In Vivo Calcium Signaling during Synaptic Refinement at the Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction

The calcineurin regulator Sarah enables distinct forms of homeostatic plasticity at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction

Introduction: The ability of synapses to maintain physiological levels of evoked neurotransmission is essential for neuronal stability. A variety of perturbations can disrupt neurotransmission, but synapses often compensate for disruptions and work to stabilize activity levels, using forms of homeostatic synaptic plasticity. Presynaptic homeostatic potentiation (PHP) is one such mechanism. PHP is expressed at the Drosophila melanogaster larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) synapse, as well as other NMJs. In PHP, presynaptic neurotransmitter release increases to offset the effects of impairing muscle transmitter receptors. Prior Drosophila work has studied PHP using different ways to perturb muscle receptor function-either acutely (using pharmacology) or chronically (using genetics). Some of our prior data suggested that cytoplasmic calcium signaling was important for expression of PHP after genetic impairment of glutamate receptors. Here we followed up on that observation. Methods: We used a combination of transgenic Drosophila RNA interference and overexpression lines, along with NMJ electrophysiology, synapse imaging, and pharmacology to test if regulators of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase calcineurin are necessary for the normal expression of PHP. Results: We found that either pre- or postsynaptic dysregulation of a Drosophila gene regulating calcineurin, sarah (sra), blocks PHP. Tissue-specific manipulations showed that either increases or decreases in sra expression are detrimental to PHP. Additionally, pharmacologically and genetically induced forms of expression of PHP are functionally separable depending entirely upon which sra genetic manipulation is used. Surprisingly, dual-tissue pre- and postsynaptic sra knockdown or overexpression can ameliorate PHP blocks revealed in single-tissue experiments. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of calcineurin corroborated this latter finding. Discussion: Our results suggest tight calcineurin regulation is needed across multiple tissue types to stabilize peripheral synaptic outputs.

Overview of the roles of calcium sensors in plants’ response to osmotic stress signalling

Calcium signals serve an important function as secondary messengers between cells in various biological processes due to their robust homeostatic mechanism, maintaining an intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. Plant growth, development, and biotic and abiotic stress are all regulated by Ca2+ signals. Ca2+ binding proteins decode and convey the messages encoded by Ca2+ ions. In the presence of high quantities of Mg2+ and monovalent cations, such sensors bind to Ca2+ ions and modify their conformation in a Ca2+ -dependent manner. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs), calmodulins (CaMs), and calcineurin B-like proteins are all calcium sensors (CBLs). To transmit Ca2+ signals, CPKs, CBLs, and CaMs interact with target proteins and regulate the expression of their genes. These target proteins may be protein kinases, metabolic enzymes, or cytoskeletal-associated proteins. Beyond its role in plant nutrition as a macroelement and its involvement in the plant cell wall structure, calcium modulates many aspects of development, growth and adaptation to environmental constraints such as drought, salinity and osmotic stresses. This review summarises current knowledge on calcium sensors in plant responses to osmotic stress signalling.

A comparison of three different methods of eliciting rapid activity-dependent synaptic plasticity at the Drosophila NMJ

The Drosophila NMJ is a system of choice for investigating the mechanisms underlying the structural and functional modifications evoked during activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Because fly genetics allows considerable versatility, many strategies can be employed to elicit this activity. Here, we compare three different stimulation methods for eliciting activity-dependent changes in structure and function at the Drosophila NMJ. We find that the method using patterned stimulations driven by a K+-rich solution creates robust structural modifications but reduces muscle viability, as assessed by resting potential and membrane resistance. We argue that, using this method, electrophysiological studies that consider the frequency of events, rather than their amplitude, are the only reliable studies. We contrast these results with the expression of CsChrimson channels and red-light stimulation at the NMJ, as well as with the expression of TRPA channels and temperature stimulation. With both these methods we observed reliable modifications of synaptic structures and consistent changes in electrophysiological properties. Indeed, we observed a rapid appearance of immature boutons that lack postsynaptic differentiation, and a potentiation of spontaneous neurotransmission frequency. Surprisingly, a patterned application of temperature changes alone is sufficient to provoke both structural and functional plasticity. In this context, temperature-dependent TRPA channel activation induces additional structural plasticity but no further increase in the frequency of spontaneous neurotransmission, suggesting an uncoupling of these mechanisms.

Lighting Up Ca2+ Dynamics in Animal Models

Calcium (Ca2+) signaling coordinates are crucial processes in brain physiology. Particularly, fundamental aspects of neuronal function such as synaptic transmission and neuronal plasticity are regulated by Ca2+, and neuronal survival itself relies on Ca2+-dependent cascades. Indeed, impaired Ca2+ homeostasis has been reported in aging as well as in the onset and progression of neurodegeneration. Understanding the physiology of brain function and the key processes leading to its derangement is a core challenge for neuroscience. In this context, Ca2+ imaging represents a powerful tool, effectively fostered by the continuous amelioration of Ca2+ sensors in parallel with the improvement of imaging instrumentation. In this review, we explore the potentiality of the most used animal models employed for Ca2+ imaging, highlighting their application in brain research to explore the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Modelling and Refining Neuronal Circuits with Guidance Cues: Involvement of Semaphorins

The establishment of neuronal circuits requires neurons to develop and maintain appropriate connections with cellular partners in and out the central nervous system. These phenomena include elaboration of dendritic arborization and formation of synaptic contacts, initially made in excess. Subsequently, refinement occurs, and pruning takes places both at axonal and synaptic level, defining a homeostatic balance maintained throughout the lifespan. All these events require genetic regulations which happens cell-autonomously and are strongly influenced by environmental factors. This review aims to discuss the involvement of guidance cues from the Semaphorin family.

Scrap and Build for Functional Neural Circuits: Spatiotemporal Regulation of Dendrite Degeneration and Regeneration in Neural Development and Disease

Dendrites are cellular structures essential for the integration of neuronal information. These elegant but complex structures are highly patterned across the nervous system but vary tremendously in their size and fine architecture, each designed to best serve specific computations within their networks. Recent in vivo imaging studies reveal that the development of mature dendrite arbors in many cases involves extensive remodeling achieved through a precisely orchestrated interplay of growth, degeneration, and regeneration of dendritic branches. Both degeneration and regeneration of dendritic branches involve precise spatiotemporal regulation for the proper wiring of functional networks. In particular, dendrite degeneration must be targeted in a compartmentalized manner to avoid neuronal death. Dysregulation of these developmental processes, in particular dendrite degeneration, is associated with certain types of pathology, injury, and aging. In this article, we review recent progress in our understanding of dendrite degeneration and regeneration, focusing on molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying spatiotemporal control of dendrite remodeling in neural development. We further discuss how developmental dendrite degeneration and regeneration are molecularly and functionally related to dendrite remodeling in pathology, disease, and aging.

Structural and Functional Synaptic Plasticity Induced by Convergent Synapse Loss in the Drosophila Neuromuscular Circuit

Throughout the nervous system, the convergence of two or more presynaptic inputs on a target cell is commonly observed. The question we ask here is to what extent converging inputs influence each other's structural and functional synaptic plasticity. In complex circuits, isolating individual inputs is difficult because postsynaptic cells can receive thousands of inputs. An ideal model to address this question is the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) where each postsynaptic muscle cell receives inputs from two glutamatergic types of motor neurons (MNs), known as 1b and 1s MNs. Notably, each muscle is unique and receives input from a different combination of 1b and 1s MNs; we surveyed multiple muscles for this reason. Here, we identified a cell-specific promoter that allows ablation of 1s MNs postinnervation and measured structural and functional responses of convergent 1b NMJs using microscopy and electrophysiology. For all muscles examined in both sexes, ablation of 1s MNs resulted in NMJ expansion and increased spontaneous neurotransmitter release at corresponding 1b NMJs. This demonstrates that 1b NMJs can compensate for the loss of convergent 1s MNs. However, only a subset of 1b NMJs showed compensatory evoked neurotransmission, suggesting target-specific plasticity. Silencing 1s MNs led to similar plasticity at 1b NMJs, suggesting that evoked neurotransmission from 1s MNs contributes to 1b synaptic plasticity. Finally, we genetically blocked 1s innervation in male larvae and robust 1b synaptic plasticity was eliminated, raising the possibility that 1s NMJ formation is required to set up a reference for subsequent synaptic perturbations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In complex neural circuits, multiple convergent inputs contribute to the activity of the target cell, but whether synaptic plasticity exists among these inputs has not been thoroughly explored. In this study, we examined synaptic plasticity in the structurally and functionally tractable Drosophila larval neuromuscular system. In this convergent circuit, each muscle is innervated by a unique pair of motor neurons. Removal of one neuron after innervation causes the adjacent neuron to increase neuromuscular junction outgrowth and functional output. However, this is not a general feature as each motor neuron differentially compensates. Further, robust compensation requires initial coinnervation by both neurons. Understanding how neurons respond to perturbations in adjacent neurons will provide insight into nervous system plasticity in both healthy and disease states.

Comparative Connectomics Reveals How Partner Identity, Location, and Activity Specify Synaptic Connectivity in Drosophila

The mechanisms by which synaptic partners recognize each other and establish appropriate numbers of connections during embryonic development to form functional neural circuits are poorly understood. We combined electron microscopy reconstruction, functional imaging of neural activity, and behavioral experiments to elucidate the roles of (1) partner identity, (2) location, and (3) activity in circuit assembly in the embryonic nerve cord of Drosophila. We found that postsynaptic partners are able to find and connect to their presynaptic partners even when these have been shifted to ectopic locations or silenced. However, orderly positioning of axon terminals by positional cues and synaptic activity is required for appropriate numbers of connections between specific partners, for appropriate balance between excitatory and inhibitory connections, and for appropriate functional connectivity and behavior. Our study reveals with unprecedented resolution the fine connectivity effects of multiple factors that work together to control the assembly of neural circuits.

Genetic Control of Muscle Diversification and Homeostasis: Insights from Drosophila

In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, the larval somatic muscles or the adult thoracic flight and leg muscles are the major voluntary locomotory organs. They share several developmental and structural similarities with vertebrate skeletal muscles. To ensure appropriate activity levels for their functions such as hatching in the embryo, crawling in the larva, and jumping and flying in adult flies all muscle components need to be maintained in a functionally stable or homeostatic state despite constant strain. This requires that the muscles develop in a coordinated manner with appropriate connections to other cell types they communicate with. Various signaling pathways as well as extrinsic and intrinsic factors are known to play a role during Drosophila muscle development, diversification, and homeostasis. In this review, we discuss genetic control mechanisms of muscle contraction, development, and homeostasis with particular emphasis on the contractile unit of the muscle, the sarcomere.

Calcium Imaging in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster, colloquially known as the fruit fly, is one of the most commonly used model organisms in scientific research. Although the final architecture of a fly and a human differs greatly, most of the fundamental biological mechanisms and pathways controlling development and survival are conserved through evolution between the two species. For this reason, Drosophila has been productively used as a model organism for over a century, to study a diverse range of biological processes, including development, learning, behavior and aging. Ca²⁺ signaling comprises complex pathways that impact on virtually every aspect of cellular physiology. Within such a complex field of study, Drosophila offers the advantages of consolidated molecular and genetic techniques, lack of genetic redundancy and a completely annotated genome since 2000. These and other characteristics provided the basis for the identification of many genes encoding Ca²⁺ signaling molecules and the disclosure of conserved Ca²⁺ signaling pathways. In this review, we will analyze the applications of Ca²⁺ imaging in the fruit fly model, highlighting in particular their impact on the study of normal brain function and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

Bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed genes in rotator cuff tear patients using microarray data

Background

Rotator cuff tear (RCT) is a common shoulder disorder in the elderly. Muscle atrophy, denervation and fatty infiltration exert secondary injuries on torn rotator cuff muscles. It has been reported that satellite cells (SCs) play roles in pathogenic process and regenerative capacity of human RCT via regulating of target genes. This study aims to complement the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of SCs that regulated between the torn supraspinatus (SSP) samples and intact subscapularis (SSC) samples, identify their functions and molecular pathways.

Methods

The gene expression profile GSE93661 was downloaded and bioinformatics analysis was made.

Results

Five hundred fifty one DEGs totally were identified. Among them, 272 DEGs were overexpressed, and the remaining 279 DEGs were underexpressed. Gene ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis of target genes were performed. We furthermore identified some relevant core genes using gene–gene interaction network analysis such as GNG13, GCG, NOTCH1, BCL2, NMUR2, PMCH, FFAR1, AVPR2, GNA14, and KALRN, that may contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of secondary injuries in RCT. We also discovered that GNG13/calcium signaling pathway is highly correlated with the denervation atrophy pathological process of RCT.

Conclusion

These genes and pathways provide a new perspective for revealing the underlying pathological mechanisms and therapy strategy of RCT.

Parvalbumin expression affects synaptic development and physiology at the Drosophila larval NMJ

Presynaptic Ca²⁺ appears to play multiple roles in synaptic development and physiology. We examined the effect of buffering presynaptic Ca²⁺ by expressing parvalbumin (PV) in Drosophila neurons, which do not normally express PV. The studies were performed on the identified Ib terminal that innervates muscle fiber 5. The volume-averaged, residual Ca²⁺ resulting from single action potentials (APs) and AP trains was measured using the fluorescent Ca²⁺ indicator, OGB-1. PV reduced the amplitude and decay time constant (τ) for single-AP Ca²⁺ transients. For AP trains, there was a reduction in the rate of rise and decay of [Ca²⁺]_i but the plateau [Ca²⁺]_i was not affected. Electrophysiological recordings from muscle fiber 5 showed a reduction in paired-pulse facilitation, particularly the F₁ component; this was likely due to the reduction in residual Ca²⁺. These synapses also showed reduced synaptic enhancement during AP trains, presumably due to less buildup of synaptic facilitation. The transmitter release for single APs was increased for the PV-expressing terminals and this may have been a homeostatic response to the decrease in facilitation. Confocal microscopy was used to examine the structure of the motor terminals and PV expression resulted in smaller motor terminals with fewer synaptic boutons and active zones. This result supports earlier proposals that increased AP activity promotes motor terminal growth through increases in presynaptic [Ca²⁺]_i.

ESCRT-III Membrane Trafficking Misregulation Contributes To Fragile X Syndrome Synaptic Defects

The leading cause of heritable intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), Fragile X syndrome (FXS), is caused by loss of the mRNA-binding translational suppressor Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP). In the Drosophila FXS disease model, we found FMRP binds shrub mRNA (human Chmp4) to repress Shrub expression, causing overexpression during the disease state early-use critical period. The FXS hallmark is synaptic overelaboration causing circuit hyperconnectivity. Testing innervation of a central brain learning/memory center, we found FMRP loss and Shrub overexpression similarly increase connectivity. The ESCRT-III core protein Shrub has a central role in endosome-to-multivesicular body membrane trafficking, with synaptic requirements resembling FMRP. Consistently, we found FMRP loss and Shrub overexpression similarly elevate endosomes and result in the arrested accumulation of enlarged intraluminal vesicles within synaptic boutons. Importantly, genetic correction of Shrub levels in the FXS model prevents synaptic membrane trafficking defects and strongly restores innervation. These results reveal a new molecular mechanism underpinning the FXS disease state.