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Ito H, Morishita R, Nagata KI. Simple Method for the Preparation of Postsynaptic Density Fraction from Mouse Brain. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2794:71-78. [PMID: 38630221 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3810-1_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Postsynaptic density (PSD) is a morphologically and functionally specialized postsynaptic membrane structure of excitatory synapses. It contains hundreds of proteins such as neurotransmitter receptors, adhesion molecules, cytoskeletal proteins, and signaling enzymes. The study of the molecular architecture of the PSD is one of the most intriguing issues in neuroscience research. The isolation of the PSD from the brain of an animal is necessary for subsequent biochemical and morphological analyses. Many laboratories have developed methods to isolate PSD from the animal brain. In this chapter, we present a simple method to isolate PSD from the mouse brain using sucrose density gradient-based purification of synaptosomes followed by detergent extraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hidenori Ito
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute for Developmental Research, Aichi Developmental Disability Center, Aichi, Japan.
| | - Rika Morishita
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute for Developmental Research, Aichi Developmental Disability Center, Aichi, Japan
| | - Koh-Ichi Nagata
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute for Developmental Research, Aichi Developmental Disability Center, Aichi, Japan
- Department of Neurochemistry, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
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2
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Suzuki T, Terada N, Higashiyama S, Kametani K, Shirai Y, Honda M, Kai T, Li W, Tabuchi K. Non-microtubule tubulin-based backbone and subordinate components of postsynaptic density lattices. Life Sci Alliance 2021; 4:4/7/e202000945. [PMID: 34006534 PMCID: PMC8326785 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202000945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
This study proposes a postsynaptic density (PSD) lattice model comprising a non-microtubule tubulin-based backbone structure and its associated proteins, including various PSD scaffold/adaptor proteins and other PSD proteins. A purification protocol was developed to identify and analyze the component proteins of a postsynaptic density (PSD) lattice, a core structure of the PSD of excitatory synapses in the central nervous system. “Enriched”- and “lean”-type PSD lattices were purified by synaptic plasma membrane treatment to identify the protein components by comprehensive shotgun mass spectrometry and group them into minimum essential cytoskeleton (MEC) and non-MEC components. Tubulin was found to be a major component of the MEC, with non-microtubule tubulin widely distributed on the purified PSD lattice. The presence of tubulin in and around PSDs was verified by post-embedding immunogold labeling EM of cerebral cortex. Non-MEC proteins included various typical scaffold/adaptor PSD proteins and other class PSD proteins. Thus, this study provides a new PSD lattice model consisting of non-microtubule tubulin-based backbone and various non-MEC proteins. Our findings suggest that tubulin is a key component constructing the backbone and that the associated components are essential for the versatile functions of the PSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuo Suzuki
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Shinshu University Academic Assembly, Institute of Medicine, Shinshu University Academic Assembly, Matsumoto, Japan
| | - Nobuo Terada
- Health Science Division, Department of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan
| | - Shigeki Higashiyama
- Department of Cell Growth and Tumor Regulation, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, To-on, Ehime, Japan
| | - Kiyokazu Kametani
- Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Shirai
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Shinshu University Academic Assembly, Institute of Medicine, Shinshu University Academic Assembly, Matsumoto, Japan
| | - Mamoru Honda
- Bioscience Group, Center for Precision Medicine Supports, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences Division, Shimadzu Techno-Research, INC, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Kai
- Bioscience Group, Center for Precision Medicine Supports, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences Division, Shimadzu Techno-Research, INC, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Weidong Li
- Bio-X Institutes, Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Development and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, and Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan
| | - Katsuhiko Tabuchi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Shinshu University Academic Assembly, Institute of Medicine, Shinshu University Academic Assembly, Matsumoto, Japan.,Department of Biological Sciences for Intractable Neurological Diseases, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan
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Chung HW, Weng JC, King CE, Chuang CF, Chow WY, Chang YC. BDNF elevates the axonal levels of hnRNPs Q and R in cultured rat cortical neurons. Mol Cell Neurosci 2019; 98:97-108. [PMID: 31202892 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2019.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Local translation plays important roles in the maintenance and various functions of axons, and dysfunctions of local translation in axons are implicated in various neurological diseases. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) are RNA binding proteins with multiple functions in RNA metabolism. Here, we identified 20 hnRNPs in the axons of cultured rat cortical neurons by interrogating published axon mass spectrometric databases with rat protein databases. Among those identified in axons are highly related hnRNPs Q and R. RT-PCR analysis indicated that axons also contained low levels of hnRNPs Q and R mRNAs. We further found that BDNF treatments raised the levels of hnRNPs Q and R proteins in whole neurons and axons. BDNF also increased the level of poly(A) RNA as well as the proportion of poly(A) RNA granules containing hnRNPs Q and R in the axon. However, following severing the connection between the cell bodies and axons, BDNF did not affect the levels of hnRNPs Q and R, the content of poly(A) RNA, or the colocalization of poly(A) RNA and hnRNPs Q and R in the axon any more, although BDNF still stimulated the local translation in severed axons as it did in intact axons. The results are consistent with that BDNF enhances the axonal transport of RNA granules. The results further suggest that hnRNPs Q and R play a role in the mechanism underlying the enhancement of axonal RNA transport by BDNF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Wen Chung
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
| | - Ju-Chen Weng
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chih-En King
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Fan Chuang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
| | - Wei-Yuan Chow
- Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
| | - Yen-Chung Chang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
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4
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A compartmentalized culture device for studying the axons of CNS neurons. Anal Biochem 2017; 539:11-21. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2017.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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5
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Tasi YC, Chin TY, Chen YJ, Huang CC, Lee SL, Wu TY. Potential natural products for Alzheimer's disease: targeted search using the internal ribosome entry site of tau and amyloid-β precursor protein. Int J Mol Sci 2015; 16:8789-810. [PMID: 25903151 PMCID: PMC4425109 DOI: 10.3390/ijms16048789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2015] [Revised: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein are vital in the understanding of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). As a consequence, regulation of the expression of both APP and tau proteins is one important approach in combating AD. The APP and tau proteins can be targeted at the levels of transcription, translation and protein structural integrity. This paper reports the utilization of a bi-cistronic vector containing either APP or tau internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements flanked by β-galactosidase gene (cap-dependent) and secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) (cap-independent) to discern the mechanism of action of memantine, an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Results indicate that memantine could reduce the activity of both the APP and tau IRES at a concentration of ~10 μM (monitored by SEAP activity) without interfering with the cap-dependent translation as monitored by the β-galactosidase assay. Western blot analysis of the tau protein in neuroblastoma (N2A) and rat hippocampal cells confirmed the halting of the expression of the tau proteins. We also employed this approach to identify a preparation named NB34, extracts of Boussingaultia baselloides (madeira-vine) fermented with Lactobacillus spp., which can function similarly to memantine in both IRES of APP and Tau. The water maze test demonstrated that NB34 could improve the spatial memory of a high fat diet induced neurodegeneration in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE−/−) mice. These results revealed that the bi-cistronic vector provided a simple, and effective platform in screening and establishing the mechanistic action of potential compounds for the treatment and management of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Chieh Tasi
- Graduate Institute of Life Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan.
| | - Ting-Yu Chin
- Department of Bioscience Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32032, Taiwan.
- Program and Center of Nanoscience Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32032, Taiwan.
| | - Ying-Ju Chen
- Department of Bioscience Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32032, Taiwan.
| | | | - Shou-Lun Lee
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
| | - Tzong-Yuan Wu
- Department of Bioscience Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32032, Taiwan.
- Program and Center of Nanoscience Technology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32032, Taiwan.
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Arendt T, Bullmann T. Neuronal plasticity in hibernation and the proposed role of the microtubule-associated protein tau as a "master switch" regulating synaptic gain in neuronal networks. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2013; 305:R478-89. [PMID: 23824962 DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00117.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The present paper provides an overview of adaptive changes in brain structure and learning abilities during hibernation as a behavioral strategy used by several mammalian species to minimize energy expenditure under current or anticipated inhospitable environmental conditions. One cellular mechanism that contributes to the regulated suppression of metabolism and thermogenesis during hibernation is reversible phosphorylation of enzymes and proteins, which limits rates of flux through metabolic pathways. Reversible phosphorylation during hibernation also affects synaptic membrane proteins, a process known to be involved in synaptic plasticity. This mechanism of reversible protein phosphorylation also affects the microtubule-associated protein tau, thereby generating a condition that in the adult human brain is associated with aggregation of tau protein to paired helical filaments (PHFs), as observed in Alzheimer's disease. Here, we put forward the concept that phosphorylation of tau is a neuroprotective mechanism to escape NMDA-mediated hyperexcitability of neurons that would otherwise occur during slow gradual cooling of the brain. Phosphorylation of tau and its subsequent targeting to subsynaptic sites might, thus, work as a kind of "master switch," regulating NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic gain in a wide array of neuronal networks, thereby enabling entry into torpor. If this condition lasts too long, however, it may eventually turn into a pathological trigger, driving a cascade of events leading to neurodegeneration, as in Alzheimer's disease or other "tauopathies".
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Arendt
- Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Universität Leipzig, Germany.
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Ormerod KG, Rogasevskaia TP, Coorssen JR, Mercier AJ. Cholesterol-independent effects of methyl-β-cyclodextrin on chemical synapses. PLoS One 2012; 7:e36395. [PMID: 22590538 PMCID: PMC3348160 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2011] [Accepted: 04/05/2012] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The cholesterol chelating agent, methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD), alters synaptic function in many systems. At crayfish neuromuscular junctions, MβCD is reported to reduce excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) by impairing impulse propagation to synaptic terminals, and to have no postsynaptic effects. We examined the degree to which physiological effects of MβCD correlate with its ability to reduce cholesterol, and used thermal acclimatization as an alternative method to modify cholesterol levels. MβCD impaired impulse propagation and decreased EJP amplitude by 40% (P<0.05) in preparations from crayfish acclimatized to 14 °C but not from those acclimatized to 21 °C. The reduction in EJP amplitude in the cold-acclimatized group was associated with a 49% reduction in quantal content (P<0.05). MβCD had no effect on input resistance in muscle fibers but decreased sensitivity to the neurotransmitter L-glutamate in both warm- and cold-acclimatized groups. This effect was less pronounced and reversible in the warm-acclimatized group (90% reduction in cold, P<0.05; 50% reduction in warm, P<0.05). MβCD reduced cholesterol in isolated nerve and muscle from cold- and warm-acclimatized groups by comparable amounts (nerve: 29% cold, 25% warm; muscle: 20% cold, 18% warm; P<0.05). This effect was reversed by cholesterol loading, but only in the warm-acclimatized group. Thus, effects of MβCD on glutamate-sensitivity correlated with its ability to reduce cholesterol, but effects on impulse propagation and resulting EJP amplitude did not. Our results indicate that MβCD can affect both presynaptic and postsynaptic properties, and that some effects of MβCD are unrelated to cholesterol chelation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiel G. Ormerod
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tatiana P. Rogasevskaia
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Jens R. Coorssen
- Department of Molecular Physiology, School of Medicine and the Molecular Medicine Research Group, University of Western Sydney, Penrith South DC, New South Wales, Australia
| | - A. Joffre Mercier
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Chen WS, Villaflores OB, Lu CF, Wu HI, Chen YJ, Teng CY, Chang YC, Chang SL, Wu TY. Functional expression of rat neuroligin-1 extracellular fragment by a bi-cistronic baculovirus expression vector. Protein Expr Purif 2012; 81:18-24. [PMID: 21911064 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2011.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2011] [Revised: 08/20/2011] [Accepted: 08/22/2011] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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9
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Suzuki T. Isolation of Synapse Subdomains by Subcellular Fractionation Using Sucrose Density Gradient Centrifugation. NEUROMETHODS 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-111-6_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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10
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Goswami C, Goswami L. Filamentous microtubules in the neuronal spinous process and the role of microtubule regulatory drugs in neuropathic pain. Neurochem Int 2010; 57:497-503. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2010.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2010] [Revised: 05/28/2010] [Accepted: 06/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Wu HI, Cheng GH, Wong YY, Lin CM, Fang W, Chow WY, Chang YC. A lab-on-a-chip platform for studying the subcellular functional proteome of neuronal axons. LAB ON A CHIP 2010; 10:647-653. [PMID: 20162241 DOI: 10.1039/b918217a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Axons are long, slender processes extending from the cell bodies of neurons and play diverse and crucial roles in the development and function of nervous systems. Here, we describe the development of a chip device that can be used to produce large quantities of axons for proteomic and RNA analyses. On the chip surface, bundles of axons of rat hippocampal neurons in culture are guided to grow in areas distinct and distant from where their cell bodies reside. Fluorescence immunocytochemical studies have confirmed that the areas where these axons are guided to grow are occupied exclusively by axons and not by neuronal somatodendrites or astroglial cells. These axon-occupied parts are easily separated from the remainder of the chip and collected by breaking the chip along the well-positioned linear grooves made on the backside. One- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and Western blotting analyses reveal that the axons and whole cells differ in their protein compositions. RT-PCR analyses also indicate that the axons contain only a subset of neuronal RNAs. Furthermore, the chip device could be easily modified to address other issues concerning neuronal axons, such as the molecular composition of the axon substructure, the growth cone and shaft, the degeneration and regeneration processes associated with injured axons and the effects of extrinsic molecules, such as axon guidance cues and cell adhesion molecules, on the axon. With these diverse applications, the chip device described here will serve as a powerful platform for studying the functional proteome of neuronal axons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huei-Ing Wu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
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An observation chamber for studying temperature-dependent and drug-induced events in live neurons using fluorescence microscopy. Anal Biochem 2008; 386:105-12. [PMID: 19111514 DOI: 10.1016/j.ab.2008.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2008] [Accepted: 12/03/2008] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Live-cell imaging chambers are used in a wide range of cell biology research. Recently, chambers capable of taking high-resolution and time-lapse images of live cells have been developed and become commercially available. However, because most of these chambers are designed to maintain a thermally stable environment for the cells under study, it is usually very difficult to use them to study temperature-dependent cellular events. Here we report the development of a chamber that is able to be used for the continuous monitoring of live neurons under most commercially available upright epifluorescence and confocal microscopes and in which the temperature and composition of the medium surrounding the neurons can be changed rapidly and reversibly. This live-cell observation chamber has been used successfully with cultured rat hippocampal neurons to study temperature-dependent changes in the dynamics of the microtubule cytoskeleton using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) together with the localization of alpha-tubulin in the dendritic spines. The success of these observations demonstrates the usefulness and applicability of the live-cell observation chamber described here to a wide range of cell biology experiments.
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