Immobilization of Caenorhabditis elegans to Analyze Intracellular Transport in Neurons

The effect of common paralytic agents used for fluorescence imaging on redox tone and ATP levels in Caenorhabditis elegans

One aspect of Caenorhabditis elegans that makes it a highly valuable model organism is the ease of use of in vivo genetic reporters, facilitated by its transparent cuticle and highly tractable genetics. Despite the rapid advancement of these technologies, worms must be paralyzed for most imaging applications, and few investigations have characterized the impacts of common chemical anesthetic methods on the parameters measured, in particular biochemical measurements such as cellular energetics and redox tone. Using two dynamic reporters, QUEEN-2m for relative ATP levels and reduction-oxidation sensitive GFP (roGFP) for redox tone, we assess the impact of commonly used chemical paralytics. We report that no chemical anesthetic is entirely effective at doses required for full paralysis without altering redox tone or ATP levels, and that anesthetic use alters the detected outcome of rotenone exposure on relative ATP levels and redox tone. We also assess the use of cold shock, commonly used in combination with physical restraint methods, and find that cold shock does not alter either ATP levels or redox tone. In addition to informing which paralytics are most appropriate for research in these topics, we highlight the need for tailoring the use of anesthetics to different endpoints and experimental questions. Further, we reinforce the need for developing less disruptive paralytic methods for optimal imaging of dynamic in vivo reporters.

Number of kinesins engaged in axonal cargo transport: A novel biomarker for neurological disorders

Kinesin motor proteins play crucial roles in anterograde transport of cargo vesicles in neurons, moving them along axons from the cell body towards the synaptic region. Not only the transport force and velocity of single motor protein, but also the number of kinesin molecules involved in transporting a specific cargo, is pivotal for synapse formation. This collective transport by multiple kinesins ensures stable and efficient cargo transport in neurons. Abnormal increases or decreases in the number of engaged kinesin molecules per cargo could potentially act as biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spastic paraplegia, polydactyly syndrome, and virus transport disorders. We review here a model constructed using physical measurements to quantify the number of kinesin molecules associated with their cargo, which could shed light on the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases related to axonal transport.

Forkhead transcription factor FKH-8 cooperates with RFX in the direct regulation of sensory cilia in Caenorhabditis elegans

Cilia, either motile or non-motile (a.k.a primary or sensory), are complex evolutionarily conserved eukaryotic structures composed of hundreds of proteins required for their assembly, structure and function that are collectively known as the ciliome. Ciliome gene mutations underlie a group of pleiotropic genetic diseases known as ciliopathies. Proper cilium function requires the tight coregulation of ciliome gene transcription, which is only fragmentarily understood. RFX transcription factors (TF) have an evolutionarily conserved role in the direct activation of ciliome genes both in motile and non-motile cilia cell-types. In vertebrates, FoxJ1 and FoxN4 Forkhead (FKH) TFs work with RFX in the direct activation of ciliome genes, exclusively in motile cilia cell-types. No additional TFs have been described to act together with RFX in primary cilia cell-types in any organism. Here we describe FKH-8, a FKH TF, as a direct regulator of the sensory ciliome genes in Caenorhabditis elegans. FKH-8 is expressed in all ciliated neurons in C. elegans, binds the regulatory regions of ciliome genes, regulates ciliome gene expression, cilium morphology and a wide range of behaviors mediated by sensory ciliated neurons. FKH-8 and DAF-19 (C. elegans RFX) physically interact and synergistically regulate ciliome gene expression. C. elegans FKH-8 function can be replaced by mouse FOXJ1 and FOXN4 but not by other members of other mouse FKH subfamilies. In conclusion, RFX and FKH TF families act jointly as direct regulators of ciliome genes also in sensory ciliated cell types suggesting that this regulatory logic could be an ancient trait predating functional cilia sub-specialization.

Structural model of microtubule dynamics inhibition by kinesin-4 from the crystal structure of KLP-12 -tubulin complex

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.

Imaging Intracellular Trafficking in Neurons of C. elegans

Axonal transport is an essential component of neuronal function. Several neurodegenerative disorders have been associated with defects in cargo transport. Thus, studying axonal transport is important to understand such disorders. Live imaging of fluorescently labeled cargo is a prevailing technique to study properties of axonal transport. C. elegans is both transparent and genetically amenable, making it an excellent model system to study axonal transport. In this chapter, we describe protocols to live image several neuronal cargo in vivo in C. elegans neurons.

Disease-associated mutations hyperactivate KIF1A motility and anterograde axonal transport of synaptic vesicle precursors

KIF1A is a kinesin family motor involved in the axonal transport of synaptic vesicle precursors (SVPs) along microtubules (MTs). In humans, more than 10 point mutations in KIF1A are associated with the motor neuron disease hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG). However, not all of these mutations appear to inhibit the motility of the KIF1A motor, and thus a cogent molecular explanation for how KIF1A mutations lead to neuropathy is not available. In this study, we established in vitro motility assays with purified full-length human KIF1A and found that KIF1A mutations associated with the hereditary SPG lead to hyperactivation of KIF1A motility. Introduction of the corresponding mutations into the Caenorhabditis elegans KIF1A homolog unc-104 revealed abnormal accumulation of SVPs at the tips of axons and increased anterograde axonal transport of SVPs. Our data reveal that hyperactivation of kinesin motor activity, rather than its loss of function, is a cause of motor neuron disease in humans.

Physical parameters describing neuronal cargo transport by kinesin UNC-104

In this review, we focus on the kinesin-3 family molecular motor protein UNC-104 and its regulatory protein ARL-8. UNC-104, originally identified in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), has a primary role transporting synaptic vesicle precursors (SVPs). Although in vitro single-molecule experiments have been performed to primarily investigate the kinesin motor domain, these have not addressed the in vivo reality of the existence of regulatory proteins, such as ARL-8, that control kinesin attachment to/detachment from cargo vesicles, which is essential to the overall transport efficiency of cargo vesicles. To quantitatively understand the role of the regulatory protein, we review the in vivo physical parameters of UNC-104-mediated SVP transport, including force, velocity, run length and run time, derived from wild-type and arl-8-deletion mutant C. elegans. Our future aim is to facilitate the construction of a consensus physical model to connect SVP transport with pathologies related to deficient synapse construction caused by the deficient UNC-104 regulation. We hope that the physical parameters of SVP transport summarized in this review become a useful guide for the development of such model.

Streptothricin acetyl transferase 2 (Sat2): A dominant selection marker for Caenorhabditis elegans genome editing

Studies on Caenorhabditis elegans would benefit from the introduction of new selectable markers to allow more complex types of experiments to be conducted with this model animal. We established a new antibiotic selection marker for C. elegans transformation based on nourseothricin (NTC) and its resistance-encoding gene, streptothricin-acetyl transferase 2 (Sat2). NTC was able to efficiently prevent worm development at very low concentrations, and the worms expressing Sat2 were able to survive on the selection plates without any developmental defects. Using CRISPR/Cas9 and NTC selection, we were able to easily insert a 13-kb expression cassette into a defined locus in C. elegans. The structure and spectrum of NTC differs from other antibiotics like hygromycin B and geneticin, making it possible to use NTC alongside them. Indeed, we confirmed NTC-sat2 selection could work with the hygromycin B selection system simultaneously. Thus, the new NTC–Sat2 system can act as a useful dominant marker for gene transfer and genome editing in C. elegans.