Golgi satellites are essential for polysialylation of NCAM and expression of LTP at distal synapses.

The complex cytoarchitecture of neurons poses significant challenges for the maturation of synaptic membrane proteins. It is currently unclear whether locally secreted synaptic proteins bypass the Golgi or whether they traffic through Golgi satellites (GSs). Here, we create a transgenic GS reporter mouse line and show that GSs are widely distributed along dendrites and are capable of mature glycosylation, in particular sialylation. We find that polysialylation of locally secreted NCAM takes place at GSs. Accordingly, in mice lacking a component of trans-Golgi network-to-plasma membrane trafficking, we find fewer GSs and significantly reduced PSA-NCAM levels in distal dendrites of CA1 neurons that receive input from the temporoammonic pathway. Induction of long-term potentiation at those, but not more proximal, synapses is severely impaired. We conclude that GSs serve the need for local mature glycosylation of synaptic membrane proteins in distal dendrites and thereby contribute to rapid changes in synaptic strength.

Jacob-induced transcriptional inactivation of CREB promotes Aß-induced synapse loss in Alzheimer's disease.

Synaptic dysfunction caused by soluble ß-amyloid peptide (Aß) is a hallmark of early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), and is tightly linked to cognitive decline. By yet unknown mechanisms, Aß suppresses the transcriptional activity of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB), a master regulator of cell survival and plasticity-related gene expression. Here, we report that Aß elicits nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of Jacob, a protein that connects a NMDA-receptor-derived signalosome to CREB, in AD patient brains and mouse hippocampal neurons. Aß-regulated trafficking of Jacob induces transcriptional inactivation of CREB leading to impairment and loss of synapses in mouse models of AD. The small chemical compound Nitarsone selectively hinders the assembly of a Jacob/LIM-only 4 (LMO4)/ Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) signalosome and thereby restores CREB transcriptional activity. Nitarsone prevents impairment of synaptic plasticity as well as cognitive decline in mouse models of AD. Collectively, the data suggest targeting Jacob protein-induced CREB shutoff as a therapeutic avenue against early synaptic dysfunction in AD.

Molecular Mechanisms of Memory Consolidation That Operate During Sleep.

The role of sleep for brain function has been in the focus of interest for many years. It is now firmly established that sleep and the corresponding brain activity is of central importance for memory consolidation. Less clear are the underlying molecular mechanisms and their specific contribution to the formation of long-term memory. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of such mechanisms and we discuss the several unknowns that hinder a deeper appreciation of how molecular mechanisms of memory consolidation during sleep impact synaptic function and engram formation.

Matching stimulation paradigms resolve apparent differences between optogenetic and electrical VTA stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Optogenetic stimulation has grown into a popular brain stimulation method in basic neuroscience while electrical stimulation predominates in clinical applications. In order to explain the effects of electrical stimulation on a cellular level and evaluate potential advantages of optogenetic therapies, comparisons between the two stimulation modalities are necessary. This comparison is hindered, however, by the difficulty of effectively matching the two fundamentally different modalities. OBJECTIVE: Comparison of brain-wide activation patterns in response to intensity-matched electrical and optogenetic VTA stimulation. METHODS: We mapped optogenetic and electrical self-stimulation rates in the same mice over stimulation intensity and determined iso-behavioral intensities. Using functional 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT imaging of cerebral blood flow in awake animals, we obtained brain-wide activation patterns for both modalities at these iso-behavioral intensities. We performed these experiments in two mouse lines commonly used for optogenetic VTA stimulation, DAT::Cre and TH::Cre mice. RESULTS: We find iso-behavioral intensity matching of stimulation gives rise to similar brain activation patterns. Differences between mouse lines were more pronounced than differences between modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Previously found large differences of electrical and optogenetic stimulation might be due to unmatched stimulation intensity, particularly relative electrical overstimulation. These findings imply that therapeutic electrical VTA stimulation might be relatively specific if employed with optimized parameters.

JAK2-V617F promotes venous thrombosis through ß1/ß2 integrin activation.

JAK2-V617F-positive chronic myeloproliferative neoplasia (CMN) commonly displays dysfunction of integrins and adhesion molecules expressed on platelets, erythrocytes, and leukocytes. However, the mechanism by which the 2 major leukocyte integrin chains, ß1 and ß2, may contribute to CMN pathophysiology remained unclear. ß1 (α4ß1; VLA-4) and ß2 (αLß2; LFA-1) integrins are essential regulators for attachment of leukocytes to endothelial cells. We here showed enhanced adhesion of granulocytes from mice with JAK2-V617F knockin (JAK2+/VF mice) to vascular cell adhesion molecule 1- (VCAM1-) and intercellular adhesion molecule 1-coated (ICAM1-coated) surfaces. Soluble VCAM1 and ICAM1 ligand binding assays revealed increased affinity of ß1 and ß2 integrins for their respective ligands. For ß1 integrins, this correlated with a structural change from the low- to the high-affinity conformation induced by JAK2-V617F. JAK2-V617F triggered constitutive activation of the integrin inside-out signaling molecule Rap1, resulting in translocation toward the cell membrane. Employing a venous thrombosis model, we demonstrated that neutralizing anti-VLA-4 and anti-ß2 integrin antibodies suppress pathologic thrombosis as observed in JAK2+/VF mice. In addition, aberrant homing of JAK2+/VF leukocytes to the spleen was inhibited by neutralizing anti-ß2 antibodies and by pharmacologic inhibition of Rap1. Thus, our findings identified cross-talk between JAK2-V617F and integrin activation promoting pathologic thrombosis and abnormal trafficking of leukocytes to the spleen.

Early sensory experience influences the development of multisensory thalamocortical and intracortical connections of primary sensory cortices.

The nervous system integrates information from multiple senses. This multisensory integration already occurs in primary sensory cortices via direct thalamocortical and corticocortical connections across modalities. In humans, sensory loss from birth results in functional recruitment of the deprived cortical territory by the spared senses but the underlying circuit changes are not well known. Using tracer injections into primary auditory, somatosensory, and visual cortex within the first postnatal month of life in a rodent model (Mongolian gerbil) we show that multisensory thalamocortical connections emerge before corticocortical connections but mostly disappear during development. Early auditory, somatosensory, or visual deprivation increases multisensory connections via axonal reorganization processes mediated by non-lemniscal thalamic nuclei and the primary areas themselves. Functional single-photon emission computed tomography of regional cerebral blood flow reveals altered stimulus-induced activity and higher functional connectivity specifically between primary areas in deprived animals. Together, we show that intracortical multisensory connections are formed as a consequence of sensory-driven multisensory thalamocortical activity and that spared senses functionally recruit deprived cortical areas by an altered development of sensory thalamocortical and corticocortical connections. The functional-anatomical changes after early sensory deprivation have translational implications for the therapy of developmental hearing loss, blindness, and sensory paralysis and might also underlie developmental synesthesia.

Three-dimensional mouse brain cytoarchitecture revealed by laboratory-based x-ray phase-contrast tomography.

Studies of brain cytoarchitecture in mammals are routinely performed by serial sectioning of the specimen and staining of the sections. The procedure is labor-intensive and the 3D architecture can only be determined after aligning individual 2D sections, leading to a reconstructed volume with non-isotropic resolution. Propagation-based x-ray phase-contrast tomography offers a unique potential for high-resolution 3D imaging of intact biological specimen due to the high penetration depth and potential resolution. We here show that even compact laboratory CT at an optimized liquid-metal jet microfocus source combined with suitable phase-retrieval algorithms and a novel tissue preparation can provide cellular and subcellular resolution in millimeter sized samples of mouse brain. We removed water and lipids from entire mouse brains and measured the remaining dry tissue matrix in air, lowering absorption but increasing phase contrast. We present single-cell resolution images of mouse brain cytoarchitecture and show that axons can be revealed in myelinated fiber bundles. In contrast to optical 3D techniques our approach does neither require staining of cells nor tissue clearing, procedures that are increasingly difficult to apply with increasing sample and brain sizes. The approach thus opens a novel route for high-resolution high-throughput studies of brain architecture in mammals.

A bovine cell line that can be infected by natural sheep scrapie prions.

Cell culture systems represent a crucial part in basic prion research; yet, cell lines that are susceptible to prions, especially to field isolated prions that were not adapted to rodents, are very rare. The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize a cell line that was susceptible to ruminant-derived prions and to establish a stable prion infection within it. Based on species and tissue of origin as well as PrP expression rate, we pre-selected a total of 33 cell lines that were then challenged with natural and with mouse propagated BSE or scrapie inocula. Here, we report the successful infection of a non-transgenic bovine cell line, a sub-line of the bovine kidney cell line MDBK, with natural sheep scrapie prions. This cell line retained the scrapie infection for more than 200 passages. Selective cloning resulted in cell populations with increased accumulation of PrPres, although this treatment was not mandatory for retaining the infection. The infection remained stable, even under suboptimal culture conditions. The resulting infectivity of the cells was confirmed by mouse bioassay (Tgbov mice, Tgshp mice). We believe that PES cells used together with other prion permissive cell lines will prove a valuable tool for ongoing efforts to understand and defeat prions and prion diseases.

Acquisition of drug resistance and dependence by prions.

We have reported that properties of prion strains may change when propagated in different environments. For example, when swainsonine-sensitive 22L prions were propagated in PK1 cells in the presence of swainsonine, drug-resistant variants emerged. We proposed that prions constitute quasi- populations comprising a range of variants with different properties, from which the fittest are selected in a particular environment. Prion populations developed heterogeneity even after biological cloning, indicating that during propagation mutation-like processes occur at the conformational level. Because brain-derived 22L prions are naturally swainsonine resistant, it was not too surprising that prions which had become swa sensitive after propagation in cells could revert to drug resistance. Because RML prions, both after propagation in brain or in PK1 cells, are swainsonine sensitive, we investigated whether it was nonetheless possible to select swainsonine-resistant variants by propagation in the presence of the drug. Interestingly, this was not possible with the standard line of PK1 cells, but in certain PK1 sublines not only swainsonine-resistant, but even swainsonine-dependent populations (i.e. that propagated more rapidly in the presence of the drug) could be isolated. Once established, they could be passaged indefinitely in PK1 cells, even in the absence of the drug, without losing swainsonine dependence. The misfolded prion protein (PrP(Sc)) associated with a swainsonine-dependent variant was less rapidly cleared in PK1 cells than that associated with its drug-sensitive counterpart, indicating that likely structural differences of the misfolded PrP underlie the properties of the prions. In summary, propagation of prions in the presence of an inhibitory drug may not only cause the selection of drug-resistant prions but even of stable variants that propagate more efficiently in the presence of the drug. These adaptations are most likely due to conformational changes of the abnormal prion protein.

Strain-specific role of RNAs in prion replication.

Several lines of evidence suggest that various cofactors may be required for prion replication. PrP binds to polyanions, and RNAs were shown to promote the conversion of PrP(C) into PrP(Sc) in vitro. In the present study, we investigated strain-specific differences in RNA requirement during in vitro conversion and the potential role of RNA as a strain-specifying component of infectious prions. We found that RNase treatment impairs PrP(Sc)-converting activity of 9 murine prion strains by protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) in a strain-specific fashion. While the addition of RNA restored PMCA conversion efficiency, the effect of synthetic polynucleotides or DNA was strain dependent, showing a different promiscuity of prion strains in cofactor utilization. The biological properties of RML propagated by PMCA under RNA-depleted conditions were compared to those of brain-derived and PMCA material generated in the presence of RNA. Inoculation of RNA-depleted RML in Tga20 mice resulted in an increased incidence of a distinctive disease phenotype characterized by forelimb paresis. However, this abnormal phenotype was not conserved in wild-type mice or upon secondary transmission. Immunohistochemical and cell panel assay analyses of mouse brains did not reveal significant differences between mice injected with the different RML inocula. We conclude that replication under RNA-depleted conditions did not modify RML prion strain properties. Our study cannot, however, exclude small variations of RML properties that would explain the abnormal clinical phenotype observed. We hypothesize that RNA molecules may act as catalysts of prion replication and that variable capacities of distinct prion strains to utilize different cofactors may explain strain-specific dependency upon RNA.

The extended cell panel assay characterizes the relationship of prion strains RML, 79A, and 139A and reveals conversion of 139A to 79A-like prions in cell culture.

Three commonly used isolates of murine prions, 79A, 139A, and RML, were derived from the so-called Chandler isolate, which was obtained by propagating prions from scrapie-infected goat brain in mice. RML is widely believed to be identical with 139A; however, using the extended cell panel assay (ECPA), we here show that 139A and RML isolates are distinct, while 79A and RML could not be distinguished. We undertook to clone 79A and 139A prions by endpoint dilution in murine neuroblastoma-derived PK1 cells. Cloned 79A prions, when returned to mouse brain, were unchanged and indistinguishable from RML by ECPA. However, 139A-derived clones, when returned to brain, yielded prions distinct from 139A and similar to 79A and RML. Thus, when 139A prions were transferred to PK1 cells, 79A/RML-like prions, either present as a minor component in the brain 139A population or generated by mutation in the cells, were selected and, after being returned to brain, were the major if not only component of the population.

Darwinian evolution of prions in cell culture.

Prions are infectious proteins consisting mainly of PrP(Sc), a beta sheet-rich conformer of the normal host protein PrP(C), and occur in different strains. Strain identity is thought to be encoded by PrP(Sc) conformation. We found that biologically cloned prion populations gradually became heterogeneous by accumulating "mutants," and selective pressures resulted in the emergence of different mutants as major constituents of the evolving population. Thus, when transferred from brain to cultured cells, "cell-adapted" prions outcompeted their "brain-adapted" counterparts, and the opposite occurred when prions were returned from cells to brain. Similarly, the inhibitor swainsonine selected for a resistant substrain, whereas, in its absence, the susceptible substrain outgrew its resistant counterpart. Prions, albeit devoid of a nucleic acid genome, are thus subject to mutation and selective amplification.