1
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Patzke C, Dai J, Brockmann MM, Sun Z, Fenske P, Rosenmund C, Südhof TC. Cannabinoid receptor activation acutely increases synaptic vesicle numbers by activating synapsins in human synapses. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:6253-6268. [PMID: 33931733 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01095-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Cannabis and cannabinoid drugs are central agents that are used widely recreationally and are employed broadly for treating psychiatric conditions. Cannabinoids primarily act by stimulating presynaptic CB1 receptors (CB1Rs), the most abundant G-protein-coupled receptors in brain. CB1R activation decreases neurotransmitter release by inhibiting presynaptic Ca2+ channels and induces long-term plasticity by decreasing cellular cAMP levels. Here we identified an unanticipated additional mechanism of acute cannabinoid signaling in presynaptic terminals that regulates the size of synaptic vesicle pools available for neurotransmitter release. Specifically, we show that activation of CB1Rs in human and mouse neurons rapidly recruits vesicles to nerve terminals by suppressing the cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of synapsins. We confirmed this unanticipated mechanism using conditional deletion of synapsin-1, the predominant synapsin isoform in human neurons, demonstrating that synapsin-1 significantly contributes to the CB1R-dependent regulation of neurotransmission. Interestingly, acute activation of the Gi-DREADD hM4D mimics the effect of CB1R activation in a synapsin-1-dependent manner, suggesting that the control of synaptic vesicle numbers by synapsin-1 phosphorylation is a general presynaptic mechanism of neuromodulation. Thus, we uncovered a CB1R-dependent presynaptic mechanism that rapidly regulates the organization and neurotransmitter release properties of synapses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases, University of Notre Dame, 109A Galvin Life Science Center, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
| | - Jinye Dai
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Marisa M Brockmann
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Zijun Sun
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Pascal Fenske
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Rosenmund
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
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2
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Dai J, Patzke C, Liakath-Ali K, Seigneur E, Südhof TC. GluD1 is a signal transduction device disguised as an ionotropic receptor. Nature 2021; 595:261-265. [PMID: 34135511 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03661-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Ionotropic glutamate delta receptors 1 (GluD1) and 2 (GluD2) exhibit the molecular architecture of postsynaptic ionotropic glutamate receptors, but assemble into trans-synaptic adhesion complexes by binding to secreted cerebellins that in turn interact with presynaptic neurexins1-4. It is unclear whether neurexin-cerebellin-GluD1/2 assemblies serve an adhesive synapse-formation function or mediate trans-synaptic signalling. Here we show in hippocampal synapses, that binding of presynaptic neurexin-cerebellin complexes to postsynaptic GluD1 controls glutamate receptor activity without affecting synapse numbers. Specifically, neurexin-1-cerebellin-2 and neurexin-3-cerebellin-2 complexes differentially regulate NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors and AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptors by activating distinct postsynaptic GluD1 effector signals. Of note, minimal GluD1 and GluD2 constructs containing only their N-terminal cerebellin-binding and C-terminal cytoplasmic domains, joined by an unrelated transmembrane region, fully control the levels of NMDA and AMPA receptors. The distinct signalling specificity of presynaptic neurexin-1 and neurexin-35,6 is encoded by their alternatively spliced splice site 4 sequences, whereas the regulatory functions of postsynaptic GluD1 are mediated by conserved cytoplasmic sequence motifs spanning 5-13 residues. Thus, GluDs are signalling molecules that regulate NMDA and AMPA receptors by an unexpected transduction mechanism that bypasses their ionotropic receptor architecture and directly converts extracellular neurexin-cerebellin signals into postsynaptic receptor responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinye Dai
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. .,Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Kif Liakath-Ali
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Erica Seigneur
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. .,Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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3
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Mencacci NE, Brockmann MM, Dai J, Pajusalu S, Atasu B, Campos J, Pino G, Gonzalez-Latapi P, Patzke C, Schwake M, Tucci A, Pittman A, Simon-Sanchez J, Carvill GL, Balint B, Wiethoff S, Warner TT, Papandreou A, Soo A, Rein R, Kadastik-Eerme L, Puusepp S, Reinson K, Tomberg T, Hanagasi H, Gasser T, Bhatia KP, Kurian MA, Lohmann E, Õunap K, Rosenmund C, Südhof TC, Wood NW, Krainc D, Acuna C. Biallelic variants in TSPOAP1, encoding the active-zone protein RIMBP1, cause autosomal recessive dystonia. J Clin Invest 2021; 131:140625. [PMID: 33539324 DOI: 10.1172/jci140625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Dystonia is a debilitating hyperkinetic movement disorder, which can be transmitted as a monogenic trait. Here, we describe homozygous frameshift, nonsense, and missense variants in TSPOAP1, which encodes the active-zone RIM-binding protein 1 (RIMBP1), as a genetic cause of autosomal recessive dystonia in 7 subjects from 3 unrelated families. Subjects carrying loss-of-function variants presented with juvenile-onset progressive generalized dystonia, associated with intellectual disability and cerebellar atrophy. Conversely, subjects carrying a pathogenic missense variant (p.Gly1808Ser) presented with isolated adult-onset focal dystonia. In mice, complete loss of RIMBP1, known to reduce neurotransmission, led to motor abnormalities reminiscent of dystonia, decreased Purkinje cell dendritic arborization, and reduced numbers of cerebellar synapses. In vitro analysis of the p.Gly1808Ser variant showed larger spike-evoked calcium transients and enhanced neurotransmission, suggesting that RIMBP1-linked dystonia can be caused by either reduced or enhanced rates of spike-evoked release in relevant neural networks. Our findings establish a direct link between dysfunction of the presynaptic active zone and dystonia and highlight the critical role played by well-balanced neurotransmission in motor control and disease pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niccolò E Mencacci
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marisa M Brockmann
- Institute of Neurophysiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jinye Dai
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Sander Pajusalu
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Department of Clinical Genetics, United Laboratories, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia.,Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Burcu Atasu
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Joaquin Campos
- Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation, Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and
| | - Gabriela Pino
- Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation, Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and
| | - Paulina Gonzalez-Latapi
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Christopher Patzke
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Michael Schwake
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Arianna Tucci
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alan Pittman
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Javier Simon-Sanchez
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gemma L Carvill
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Bettina Balint
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Neurology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sarah Wiethoff
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.,Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Klinik für Neurologie mit Institut für Translationale Neurologie, Albert Schweitzer Campus 1, Gebäude A1, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas T Warner
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.,Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Apostolos Papandreou
- Molecular Neurosciences, Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Audrey Soo
- Molecular Neurosciences, Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Sanna Puusepp
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Department of Clinical Genetics, United Laboratories, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Karit Reinson
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Department of Clinical Genetics, United Laboratories, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tiiu Tomberg
- Radiology Clinic, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Hasmet Hanagasi
- Behavioural Neurology and Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Thomas Gasser
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Kailash P Bhatia
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Manju A Kurian
- Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.,Molecular Neurosciences, Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ebba Lohmann
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)-Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katrin Õunap
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Department of Clinical Genetics, United Laboratories, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, Estonia
| | | | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Nicholas W Wood
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dimitri Krainc
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Simpson Querrey Center for Neurogenetics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Claudio Acuna
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.,Chica and Heinz Schaller Foundation, Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and
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4
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Patzke C, Brockmann MM, Dai J, Gan KJ, Grauel MK, Fenske P, Liu Y, Acuna C, Rosenmund C, Südhof TC. Neuromodulator Signaling Bidirectionally Controls Vesicle Numbers in Human Synapses. Cell 2020; 179:498-513.e22. [PMID: 31585084 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2019] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Neuromodulators bind to pre- and postsynaptic G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), are able to quickly change intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) and Ca2+ levels, and are thought to play important roles in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we discovered in human neurons an unanticipated presynaptic mechanism that acutely changes synaptic ultrastructure and regulates synaptic communication. Activation of neuromodulator receptors bidirectionally controlled synaptic vesicle numbers within nerve terminals. This control correlated with changes in the levels of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A-mediated phosphorylation of synapsin-1. Using a conditional deletion approach, we reveal that the neuromodulator-induced control of synaptic vesicle numbers was largely dependent on synapsin-1. We propose a mechanism whereby non-phosphorylated synapsin-1 "latches" synaptic vesicles to presynaptic clusters at the active zone. cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of synapsin-1 then removes the vesicles. cAMP-independent dephosphorylation of synapsin-1 in turn recruits vesicles. Synapsin-1 thereby bidirectionally regulates synaptic vesicle numbers and modifies presynaptic neurotransmitter release as an effector of neuromodulator signaling in human neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Marisa M Brockmann
- Institut für Neurophysiologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jinye Dai
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Kathlyn J Gan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - M Katharina Grauel
- Institut für Neurophysiologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pascal Fenske
- Institut für Neurophysiologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yu Liu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Claudio Acuna
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Christian Rosenmund
- Institut für Neurophysiologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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5
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Zhang Z, Marro SG, Zhang Y, Arendt KL, Patzke C, Zhou B, Fair T, Yang N, Südhof TC, Wernig M, Chen L. The fragile X mutation impairs homeostatic plasticity in human neurons by blocking synaptic retinoic acid signaling. Sci Transl Med 2018; 10:eaar4338. [PMID: 30068571 PMCID: PMC6317709 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aar4338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an X chromosome-linked disease leading to severe intellectual disabilities. FXS is caused by inactivation of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene, but how FMR1 inactivation induces FXS remains unclear. Using human neurons generated from control and FXS patient-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells or from embryonic stem cells carrying conditional FMR1 mutations, we show here that loss of FMR1 function specifically abolished homeostatic synaptic plasticity without affecting basal synaptic transmission. We demonstrated that, in human neurons, homeostatic plasticity induced by synaptic silencing was mediated by retinoic acid, which regulated both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic strength. FMR1 inactivation impaired homeostatic plasticity by blocking retinoic acid-mediated regulation of synaptic strength. Repairing the genetic mutation in the FMR1 gene in an FXS patient cell line restored fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) expression and fully rescued synaptic retinoic acid signaling. Thus, our study reveals a robust functional impairment caused by FMR1 mutations that might contribute to neuronal dysfunction in FXS. In addition, our results suggest that FXS patient iPS cell-derived neurons might be useful for studying the mechanisms mediating functional abnormalities in FXS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenjie Zhang
- Departments of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Samuele G Marro
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
- Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Yingsha Zhang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Kristin L Arendt
- Departments of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Bo Zhou
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Tyler Fair
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
- Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Nan Yang
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
- Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA.
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Marius Wernig
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA.
- Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA
| | - Lu Chen
- Departments of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5453, USA.
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6
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Patzke C, Acuna C, Giam LR, Wernig M, Sudhof TC. Conditional deletion of L1CAM in human neurons impairs both axonal and dendritic arborization and action potential generation. J Biophys Biochem Cytol 2016. [DOI: 10.1083/jcb.2127oia58] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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7
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Patzke C, Acuna C, Giam LR, Wernig M, Südhof TC. Conditional deletion of L1CAM in human neurons impairs both axonal and dendritic arborization and action potential generation. J Exp Med 2016; 213:499-515. [PMID: 27001749 PMCID: PMC4821644 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20150951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 02/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Patzke et al. create human embryonic stem cell–derived neurons that enable the generation of conditional loss-of-function mutations of L1CAM. Deletion of L1CAM impairs axonal elongation, dendritic arborization, and action potential generation. Hundreds of L1CAM gene mutations have been shown to be associated with congenital hydrocephalus, severe intellectual disability, aphasia, and motor symptoms. How such mutations impair neuronal function, however, remains unclear. Here, we generated human embryonic stem (ES) cells carrying a conditional L1CAM loss-of-function mutation and produced precisely matching control and L1CAM-deficient neurons from these ES cells. In analyzing two independent conditionally mutant ES cell clones, we found that deletion of L1CAM dramatically impaired axonal elongation and, to a lesser extent, dendritic arborization. Unexpectedly, we also detected an ∼20–50% and ∼20–30% decrease, respectively, in the levels of ankyrinG and ankyrinB protein, and observed that the size and intensity of ankyrinG staining in the axon initial segment was significantly reduced. Overexpression of wild-type L1CAM, but not of the L1CAM point mutants R1166X and S1224L, rescued the decrease in ankyrin levels. Importantly, we found that the L1CAM mutation selectively decreased activity-dependent Na+-currents, altered neuronal excitability, and caused impairments in action potential (AP) generation. Thus, our results suggest that the clinical presentations of L1CAM mutations in human patients could be accounted for, at least in part, by cell-autonomous changes in the functional development of neurons, such that neurons are unable to develop normal axons and dendrites and to generate normal APs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Claudio Acuna
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Louise R Giam
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Marius Wernig
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
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8
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Yi F, Danko T, Botelho SC, Patzke C, Pak C, Wernig M, Südhof TC. Autism-associated SHANK3 haploinsufficiency causes Ih channelopathy in human neurons. Science 2016; 352:aaf2669. [PMID: 26966193 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf2669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Heterozygous SHANK3 mutations are associated with idiopathic autism and Phelan-McDermid syndrome. SHANK3 is a ubiquitously expressed scaffolding protein that is enriched in postsynaptic excitatory synapses. Here, we used engineered conditional mutations in human neurons and found that heterozygous and homozygous SHANK3 mutations severely and specifically impaired hyperpolarization-activated cation (Ih) channels. SHANK3 mutations caused alterations in neuronal morphology and synaptic connectivity; chronic pharmacological blockage of Ih channels reproduced these phenotypes, suggesting that they may be secondary to Ih-channel impairment. Moreover, mouse Shank3-deficient neurons also exhibited severe decreases in Ih currents. SHANK3 protein interacted with hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel proteins (HCN proteins) that form Ih channels, indicating that SHANK3 functions to organize HCN channels. Our data suggest that SHANK3 mutations predispose to autism, at least partially, by inducing an Ih channelopathy that may be amenable to pharmacological intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Yi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Tamas Danko
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Salome Calado Botelho
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - ChangHui Pak
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Marius Wernig
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, 265 Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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9
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Abstract
The use of human pluripotent stem cells to model human diseases has become a new standard in biomedical sciences. To this end, patient-derived somatic cells are studied in vitro to mimic human pathological conditions. Here, we describe an alternative experimental strategy, the ‘conditional KO approach’, which allows engineering disease-relevant mutations in pluripotent stem cells from healthy donors. In combination with the Cre/Lox technology, this strategy enables us to study the molecular causes of human diseases independent of the genetic background or of genetic alterations induced by clonal selection. As a proof-of-principle, we generated pluripotent stem cells with conditional loss-of-function mutations in the human STXBP1 gene that encodes Munc18-1. Using neurons derived from these cells, we show that heterozygous disruption of STXBP1 produces a specific and selective impairment in synaptic transmission that may account for the severe neurological disease caused by such mutations in human patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Patzke
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Thomas C Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine; Stanford, CA, USA
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10
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Patzke C, Han Y, Covy J, Yi F, Maxeiner S, Wernig M, Südhof TC. Analysis of conditional heterozygous STXBP1 mutations in human neurons. J Clin Invest 2015; 125:3560-71. [PMID: 26280581 PMCID: PMC4588304 DOI: 10.1172/jci78612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterozygous mutations in the syntaxin-binding protein 1 (STXBP1) gene, which encodes Munc18-1, a core component of the presynaptic membrane-fusion machinery, cause infantile early epileptic encephalopathy (Ohtahara syndrome), but it is unclear how a partial loss of Munc18-1 produces this severe clinical presentation. Here, we generated human ES cells designed to conditionally express heterozygous and homozygous STXBP1 loss-of-function mutations and studied isogenic WT and STXBP1-mutant human neurons derived from these conditionally mutant ES cells. We demonstrated that heterozygous STXBP1 mutations lower the levels of Munc18-1 protein and its binding partner, the t-SNARE-protein Syntaxin-1, by approximately 30% and decrease spontaneous and evoked neurotransmitter release by nearly 50%. Thus, our results confirm that using engineered human embryonic stem (ES) cells is a viable approach to studying disease-associated mutations in human neurons on a controlled genetic background, demonstrate that partial STXBP1 loss of function robustly impairs neurotransmitter release in human neurons, and suggest that heterozygous STXBP1 mutations cause early epileptic encephalopathy specifically through a presynaptic impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yan Han
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
| | - Jason Covy
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
| | - Fei Yi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
| | | | - Marius Wernig
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine and Department of Pathology, and
| | - Thomas C. Südhof
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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