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Bassetto M, Kolesnikov AV, Lewandowski D, Kiser JZ, Halabi M, Einstein DE, Choi EH, Palczewski K, Kefalov VJ, Kiser PD. Dominant role for pigment epithelial CRALBP in supplying visual chromophore to photoreceptors. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114143. [PMID: 38676924 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP) supports production of 11-cis-retinaldehyde and its delivery to photoreceptors. It is found in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Müller glia (MG), but the relative functional importance of these two cellular pools is debated. Here, we report RPE- and MG-specific CRALBP knockout (KO) mice and examine their photoreceptor and visual cycle function. Bulk visual chromophore regeneration in RPE-KO mice is 15-fold slower than in controls, accounting for their delayed rod dark adaptation and protection against retinal phototoxicity, whereas MG-KO mice have normal bulk visual chromophore regeneration and retinal light damage susceptibility. Cone pigment regeneration is significantly impaired in RPE-KO mice but mildly affected in MG-KO mice, disclosing an unexpectedly strong reliance of cone photoreceptors on the RPE-based visual cycle. These data reveal a dominant role for RPE-CRALBP in supporting rod and cone function and highlight the importance of RPE cell targeting for CRALBP gene therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Bassetto
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Research Service, Tibor Rubin VA Long Beach Medical Center, Long Beach, CA 90822, USA; Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Alexander V Kolesnikov
- Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Dominik Lewandowski
- Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jianying Z Kiser
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Maximilian Halabi
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - David E Einstein
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Research Service, Tibor Rubin VA Long Beach Medical Center, Long Beach, CA 90822, USA
| | - Elliot H Choi
- Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Krzysztof Palczewski
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Vladimir J Kefalov
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Philip D Kiser
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Research Service, Tibor Rubin VA Long Beach Medical Center, Long Beach, CA 90822, USA; Center for Translational Vision Research, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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Natali G, Michetti C, Krawczun-Rygmaczewska A, Floss T, Cesca F, Benfenati F. Conditional knockout of REST/NRSF in excitatory neurons reduces seizure susceptibility to chemical kindling. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1267609. [PMID: 38034589 PMCID: PMC10687554 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1267609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor/neuron-restrictive silencer factor (REST/NRSF) is an epigenetic master regulator that plays a crucial role during nervous system development and maturation. REST function was originally described during development, where it determines neuronal phenotype. However, recent studies showed that REST participates in several processes in the adult brain, including neuronal plasticity and epileptogenesis. In this regard, the relationships between REST and epilepsy are still controversial and need further investigation. As forebrain excitatory neurons are the common final pathway of seizure susceptibility, we investigated the role of REST in epilepsy by inducing REST conditional knockout (REST-cKO) specifically in excitatory neurons of the hippocampus. To target the excitatory neuronal population, we cloned the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα minimal promoter upstream of Cre recombinase. After assessing the specificity of the promoter's expression, the transgenes were packaged in an engineered adeno-associated virus able to cross the blood-brain and blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers and delivered in the lateral ventricles of 2-month-old RESTflox/flox mice to characterize, after 1 month, the cognitive phenotype and the seizure propensity. We show that REST-cKO mice display lower levels of anxiety in the light-dark test with respect to control mice but have unaltered motor, social, and cognitive profiles. The evaluation of the susceptibility to epileptic seizures showed that REST-cKO mice are more resistant to pentylenetetrazole-induced kindling but not to seizures induced by a single administration of the convulsant and show higher survival rates. Overall, these data suggest that the absence of REST in forebrain excitatory neurons decreases seizure susceptibility, pointing to a pro-epileptogenic role of the transcriptional repressor under conditions of pathological excitation/inhibition imbalance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Natali
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Caterina Michetti
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genova, Genova, Italy
| | - Alicja Krawczun-Rygmaczewska
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Thomas Floss
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Fabrizia Cesca
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
| | - Fabio Benfenati
- Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Italy
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Todorov B, Kros L, Shyti R, Plak P, Haasdijk ED, Raike RS, Frants RR, Hess EJ, Hoebeek FE, De Zeeuw CI, van den Maagdenberg AMJM. Purkinje cell-specific ablation of Cav2.1 channels is sufficient to cause cerebellar ataxia in mice. Cerebellum 2012; 11:246-58. [PMID: 21870131 PMCID: PMC3311848 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-011-0302-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/30/2022]
Abstract
The Cacna1a gene encodes the α(1A) subunit of voltage-gated Ca(V)2.1 Ca(2+) channels that are involved in neurotransmission at central synapses. Ca(V)2.1-α(1)-knockout (α1KO) mice, which lack Ca(V)2.1 channels in all neurons, have a very severe phenotype of cerebellar ataxia and dystonia, and usually die around postnatal day 20. This early lethality, combined with the wide expression of Ca(V)2.1 channels throughout the cerebellar cortex and nuclei, prohibited determination of the contribution of particular cerebellar cell types to the development of the severe neurobiological phenotype in Cacna1a mutant mice. Here, we crossed conditional Cacna1a mice with transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase, driven by the Purkinje cell-specific Pcp2 promoter, to specifically ablate the Ca(V)2.1-α(1A) subunit and thereby Ca(V)2.1 channels in Purkinje cells. Purkinje cell Ca(V)2.1-α(1A)-knockout (PCα1KO) mice aged without difficulties, rescuing the lethal phenotype seen in α1KO mice. PCα1KO mice exhibited cerebellar ataxia starting around P12, much earlier than the first signs of progressive Purkinje cell loss, which appears in these mice between P30 and P45. Secondary cell loss was observed in the granular and molecular layers of the cerebellum and the volume of all individual cerebellar nuclei was reduced. In this mouse model with a cell type-specific ablation of Ca(V)2.1 channels, we show that ablation of Ca(V)2.1 channels restricted to Purkinje cells is sufficient to cause cerebellar ataxia. We demonstrate that spatial ablation of Ca(V)2.1 channels may help in unraveling mechanisms of human disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boyan Todorov
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Lieke Kros
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Reinald Shyti
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Petra Plak
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Robert S. Raike
- Department of Pharmacology and Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Rune R. Frants
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen J. Hess
- Department of Pharmacology and Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA USA
| | - Freek E. Hoebeek
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Chris I. De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Dutch Academy for Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Arn M. J. M. van den Maagdenberg
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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