of this SF3B1 protein isoform, in association with the most frequent mutation (K700E), through functional complementation assays in two myeloid cell lines stably expressing distinct SF3B1 variants. The yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was also used as an alternative model. Insertion of these eight amino acids in wild-type or mutant SF3B1 (K700E) abolished SF3B1 essential function, highlighting the crucial role of the H3 repeat in the splicing function of SF3B1.


2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 362-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Pignataro ◽  
Elga Esposito ◽  
Ornella Cuomo ◽  
Rossana Sirabella ◽  
Francesca Boscia ◽  
...  

It has been recently shown that a short sublethal brain ischemia subsequent to a prolonged harmful ischemic episode may confer ischemic neuroprotection, a phenomenon termed ischemic postconditioning. Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) isoforms, NCX1, NCX2, and NCX3, are plasma membrane ionic transporters widely distributed in the brain and involved in the control of Na+ and Ca2+ homeostasis and in the progression of stroke damage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of these three proteins in the postconditioning-induced neuroprotection. The NCX protein and mRNA expression was evaluated at different time points in the ischemic temporoparietal cortex of rats subjected to tMCAO alone or to tMCAO plus ischemic postconditioning. The results of this study showed that NCX3 protein and ncx3 mRNA were upregulated in those brain regions protected by postconditioning treatment. These changes in NCX3 expression were mediated by the phosphorylated form of the ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine protein kinase p-AKT, as the p-AKT inhibition prevented NCX3 upregulation. The relevant role of NCX3 during postconditioning was further confirmed by results showing that NCX3 silencing, induced by intracerebroventricular infusion of small interfering RNA (siRNA), partially reverted the postconditioning-induced neuroprotection. The results of this study support the idea that the enhancement of NCX3 expression and activity might represent a reasonable strategy to reduce the infarct extension after stroke.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1683
Author(s):  
Octavio Silva-García ◽  
Ricarda Cortés-Vieyra ◽  
Francisco N. Mendoza-Ambrosio ◽  
Guillermo Ramírez-Galicia ◽  
Víctor M. Baizabal-Aguirre

The biological activity of the enzyme glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) is fulfilled by two paralogs named GSK3α and GSK3β, which possess both redundancy and specific functions. The upregulated activity of these proteins is linked to the development of disorders such as neurodegenerative disorders (ND) and cancer. Although various chemical inhibitors of these enzymes restore the brain functions in models of ND such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and reduce the proliferation and survival of cancer cells, the particular contribution of each paralog to these effects remains unclear as these molecules downregulate the activity of both paralogs with a similar efficacy. Moreover, given that GSK3 paralogs phosphorylate more than 100 substrates, the simultaneous inhibition of both enzymes has detrimental effects during long-term inhibition. Although the GSK3β kinase function has usually been taken as the global GSK3 activity, in the last few years, a growing interest in the study of GSK3α has emerged because several studies have recognized it as the main GSK3 paralog involved in a variety of diseases. This review summarizes the current biological evidence on the role of GSK3α in AD and various types of cancer. We also provide a discussion on some strategies that may lead to the design of the paralog-specific inhibition of GSK3α.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Cisternas ◽  
Paulina Salazar ◽  
Carmen Silva-Álvarez ◽  
L. Felipe Barros ◽  
Nibaldo C. Inestrosa

In the last few years, several reports have proposed that Wnt signaling is a general metabolic regulator, suggesting a role for this pathway in the control of metabolic flux. Wnt signaling is critical for several neuronal functions, but little is known about the correlation between this pathway and energy metabolism. The brain has a high demand for glucose, which is mainly used for energy production. Neurons use energy for highly specific processes that require a high energy level, such as maintaining the electrical potential and synthesizing neurotransmitters. Moreover, an important metabolic impairment has been described in all neurodegenerative disorders. Despite the key role of glucose metabolism in the brain, little is known about the cellular pathways involved in regulating this process. We report here that Wnt5a induces an increase in glucose uptake and glycolytic rate and an increase in the activity of the pentose phosphate pathway; the effects of Wnt5a require the intracellular generation of nitric oxide. Our data suggest that Wnt signaling stimulates neuronal glucose metabolism, an effect that could be important for the reported neuroprotective role of Wnt signaling in neurodegenerative disorders.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Schwarz ◽  
Simone Seiffert ◽  
Manuela Pendziwiat ◽  
Annika Rademacher ◽  
Tobias Bruenger ◽  
...  

Background KCNC2 encodes a member of the shaw-related voltage-gated potassium channel family (KV3.2), which are important for sustained high-frequency firing and optimized energy efficiency of action potentials in the brain. Methods Individuals with KCNC2 variants detected by exome sequencing were selected for clinical, further genetic and functional analysis. The cases were referred through clinical and research collaborations in our study. Four de novo variants were examined electrophysiologically in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Results We identified novel KCNC2 variants in 27 patients with various forms of epilepsy. Functional analysis demonstrated gain-of-function in severe and loss-of-function in milder phenotypes as the underlying pathomechanisms with specific response to valproic acid. Conclusion These findings implicate KCNC2 as a novel causative gene for epilepsy emphasizing the critical role of KV3.2 in the regulation of brain excitability with an interesting genotype-phenotype correlation and a potential concept for precision medicine.


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