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Puri D, Sharma S, Samaddar S, Ravivarma S, Banerjee S, Ghosh-Roy A. Muscleblind-1 interacts with tubulin mRNAs to regulate the microtubule cytoskeleton in C. elegans mechanosensory neurons. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010885. [PMID: 37603562 PMCID: PMC10470942 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton is crucial for the development and maintenance of neuronal architecture, and recent studies have highlighted the significance of regulated RNA processing in the establishment and maintenance of neural circuits. In a genetic screen conducted using mechanosensory neurons of C. elegans, we identified a mutation in muscleblind-1/mbl-1 as a suppressor of loss of kinesin-13 family microtubule destabilizing factor klp-7. Muscleblind-1(MBL-1) is an RNA-binding protein that regulates the splicing, localization, and stability of RNA. Our findings demonstrate that mbl-1 is required cell-autonomously for axon growth and proper synapse positioning in the posterior lateral microtubule (PLM) neuron. Loss of mbl-1 leads to increased microtubule dynamics and mixed orientation of microtubules in the anterior neurite of PLM. These defects are also accompanied by abnormal axonal transport of the synaptic protein RAB-3 and reduction of gentle touch sensation in mbl-1 mutant. Our data also revealed that mbl-1 is genetically epistatic to mec-7 (β tubulin) and mec-12 (α tubulin) in regulating axon growth. Furthermore, mbl-1 is epistatic to sad-1, an ortholog of BRSK/Brain specific-serine/threonine kinase and a known regulator of synaptic machinery, for synapse formation at the correct location of the PLM neurite. Notably, the immunoprecipitation of MBL-1 resulted in the co-purification of mec-7, mec-12, and sad-1 mRNAs, suggesting a direct interaction between MBL-1 and these transcripts. Additionally, mbl-1 mutants exhibited reduced levels and stability of mec-7 and mec-12 transcripts. Our study establishes a previously unknown link between RNA-binding proteins and cytoskeletal machinery, highlighting their crucial roles in the development and maintenance of the nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dharmendra Puri
- National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
| | - Sunanda Sharma
- National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
| | - Sarbani Samaddar
- National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
| | - Sruthy Ravivarma
- National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
| | - Sourav Banerjee
- National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
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2
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Guan G, Cannon RD, Coates DE, Mei L. Effect of the Rho-Kinase/ROCK Signaling Pathway on Cytoskeleton Components. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:272. [PMID: 36833199 PMCID: PMC9957420 DOI: 10.3390/genes14020272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The mechanical properties of cells are important in tissue homeostasis and enable cell growth, division, migration and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Mechanical properties are determined to a large extent by the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeleton is a complex and dynamic network composed of microfilaments, intermediate filaments and microtubules. These cellular structures confer both cell shape and mechanical properties. The architecture of the networks formed by the cytoskeleton is regulated by several pathways, a key one being the Rho-kinase/ROCK signaling pathway. This review describes the role of ROCK (Rho-associated coiled-coil forming kinase) and how it mediates effects on the key components of the cytoskeleton that are critical for cell behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangzhao Guan
- Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
- Department of Oral Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, 310 Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Richard D. Cannon
- Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
- Department of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, 310 Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Dawn E. Coates
- Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
| | - Li Mei
- Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
- Department of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, 310 Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
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3
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He L, van Beem L, Snel B, Hoogenraad CC, Harterink M. PTRN-1 (CAMSAP) and NOCA-2 (NINEIN) are required for microtubule polarity in Caenorhabditis elegans dendrites. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001855. [PMID: 36395330 PMCID: PMC9714909 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The neuronal microtubule cytoskeleton is key to establish axon-dendrite polarity. Dendrites are characterized by the presence of minus-end out microtubules. However, the mechanisms that organize these microtubules with the correct orientation are still poorly understood. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for microtubule organization, we characterized the role of 2 microtubule minus-end related proteins in this process, the microtubule minus-end stabilizing protein calmodulin-regulated spectrin-associated protein (CAMSAP/PTRN-1), and the NINEIN homologue, NOCA-2 (noncentrosomal microtubule array). We found that CAMSAP and NINEIN function in parallel to mediate microtubule organization in dendrites. During dendrite outgrowth, RAB-11-positive vesicles localized to the dendrite tip to nucleate microtubules and function as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC). In the absence of either CAMSAP or NINEIN, we observed a low penetrance MTOC vesicles mislocalization to the cell body, and a nearly fully penetrant phenotype in double mutant animals. This suggests that both proteins are important for localizing the MTOC vesicles to the growing dendrite tip to organize microtubules minus-end out. Whereas NINEIN localizes to the MTOC vesicles where it is important for the recruitment of the microtubule nucleator γ-tubulin, CAMSAP localizes around the MTOC vesicles and is cotranslocated forward with the MTOC vesicles upon dendritic growth. Together, these results indicate that microtubule nucleation from the MTOC vesicles and microtubule stabilization are both important to localize the MTOC vesicles distally to organize dendritic microtubules minus-end out.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu He
- Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Lotte van Beem
- Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Berend Snel
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Casper C. Hoogenraad
- Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Department of Neuroscience, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Martin Harterink
- Cell Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- * E-mail:
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Taguchi S, Nakano J, Imasaki T, Kita T, Saijo-Hamano Y, Sakai N, Shigematsu H, Okuma H, Shimizu T, Nitta E, Kikkawa S, Mizobuchi S, Niwa S, Nitta R. Structural model of microtubule dynamics inhibition by kinesin-4 from the crystal structure of KLP-12 -tubulin complex. eLife 2022; 11:77877. [PMID: 36065637 PMCID: PMC9451533 DOI: 10.7554/elife.77877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Kinesin superfamily proteins are microtubule-based molecular motors driven by the energy of ATP hydrolysis. Among them, the kinesin-4 family is a unique motor that inhibits microtubule dynamics. Although mutations of kinesin-4 cause several diseases, its molecular mechanism is unclear because of the difficulty of visualizing the high-resolution structure of kinesin-4 working at the microtubule plus-end. Here, we report that KLP-12, a C. elegans kinesin-4 ortholog of KIF21A and KIF21B, is essential for proper length control of C. elegans axons, and its motor domain represses microtubule polymerization in vitro. The crystal structure of the KLP-12 motor domain complexed with tubulin, which represents the high-resolution structural snapshot of the inhibition state of microtubule-end dynamics, revealed the bending effect of KLP-12 for tubulin. Comparison with the KIF5B-tubulin and KIF2C-tubulin complexes, which represent the elongation and shrinking forms of microtubule ends, respectively, showed the curvature of tubulin introduced by KLP-12 is in between them. Taken together, KLP-12 controls the proper length of axons by modulating the curvature of the microtubule ends to inhibit the microtubule dynamics. From meter-long structures that allow nerve cells to stretch across a body to miniscule ‘hairs’ required for lung cells to clear mucus, many life processes rely on cells sporting projections which have the right size for their role. Networks of hollow filaments known as microtubules shape these structures and ensure that they have the appropriate dimensions. Controlling the length of microtubules is therefore essential for organisms, yet how this process takes place is still not fully elucidated. Previous research has shown that microtubules continue to grow when their end is straight but stop when it is curved. A family of molecular motors known as kinesin-4 participate in this process, but the exact mechanisms at play remain unclear. To investigate, Tuguchi, Nakano, Imasaki et al. focused on the KLP-12 protein, a kinesin-4 equivalent which helps to controls the length of microtubules in the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans. They performed genetic manipulations and imaged the interactions between KLP-12 and the growing end of a microtubule using X-ray crystallography. This revealed that KLP-12 controls the length of neurons by inhibiting microtubule growth. It does so by modulating the curvature of the growing end of the filament to suppress its extension. A ‘snapshot’ of KLP-12 binding to a microtubule at the resolution of the atom revealed exactly how the protein helps to bend the end of the filament to prevent it from growing further. These results will help to understand how nerve cells are shaped. This may also provide insights into the molecular mechanisms for various neurodegenerative disorders caused by problems with the human equivalents of KLP-12, potentially leading to new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinya Taguchi
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.,Division of Anesthesiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Juri Nakano
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Tsuyoshi Imasaki
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Tomoki Kita
- Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yumiko Saijo-Hamano
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | | | | | - Hiromichi Okuma
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Takahiro Shimizu
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Eriko Nitta
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kikkawa
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Satoshi Mizobuchi
- Division of Anesthesiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Niwa
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.,Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (FRIS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
| | - Ryo Nitta
- Division of Structural Medicine and Anatomy, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
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Brar HK, Dey S, Bhardwaj S, Pande D, Singh P, Dey S, Ghosh-Roy A. Dendrite regeneration in C. elegans is controlled by the RAC GTPase CED-10 and the RhoGEF TIAM-1. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010127. [PMID: 35344539 PMCID: PMC8989329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurons are vulnerable to physical insults, which compromise the integrity of both dendrites and axons. Although several molecular pathways of axon regeneration are identified, our knowledge of dendrite regeneration is limited. To understand the mechanisms of dendrite regeneration, we used the PVD neurons in C. elegans with stereotyped branched dendrites. Using femtosecond laser, we severed the primary dendrites and axon of this neuron. After severing the primary dendrites near the cell body, we observed sprouting of new branches from the proximal site within 6 hours, which regrew further with time in an unstereotyped manner. This was accompanied by reconnection between the proximal and distal dendrites, and fusion among the higher-order branches as reported before. We quantified the regeneration pattern into three aspects–territory length, number of branches, and fusion phenomena. Axonal injury causes a retraction of the severed end followed by a Dual leucine zipper kinase-1 (DLK-1) dependent regrowth from the severed end. We tested the roles of the major axon regeneration signalling hubs such as DLK-1-RPM-1, cAMP elevation, let-7 miRNA, AKT-1, Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure/PS in dendrite regeneration. We found that neither dendrite regrowth nor fusion was affected by the axon injury pathway molecules. Surprisingly, we found that the RAC GTPase, CED-10 and its upstream GEF, TIAM-1 play a cell-autonomous role in dendrite regeneration. Additionally, the function of CED-10 in epidermal cell is critical for post-dendrotomy fusion phenomena. This work describes a novel regulatory mechanism of dendrite regeneration and provides a framework for understanding the cellular mechanism of dendrite regeneration using PVD neuron as a model system. The knowledge of the repair of injured neural circuits comes from the study of the regeneration of injured axons. The information receiving neurites, namely dendrites, are also vulnerable to physical insult during stroke and trauma. However, little knowledge is available on the mechanism of dendrite regeneration since the study of Cajal. In order to get insight into this process, we severed both axon and dendrites of PVD neuron in C. elegans using laser. By comparing the roles of axon regeneration pathways in both dendrite and axon regeneration in this neuron, we found that dendrite regeneration is independent of molecular mechanisms involving axon regrowth. We discovered that dendrite regeneration is dependent on the RAC GTPase CED-10 and GEF TIAM-1. Moreover, we found that CED-10 plays roles within both neuron and in the surrounding epithelia for mounting regeneration response to dendrite injury. This work provides mechanistic insight into the process of dendrite repair after physical injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harjot Kaur Brar
- Department of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Swagata Dey
- Department of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Smriti Bhardwaj
- Department of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Devashish Pande
- Department of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Pallavi Singh
- Department of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India
| | - Shirshendu Dey
- Fluorescence Microscopy Division, Bruker India Scientific Pvt. Ltd., International Trade Tower, Nehru Place, New Delhi, India
| | - Anindya Ghosh-Roy
- Department of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India
- * E-mail:
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Sánchez-Huertas C, Herrera E. With the Permission of Microtubules: An Updated Overview on Microtubule Function During Axon Pathfinding. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:759404. [PMID: 34924953 PMCID: PMC8675249 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.759404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
During the establishment of neural circuitry axons often need to cover long distances to reach remote targets. The stereotyped navigation of these axons defines the connectivity between brain regions and cellular subtypes. This chemotrophic guidance process mostly relies on the spatio-temporal expression patterns of extracellular proteins and the selective expression of their receptors in projection neurons. Axon guidance is stimulated by guidance proteins and implemented by neuronal traction forces at the growth cones, which engage local cytoskeleton regulators and cell adhesion proteins. Different layers of guidance signaling regulation, such as the cleavage and processing of receptors, the expression of co-receptors and a wide variety of intracellular cascades downstream of receptors activation, have been progressively unveiled. Also, in the last decades, the regulation of microtubule (MT) assembly, stability and interactions with the submembranous actin network in the growth cone have emerged as crucial effector mechanisms in axon pathfinding. In this review, we will delve into the intracellular signaling cascades downstream of guidance receptors that converge on the MT cytoskeleton of the growing axon. In particular, we will focus on the microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) network responsible of MT dynamics in the axon and growth cone. Complementarily, we will discuss new evidences that connect defects in MT scaffold proteins, MAPs or MT-based motors and axon misrouting during brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Sánchez-Huertas
- Instituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Universidad Miguel Hernández (CSIC-UMH), Alicante, Spain
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Dey S, Ghosh-Roy A. In vivo Assessment of Microtubule Dynamics and Orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans Neurons. J Vis Exp 2021:10.3791/62744. [PMID: 34866634 PMCID: PMC7614928 DOI: 10.3791/62744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In neurons, microtubule orientation has been a key assessor to identify axons that have plus-end out microtubules and dendrites that generally have mixed orientation. Here we describe methods to label, image, and analyze the microtubule dynamics and growth during the development and regeneration of touch neurons in C. elegans. Using genetically encoded fluorescent reporters of microtubule tips, we imaged the axonal microtubules. The local changes in microtubule behavior that initiates axon regeneration following axotomy can be quantified using this protocol. This assay is adaptable to other neurons and genetic backgrounds to investigate the regulation of microtubule dynamics in various cellular processes.
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