Stochastic loss of silencing of the imprinted Ndn/NDN allele, in a mouse model and humans with prader-willi syndrome, has functional consequences.

Genomic imprinting is a process that causes genes to be expressed from one allele only according to parental origin, the other allele being silent. Diseases can arise when the normally active alleles are not expressed. In this context, low level of expression of the normally silent alleles has been considered as genetic noise although such expression has never been further studied. Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disease involving imprinted genes, including NDN, which are only expressed from the paternally inherited allele, with the maternally inherited allele silent. We present the first in-depth study of the low expression of a normally silent imprinted allele, in pathological context. Using a variety of qualitative and quantitative approaches and comparing wild-type, heterozygous and homozygous mice deleted for Ndn, we show that, in absence of the paternal Ndn allele, the maternal Ndn allele is expressed at an extremely low level with a high degree of non-genetic heterogeneity. The level of this expression is sex-dependent and shows transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. In about 50% of mutant mice, this expression reduces birth lethality and severity of the breathing deficiency, correlated with a reduction in the loss of serotonergic neurons. In wild-type brains, the maternal Ndn allele is never expressed. However, using several mouse models, we reveal a competition between non-imprinted Ndn promoters which results in monoallelic (paternal or maternal) Ndn expression, suggesting that Ndn allelic exclusion occurs in the absence of imprinting regulation. Importantly, specific expression of the maternal NDN allele is also detected in post-mortem brain samples of PWS individuals. Our data reveal an unexpected epigenetic flexibility of PWS imprinted genes that could be exploited to reactivate the functional but dormant maternal alleles in PWS. Overall our results reveal high non-genetic heterogeneity between genetically identical individuals that might underlie the variability of the phenotype.

Reduced calreticulin levels link endoplasmic reticulum stress and Fas-triggered cell death in motoneurons vulnerable to ALS.

Cellular responses to protein misfolding are thought to play key roles in triggering neurodegeneration. In the mutant superoxide dismutase (mSOD1) model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), subsets of motoneurons are selectively vulnerable to degeneration. Fast fatigable motoneurons selectively activate an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response that drives their early degeneration while a subset of mSOD1 motoneurons show exacerbated sensitivity to activation of the motoneuron-specific Fas/NO pathway. However, the links between the two mechanisms and the molecular basis of their cellular specificity remained unclear. We show that Fas activation leads, specifically in mSOD1 motoneurons, to reductions in levels of calreticulin (CRT), a calcium-binding ER chaperone. Decreased expression of CRT is both necessary and sufficient to trigger SOD1(G93A) motoneuron death through the Fas/NO pathway. In SOD1(G93A) mice in vivo, reductions in CRT precede muscle denervation and are restricted to vulnerable motor pools. In vitro, both reduced CRT and Fas activation trigger an ER stress response that is restricted to, and required for death of, vulnerable SOD1(G93A) motoneurons. Our data reveal CRT as a critical link between a motoneuron-specific death pathway and the ER stress response and point to a role of CRT levels in modulating motoneuron vulnerability to ALS.

Collapsin response mediator protein 4a (CRMP4a) is upregulated in motoneurons of mutant SOD1 mice and can trigger motoneuron axonal degeneration and cell death.

Embryonic motoneurons from mutant SOD1 (mSOD1) mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but not wild-type motoneurons, can be triggered to die by exposure to nitric oxide (NO), leading to activation of a motoneuron-specific signaling pathway downstream of the death receptor Fas/CD95. To identify effectors of mSOD1-dependent cell death, we performed a proteomic analysis. Treatment of cultured mSOD1 motoneurons with NO led to a 2.5-fold increase in levels of collapsin response mediator protein 4a (CRMP4a). In vivo, the percentage of mSOD1 lumbar motoneurons expressing CRMP4 in mSOD1 mice increased progressively from presymptomatic to early-onset stages, reaching a maximum of 25%. Forced adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated expression of CRMP4a in wild-type motoneurons in vitro triggered a process of axonal degeneration and cell death affecting 60% of motoneurons, whereas silencing of CRMP4a in mSOD1 motoneurons protected them from NO-induced death. In vivo, AAV-mediated overexpression of CRMP4a but not CRMP2 led to the death of 30% of the lumbar motoneurons and an 18% increase in denervation of neuromuscular junctions in the gastrocnemius muscle. Our data identify CRMP4a as a potential early effector in the neurodegenerative process in ALS.

The CES-2-related transcription factor E4BP4 is an intrinsic regulator of motoneuron growth and survival.

The regulation of neuronal growth and survival during development requires interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Among the latter, transcription factors play a key role. In the nematode, the transcription factor CES-2 predisposes neurosecretory motoneurons to death, whereas E4BP4 (NFIL3), one of its vertebrate homologs, regulates survival of pro-B lymphocytes. We show that E4BP4 is expressed by embryonic rat and chicken motoneurons in vivo, with levels being highest in neurons that survive the period of naturally occurring cell death. Overexpression of E4BP4 by electroporation of purified motoneurons in culture protected them almost completely against cell death triggered by removal of neurotrophic factors or activation of death receptors. Moreover, E4BP4 strongly enhanced neuronal cell size and axonal growth. Axons of motoneurons transfected with E4BP4 were 3.5-fold longer than control neurons grown on laminin; this effect required the activity of PI3 kinase. In vivo, overexpression of E4BP4 in chicken embryos reduced the number of dying motoneurons by 45%. Our results define E4BP4 as a novel intrinsic regulator of motoneuron growth and survival. Pathways regulated by E4BP4 are of potential interest both for understanding neuromuscular development and for promoting neuronal survival and regeneration in pathological situations.

Changes in subcellular distribution of protocadherin gamma proteins accompany maturation of spinal neurons.

Protocadherins gamma (Pcdhgamma) are a family of transmembrane proteins in which variable extracellular domains are associated with an invariant cytoplasmic domain, potentially allowing these proteins to trigger common cellular responses through diverse extracellular signals. We studied the expression of the family by in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry for the conserved portion of the mRNA or protein. During mouse development, Pcdhgamma expression is highest in neural tissues, but is also present in some nonneural tissues. In the adult, Pcdhgamma expression is maintained at high levels in brain, in particular in hippocampus and in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, whereas it is downregulated in spinal cord. Using antibodies against the conserved cytoplasmic domain, we show that in cultured embryonic spinal cord neurons, Pcdhgamma protein is present initially in both axonal and dendritic growth cones. At later stages of differentiation in vitro, Pcdhgamma distribution becomes polarised to the somatodendritic compartment. We propose that members of the Pcdhgamma family may play roles in neuronal growth and maturation.