Secondary association of PDLIM5 with paranoid schizophrenia in Emirati patients

Nicotine pretreatment alleviates MK-801-induced behavioral and cognitive deficits in mice by regulating Pdlim5/CRTC1 in the PFC

Increasing evidence shows that smoking-obtained nicotine is indicated to improve cognition and mitigate certain symptoms of schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated whether chronic nicotine treatment alleviated MK-801-induced schizophrenia-like symptoms and cognitive impairment in mice. Mice were injected with MK-801 (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.), and the behavioral deficits were assessed using prepulse inhibition (PPI) and T-maze tests. We showed that MK-801 caused cognitive impairment accompanied by increased expression of PDZ and LIM domain 5 (Pdlim5), an adaptor protein that is critically associated with schizophrenia, in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Pretreatment with nicotine (0.2 mg · kg-1 · d-1, s.c., for 2 weeks) significantly ameliorated MK-801-induced schizophrenia-like symptoms and cognitive impairment by reversing the increased Pdlim5 expression levels in the PFC. In addition, pretreatment with nicotine prevented the MK-801-induced decrease in CREB-regulated transcription coactivator 1 (CRTC1), a coactivator of CREB that plays an important role in cognition. Furthermore, MK-801 neither induced schizophrenia-like behaviors nor decreased CRTC1 levels in the PFC of Pdlim5-/- mice. Overexpression of Pdlim5 in the PFC through intra-PFC infusion of an adreno-associated virus AAV-Pdlim5 induced significant schizophrenia-like symptoms and cognitive impairment. In conclusion, chronic nicotine treatment alleviates schizophrenia-induced memory deficits in mice by regulating Pdlim5 and CRTC1 expression in the PFC.

The unexpected versatility of ALP/Enigma family proteins

One of the most intriguing features of multicellular animals is their ability to move. On a cellular level, this is accomplished by the rearrangement and reorganization of the cytoskeleton, a dynamic network of filamentous proteins which provides stability and structure in a stationary context, but also facilitates directed movement by contracting. The ALP/Enigma family proteins are a diverse group of docking proteins found in numerous cellular milieus and facilitate these processes among others. In vertebrates, they are characterized by having a PDZ domain in combination with one or three LIM domains. The family is comprised of CLP-36 (PDLIM1), Mystique (PDLIM2), ALP (PDLIM3), RIL (PDLIM4), ENH (PDLIM5), ZASP (PDLIM6), and Enigma (PDLIM7). In this review, we will outline the evolution and function of their protein domains which confers their versatility. Additionally, we highlight their role in different cellular environments, focusing specifically on recent advances in muscle research using Drosophila as a model organism. Finally, we show the relevance of this protein family to human myopathies and the development of muscle-related diseases.

The C. elegans BRCA2-ALP/Enigma Complex Regulates Axon Regeneration via a Rho GTPase-ROCK-MLC Phosphorylation Pathway

The ability of specific neurons to regenerate their axons after injury is governed by cell-intrinsic regeneration pathways. However, the mechanisms regulating axon regeneration are not well understood. Here, we identify the brc-2 gene encoding a homolog of the mammalian BRCA2 tumor suppressor as a regulator of axon regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans motor neurons. We show that the RHO-1/Rho GTPase-LET-502/ROCK (Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase)-regulatory non-muscle myosin light-chain (MLC-4/MLC) phosphorylation signaling pathway regulates axon regeneration. BRC-2 functions between RHO-1 and LET-502, suggesting that BRC-2 is required for the activation of LET-502 by RHO-1-GTP. We also find that one component that interacts with BRC-2, the ALP (α-actinin-associated LIM protein)/Enigma protein ALP-1, is required for regeneration and acts between LET-502 and MLC-4 phosphorylation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ALP-1 associates with LET-502 and MLC-4. Thus, ALP-1 serves as a platform to activate MLC-4 phosphorylation mediated by the RHO-1-LET-502 signaling pathway.

A kernel machine method for detecting higher order interactions in multimodal datasets: Application to schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Technological advances are enabling us to collect multimodal datasets at an increasing depth and resolution while with decreasing labors. Understanding complex interactions among multimodal datasets, however, is challenging.

NEW METHOD

In this study, we tested the interaction effect of multimodal datasets using a novel method called the kernel machine for detecting higher order interactions among biologically relevant multimodal data. Using a semiparametric method on a reproducing kernel Hilbert space, we formulated the proposed method as a standard mixed-effects linear model and derived a score-based variance component statistic to test higher order interactions between multimodal datasets.

RESULTS

The method was evaluated using extensive numerical simulation and real data from the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium with both schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Our method identified 13-triplets that included 6 gene-derived SNPs, 10 ROIs, and 6 gene-specific DNA methylations that are correlated with the changes in hippocampal volume, suggesting that these triplets may be important for explaining schizophrenia-related neurodegeneration.

COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S)

The performance of the proposed method is compared with the following methods: test based on only first and first few principal components followed by multiple regression, and full principal component analysis regression, and the sequence kernel association test.

CONCLUSIONS

With strong evidence (p-value ≤0.000001), the triplet (MAGI2, CRBLCrus1.L, FBXO28) is a significant biomarker for schizophrenia patients. This novel method can be applicable to the study of other disease processes, where multimodal data analysis is a common task.