A Hyperactive Form of unc-13 Enhances Ca2+ Sensitivity and Synaptic Vesicle Release Probability in C. elegans

Mercuric sulfide nanoparticles suppress the neurobehavioral functions of Caenorhabditis elegans through a Skp1-dependent mechanism

Cinnabar is the naturally occurring mercuric sulfide (HgS) and concerns about its safety have been grown. However, the molecular mechanism of HgS-related neurotoxicity remains unclear. S-phase kinase-associated protein 1 (Skp1), identified as the target protein of HgS, plays a crucial role in the development of neurological diseases. This study aims to investigate the neurotoxic effects and molecular mechanism of HgS based on Skp1 using the Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) model. We prepared the HgS nanoparticles and conducted a comparative analysis of neurobehavioral differences in both wild-type C. elegans (N2) and a transgenic strain of C. elegans (VC1241) with a knockout of the SKP1 homologous gene after exposure to HgS nanoparticles. Our results showed that HgS nanoparticles could suppress locomotion, defecation, egg-laying, and associative learning behaviors in N2 C. elegans, while no significant alterations were observed in the VC1241 C. elegans. Furthermore, we conducted a 4D label-free proteomics analysis and screened 504 key proteins significantly affected by HgS nanoparticles through Skp1. These proteins play pivotal roles in various pathways, including SNARE interactions in vesicular transport, TGF-beta signaling pathway, calcium signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, etc. In summary, HgS nanoparticles at high doses suppress the neurobehavioral functions of C. elegans through a Skp1-dependent mechanism.

Transcriptome Changes Reveal the Toxic Mechanism of Cadmium and Lead Combined Exposure on Silk Production and Web-Weaving Behavior of Spider A. ventricosus

The combined exposure of multiple metals imposes a substantial burden on the ecophysiological functions in organisms; however, the precise mechanism(s) remains largely unknown. Here, adult female A. ventricosus were exposed to single and combined exposure to cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) through the food chain. The aim was to explore the combined toxicity of these metals on silk production and web-weaving behavior at physiological, cellular morphological, and transcriptomic levels. The Cd and Pb combined exposure significantly inhibited the ability of silk production and web-weaving, including reduced silk fiber weight and diameter of single strands, lowered weaving position, induced nocturnal weaving, and increased instances of no-web, and showed a dose-response relationship on the Cd and Pb bioaccumulation. Concurrently, severe oxidative stress and degenerative changes in cells were observed. In addition, the combined pollution of Cd and Pb demonstrated synergistic effects, influenced by variations in concentration, on the enrichment of metals, inhibition of silk weight, oxidative damage, and cellular degeneration. At the transcriptome level, the upregulated ampullate spidroin genes and downregulated amino acid anabolic genes, upregulated Far genes and downregulated cytoskeleton-related TUBA genes, and overexpressed AChE and Glu genes may tend to present promising potential as biomarkers for silk protein synthesis, cellular degeneration, and neurotransmitter induction. This study offers an enormous capability for a comprehensive understanding of the eco-toxicological effects and mechanisms of multiheavy metals pollution.

Unc13A dynamically stabilizes vesicle priming at synaptic release sites for short-term facilitation and homeostatic potentiation

Presynaptic plasticity adjusts neurotransmitter (NT) liberation. Short-term facilitation (STF) tunes synapses to millisecond repetitive activation, while presynaptic homeostatic potentiation (PHP) of NT release stabilizes transmission over minutes. Despite different timescales of STF and PHP, our analysis of Drosophila neuromuscular junctions reveals functional overlap and shared molecular dependence on the release-site protein Unc13A. Mutating Unc13A's calmodulin binding domain (CaM-domain) increases baseline transmission while blocking STF and PHP. Mathematical modeling suggests that Ca2+/calmodulin/Unc13A interaction plastically stabilizes vesicle priming at release sites and that CaM-domain mutation causes constitutive stabilization, thereby blocking plasticity. Labeling the functionally essential Unc13A MUN domain reveals higher STED microscopy signals closer to release sites following CaM-domain mutation. Acute phorbol ester treatment similarly enhances NT release and blocks STF/PHP in synapses expressing wild-type Unc13A, while CaM-domain mutation occludes this, indicating common downstream effects. Thus, Unc13A regulatory domains integrate signals across timescales to switch release-site participation for synaptic plasticity.

Synaptogenesis: unmasking molecular mechanisms using Caenorhabditis elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a research model organism particularly suited to the mechanistic understanding of synapse genesis in the nervous system. Armed with powerful genetics, knowledge of complete connectomics, and modern genomics, studies using C. elegans have unveiled multiple key regulators in the formation of a functional synapse. Importantly, many signaling networks display remarkable conservation throughout animals, underscoring the contributions of C. elegans research to advance the understanding of our brain. In this chapter, we will review up-to-date information of the contribution of C. elegans to the understanding of chemical synapses, from structure to molecules and to synaptic remodeling.

Functional Roles of UNC-13/Munc13 and UNC-18/Munc18 in Neurotransmission

Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic and secretory vesicles following calcium-triggered fusion with the plasma membrane. These exocytotic events are driven by assembly of a ternary SNARE complex between the vesicle SNARE synaptobrevin and the plasma membrane-associated SNAREs syntaxin and SNAP-25. Proteins that affect SNARE complex assembly are therefore important regulators of synaptic strength. In this chapter, we review our current understanding of the roles played by two SNARE interacting proteins: UNC-13/Munc13 and UNC-18/Munc18. We discuss results from both invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, highlighting recent advances, focusing on the current consensus on molecular mechanisms of action and nanoscale organization, and pointing out some unresolved aspects of their functions.

Different priming states of synaptic vesicles underlie distinct release probabilities at hippocampal excitatory synapses

A stunning example of synaptic diversity is the postsynaptic target cell-type-dependent difference in synaptic efficacy in cortical networks. Here, we show that CA1 pyramidal cell (PC) to fast spiking interneuron (FSIN) connections have 10-fold larger release probability (P_v) than those on oriens lacunosum-moleculare (O-LM) interneurons. Freeze-fracture immunolabeling revealed that different nano-topologies and coupling distances between Ca²⁺ channels and release sites (RSs) are not responsible for the distinct P_v. Although [Ca²⁺] transients are 40% larger in FSINs innervating boutons, when [Ca²⁺] entry is matched in the two bouton populations, EPSCs in O-LM cells are still 7-fold smaller. However, application of a phorbol ester analog resulted in a ∼2.5-fold larger augmentation at PC - O-LM compared to PC - FSIN synapses, suggesting incomplete docking or priming of vesicles. Similar densities of docked vesicles rule out distinct RS occupancies and demonstrate that incompletely primed, but docked, vesicles limit the output of PC - O-LM synapses.

Sexually Dimorphic Neurotransmitter Release at the Neuromuscular Junction in Adult Caenorhabditis elegans

Sexually dimorphic differentiation of sex-shared behaviors is observed across the animal world, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we report sexual dimorphism in neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) of adult Caenorhabditis elegans. Studying worm locomotion confirms sex differences in spontaneous locomotion of adult animals, and quantitative fluorescence analysis shows that excitatory cholinergic synapses, but not inhibitory GABAergic synapses exhibit the adult-specific difference in synaptic vesicles between males and hermaphrodites. Electrophysiological recording from the NMJ of C. elegans not only reveals an enhanced neurotransmitter release but also demonstrates increased sensitivity of synaptic exocytosis to extracellular calcium concentration in adult males. Furthermore, the cholinergic synapses in adult males are characterized with weaker synaptic depression but faster vesicle replenishment than that in hermaphrodites. Interestingly, T-type calcium channels/CCA-1 play a male-specific role in acetylcholine release at the NMJs in adult animals. Taken together, our results demonstrate sexually dimorphic differentiation of synaptic mechanisms at the C. elegans NMJs, and thus provide a new mechanistic insight into how biological sex shapes animal behaviors through sex-shared neurons and circuits.

A novel dual Ca2+ sensor system regulates Ca2+-dependent neurotransmitter release

Ca²⁺-dependent neurotransmitter release requires synaptotagmins as Ca²⁺ sensors to trigger synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis via binding of their tandem C2 domains—C2A and C2B—to Ca²⁺. We have previously demonstrated that SNT-1, a mouse synaptotagmin-1 (Syt1) homologue, functions as the fast Ca²⁺ sensor in Caenorhabditis elegans. Here, we report a new Ca²⁺ sensor, SNT-3, which triggers delayed Ca²⁺-dependent neurotransmitter release. snt-1;snt-3 double mutants abolish evoked synaptic transmission, demonstrating that C. elegans NMJs use a dual Ca²⁺ sensor system. SNT-3 possesses canonical aspartate residues in both C2 domains, but lacks an N-terminal transmembrane (TM) domain. Biochemical evidence demonstrates that SNT-3 binds both Ca²⁺ and the plasma membrane. Functional analysis shows that SNT-3 is activated when SNT-1 function is impaired, triggering SV release that is loosely coupled to Ca²⁺ entry. Compared with SNT-1, which is tethered to SVs, SNT-3 is not associated with SV. Eliminating the SV tethering of SNT-1 by removing the TM domain or the whole N terminus rescues fast release kinetics, demonstrating that cytoplasmic SNT-1 is still functional and triggers fast neurotransmitter release, but also exhibits decreased evoked amplitude and release probability. These results suggest that the fast and slow properties of SV release are determined by the intrinsically different C2 domains in SNT-1 and SNT-3, rather than their N-termini–mediated membrane tethering. Our findings therefore reveal a novel dual Ca²⁺ sensor system in C. elegans and provide significant insights into Ca²⁺-regulated exocytosis.

Protocols for electrophysiological recordings and electron microscopy at C. elegans neuromuscular junction

Release of neurotransmitters by synaptic vesicle exocytosis at presynaptic terminals is critical for neuronal communication within the nervous system. Electrophysiology and electron microscopy are powerful and complementary approaches used to evaluate the function of synaptic proteins in synaptic transmission. Here, we provide a protocol detailing the use of these two approaches at C. elegans neuromuscular junctions, including steps for worm picking and dissection, in vivo electrophysiological recording, and sample preparation for electron microscopy, followed by imaging and analysis. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Liu et al. (2021) and Li et al. (2021).

Calcium-dependent docking of synaptic vesicles

The concentration of calcium ions in presynaptic terminals regulates transmitter release, but underlying mechanisms have remained unclear. Here we review recent studies that shed new light on this issue. Fast-freezing electron microscopy and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy studies reveal complex calcium-dependent vesicle movements including docking on a millisecond time scale. Recordings from so-called 'simple synapses' indicate that calcium not only triggers exocytosis, but also modifies synaptic strength by controlling a final, rapid vesicle maturation step before release. Molecular studies identify several calcium-sensitive domains on Munc13 and on synaptotagmin-1 that are likely involved in bringing the vesicular and plasma membranes closer together in response to calcium elevation. Together, these results suggest that calcium-dependent vesicle docking occurs in a wide range of time domains and plays a crucial role in several phenomena including synaptic facilitation, post-tetanic potentiation, and neuromodulator-induced potentiation.

A unique C2 domain at the C terminus of Munc13 promotes synaptic vesicle priming

Neurotransmitter release during synaptic transmission comprises a tightly orchestrated sequence of molecular events, and Munc13-1 is a cornerstone of the fusion machinery. A forward genetic screen for defects in neurotransmitter release in Caenorhabditis elegans identified a mutation in the Munc13-1 ortholog UNC-13 that eliminated its unique and deeply conserved C-terminal module (referred to as HC2M) containing a Ca²⁺-insensitive C2 domain flanked by membrane-binding helices. The HC2M module could be functionally replaced in vivo by protein domains that localize to synaptic vesicles but not to the plasma membrane. HC2M is broadly conserved in other Unc13 family members and is required for efficient synaptic vesicle priming. We propose that the HC2M domain evolved as a vesicle/endosome adaptor and acquired synaptic vesicle specificity in the Unc13ABC protein family.

The M domain in UNC-13 regulates the probability of neurotransmitter release

Synapses exhibit multiple forms of short-term plasticities, which have been attributed to the heterogeneity of neurotransmitter release probability. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the differential release states remain to be fully elucidated. The Unc-13 proteins appear to have key roles in synaptic function through multiple regulatory domains. Here, we report that deleting the M domain in Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-13MR leads to a significant increase in release probability, revealing an inhibitory function of this domain. The inhibitory effect of this domain is eliminated when the C1 and C2B domains are absent or activated, suggesting that the M domain inhibits release probability by suppressing the activity of C1 and C2B domains. When fused directly to the MUNC2C fragment of UNC-13, the M domain greatly enhances release probability. Thus, our findings reveal a mechanism by which the UNC-13 M domain regulates synaptic transmission and provides molecular insights into the regulation of release probability.