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Kiss E, Kins S, Gorgas K, Orlik M, Fischer C, Endres K, Schlicksupp A, Kirsch J, Kuhse J. Artemisinin-treatment in pre-symptomatic APP-PS1 mice increases gephyrin phosphorylation at Ser270: a modification regulating postsynaptic GABA AR density. Biol Chem 2021; 403:73-87. [PMID: 33878252 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2021-0153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Artemisinins, a group of plant-derived sesquiterpene lactones, are efficient antimalarial agents. They also share anti-inflammatory and anti-viral activities and were considered for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Additionally, artemisinins bind to gephyrin, the multifunctional scaffold of GABAergic synapses, and modulate inhibitory neurotransmission in vitro. We previously reported an increased expression of gephyrin and GABAA receptors in early pre-symptomatic stages of an AD mouse model (APP-PS1) and in parallel enhanced CDK5-dependent phosphorylation of gephyrin at S270. Here, we studied the effects of artemisinin on gephyrin in the brain of young APP-PS1 mice. We detected an additional increase of gephyrin protein level, elevated gephyrin phosphorylation at Ser270, and an increased amount of GABAAR-γ2 subunits after artemisinin-treatment. Interestingly, the CDK5 activator p35 was also upregulated. Moreover, we demonstrate decreased density of postsynaptic gephyrin and GABAAR-γ2 immunoreactivities in cultured hippocampal neurons expressing gephyrin with alanine mutations at two CDK5 phosphorylation sites. In addition, the activity-dependent modulation of synaptic protein density was abolished in neurons expressing gephyrin lacking one or both of these phosphorylation sites. Thus, our results reveal that artemisinin modulates expression as well as phosphorylation of gephyrin at sites that might have important impact on GABAergic synapses in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Kiss
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology "G.E. Palade" of Târgu Mures, Str. Gheorghe Marinescu nr. 38, 540 139Târgu Mureș, Romania
| | - Stefan Kins
- Department of Human Biology and Human Genetics, University of Kaiserslautern, 67633 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Karin Gorgas
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maret Orlik
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Carolin Fischer
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kristina Endres
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Andrea Schlicksupp
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Joachim Kirsch
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jochen Kuhse
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D-69120Heidelberg, Germany
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