APOBEC1 complementation factor (A1CF) is dispensable for C-to-U RNA editing in vivo.

Editing of the human and murine ApoB mRNA by APOBEC1, the catalytic enzyme of the protein complex that catalyzes C-to-U RNA editing, creates an internal stop codon within the APOB coding sequence, generating two protein isoforms. It has been long held that APOBEC1-mediated editing activity is dependent on the RNA binding protein A1CF. The function of A1CF in adult tissues has not been reported because a previously reported null allele displays embryonic lethality. This work aimed to address the function of A1CF in adult mouse tissues using a conditional A1cf allele. Unexpectedly, A1cf-null mice were viable and fertile with modest defects in hematopoietic, immune, and metabolic parameters. C-to-U RNA editing was quantified for multiple targets, including ApoB, in the small intestine and liver. In all cases, no changes in RNA editing efficiency were observed. Blood plasma analysis demonstrated a male-specific increase in solute concentration and increased cellularity in the glomeruli of male A1cf-null mice. Urine analysis showed a reduction in solute concentration, suggesting abnormal water homeostasis and possible kidney abnormalities exclusive to the male. Computational identification of kidney C-to-U editing sites from polyadenylated RNA-sequencing identified a number of editing sites exclusive to the kidney. However, molecular analysis of kidney C-to-U editing showed no changes in editing efficiency with A1CF loss. Taken together, these observations demonstrate that A1CF does not act as the APOBEC1 complementation factor in vivo under normal physiological conditions and suggests new roles for A1CF, specifically within the male adult kidney.

GpnmbR150X allele must be present in bone marrow derived cells to mediate DBA/2J glaucoma.

BACKGROUND: The Gpnmb gene encodes a transmembrane protein whose function(s) remain largely unknown. Here, we assess if a mutant allele of Gpnmb confers susceptibility to glaucoma by altering immune functions. DBA/2J mice have a mutant Gpnmb gene and they develop a form of glaucoma preceded by a pigment dispersing iris disease and abnormalities of the immunosuppressive ocular microenvironment. RESULTS: We find that the Gpnmb genotype of bone-marrow derived cell lineages significantly influences the iris disease and the elevation of intraocular pressure. GPNMB localizes to multiple cell types, including pigment producing cells, bone marrow derived F4/80 positive antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the iris and dendritic cells. We show that APCs of DBA/2J mice fail to induce antigen induced immune deviation (a form of tolerance) when treated with TGFbeta2. This demonstrates that some of the immune abnormalities previously identified in DBA/2J mice result from intrinsic defects in APCs. However, the tested APC defects are not dependent on a mutant Gpnmb gene. Finally, we show that the Gpnmb mediated iris disease does not require elevated IL18 or mature B or T lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: These results establish a role for Gpnmb in bone marrow derived lineages. They suggest that affects of Gpnmb on innate immunity influence susceptibility to glaucoma in DBA/2J mice.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase, Nos2, does not mediate optic neuropathy and retinopathy in the DBA/2J glaucoma model.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) contributes to neural death in some settings, but its role in glaucoma remains controversial. NOS2 is implicated in retinal ganglion cell degeneration in a rat glaucoma model in which intraocular pressure (IOP) is experimentally elevated by blood vessel cauterization, but not in a rat glaucoma model where IOP was elevated by injection of hypertonic saline. To test the importance of NOS2 for an inherited glaucoma, in this study we both genetically and pharmacologically decreased NOS2 activity in the DBA/2J mouse glaucoma model. METHODS: The expression of Nos2 in the optic nerve head was analyzed at both the RNA and protein levels at different stages of disease pathogenesis. To test the involvement of Nos2 in glaucomatous neurodegeneration, a null allele of Nos2 was backcrossed into DBA/2J mice and the incidence and severity of glaucoma was assessed in mice of each Nos2 genotype. Additionally, DBA/2J mice were treated with the NOS2 inhibitor aminoguanidine and the disease compared to untreated mice. RESULTS: Optic nerve head Nos2 RNA levels varied and increased during moderate but decreased at early and severe stages of disease. Despite the presence of a few NOS2 positive cells in the optic nerve head, NOS2 protein was not substantially increased during the glaucoma. Genetic deficiency of Nos2 or aminoguanidine treatment did not alter the IOP profile of DBA/2J mice. Additionally, neither Nos2 deficiency nor aminoguanidine had any detectable affect on the glaucomatous optic nerve damage. CONCLUSION: Glaucomatous neurodegeneration in DBA/2J mice does not require NOS2 activity. Further experiments involving various models are needed to assess the general importance of Nos2 in glaucoma.

The classical complement cascade mediates CNS synapse elimination.

During development, the formation of mature neural circuits requires the selective elimination of inappropriate synaptic connections. Here we show that C1q, the initiating protein in the classical complement cascade, is expressed by postnatal neurons in response to immature astrocytes and is localized to synapses throughout the postnatal CNS and retina. Mice deficient in complement protein C1q or the downstream complement protein C3 exhibit large sustained defects in CNS synapse elimination, as shown by the failure of anatomical refinement of retinogeniculate connections and the retention of excess retinal innervation by lateral geniculate neurons. Neuronal C1q is normally downregulated in the adult CNS; however, in a mouse model of glaucoma, C1q becomes upregulated and synaptically relocalized in the adult retina early in the disease. These findings support a model in which unwanted synapses are tagged by complement for elimination and suggest that complement-mediated synapse elimination may become aberrantly reactivated in neurodegenerative disease.

CRB1 is essential for external limiting membrane integrity and photoreceptor morphogenesis in the mammalian retina.

Mutations within the CRB1 gene have been shown to cause human retinal diseases including retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. We have recently identified a mouse model, retinal degeneration 8 (rd8) with a single base deletion in the Crb1 gene. This mutation is predicted to cause a frame shift and premature stop codon which truncates the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domain of CRB1. Like in Drosophila crumbs (crb) mutants, staining for adherens junction proteins known to localize to the external limiting membrane, the equivalent of the zonula adherens in the mammalian retina, is discontinuous and fragmented. Shortened photoreceptor inner and outer segments are observed as early as 2 weeks after birth, suggesting a developmental defect in these structures rather than a degenerative process. Photoreceptor degeneration is observed only within regions of retinal spotting, which is seen predominantly in the inferior nasal quadrant of the eye, and is caused by retinal folds and pseudorosettes. Photoreceptor dysplasia and degeneration in Crb1 mutants strongly vary with genetic background, suggesting that the variability in phenotypes of human patients that carry mutations in CRB1 may be due to interactions with background modifiers in addition to allelic variations. The Crb1rd8 mouse model will facilitate the analysis of Crb1 function in the neural retina and the identification of interacting factors as candidate retinal disease genes.