In Vivo Translatome Profiling in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Reveals a Role for SMN Protein in Ribosome Biology.

Genetic alterations impacting ubiquitously expressed proteins involved in RNA metabolism often result in neurodegenerative conditions, with increasing evidence suggesting that translation defects can contribute to disease. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease caused by low levels of SMN protein, whose role in pathogenesis remains unclear. Here, we identified in vivo and in vitro translation defects that are cell autonomous and SMN dependent. By determining in parallel the in vivo transcriptome and translatome in SMA mice, we observed a robust decrease in translation efficiency arising during early stages of disease. We provide a catalogue of RNAs with altered translation efficiency, identifying ribosome biology and translation as central processes affected by SMN depletion. This was further supported by a decrease in the number of ribosomes in SMA motor neurons in vivo. Overall, our findings suggest ribosome biology as an important, yet largely overlooked, factor in motor neuron degeneration.

Restoration of SMN in Schwann cells reverses myelination defects and improves neuromuscular function in spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease caused by low levels of SMN protein, primarily affecting lower motor neurons. Recent evidence from SMA and related conditions suggests that glial cells can influence disease severity. Here, we investigated the role of glial cells in the peripheral nervous system by creating SMA mice selectively overexpressing SMN in myelinating Schwann cells (Smn-/-;SMN2tg/0;SMN1SC). Restoration of SMN protein levels restricted solely to Schwann cells reversed myelination defects, significantly improved neuromuscular function and ameliorated neuromuscular junction pathology in SMA mice. However, restoration of SMN in Schwann cells had no impact on motor neuron soma loss from the spinal cord or ongoing systemic and peripheral pathology. This study provides evidence for a defined, intrinsic contribution of glial cells to SMA disease pathogenesis and suggests that therapies designed to include Schwann cells in their target tissues are likely to be required in order to rescue myelination defects and associated disease symptoms.

Complex folding and misfolding effects of deer-specific amino acid substitutions in the ß2-α2 loop of murine prion protein.

The ß2-α2 loop of PrP(C) is a key modulator of disease-associated prion protein misfolding. Amino acids that differentiate mouse (Ser169, Asn173) and deer (Asn169, Thr173) PrP(C) appear to confer dramatically different structural properties in this region and it has been suggested that amino acid sequences associated with structural rigidity of the loop also confer susceptibility to prion disease. Using mouse recombinant PrP, we show that mutating residue 173 from Asn to Thr alters protein stability and misfolding only subtly, whilst changing Ser to Asn at codon 169 causes instability in the protein, promotes oligomer formation and dramatically potentiates fibril formation. The doubly mutated protein exhibits more complex folding and misfolding behaviour than either single mutant, suggestive of differential effects of the ß2-α2 loop sequence on both protein stability and on specific misfolding pathways. Molecular dynamics simulation of protein structure suggests a key role for the solvent accessibility of Tyr168 in promoting molecular interactions that may lead to prion protein misfolding. Thus, we conclude that 'rigidity' in the ß2-α2 loop region of the normal conformer of PrP has less effect on misfolding than other sequence-related effects in this region.

Behavior of aberrant chromosome configurations in Drosophila melanogaster female meiosis I.

One essential role of the first meiotic division is to reduce chromosome number by half. Although this is normally accomplished by segregating homologous chromosomes from each other, it is possible for a genome to have one or more chromosomes that lack a homolog (such as compound chromosomes), or have chromosomes with multiple potential homologs (such as in XXY females). These configurations complete meiosis but engage in unusual segregation patterns. In Drosophila melanogaster females carrying two compound chromosomes, the compounds can accurately segregate from each other, a process known as heterologous segregation. Similarly, in XXY females, when the X chromosomes fail to cross over, they often undergo secondary nondisjunction, where both Xs segregate away from the Y. Although both of these processes have been known for decades, the orientation mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Taking advantage of the recent discovery of chromosome congression in female meiosis I, we have examined a number of different aberrant chromosome configurations. We show that these genotypes complete congression normally, with their chromosomes bioriented at metaphase I arrest at the same rates that they segregate, indicating that orientation must be established during prometaphase I before congression. We also show that monovalent chromosomes can move out on the prometaphase I spindle, but the dot 4 chromosomes appear required for this movement. Finally, we show that, similar to achiasmate chromosomes, heterologous chromosomes can be connected by chromatin threads, suggesting a mechanism for how heterochromatic homology establishes these unusual biorientation patterns.

Nondisjunctional segregations in Drosophila female meiosis I are preceded by homolog malorientation at metaphase arrest.

The model of Drosophila female meiosis I was recently revised by the discovery that chromosome congression precedes metaphase I arrest. Use of the prior framework to interpret data from meiotic mutants led to the conclusion that chromosome segregation errors (nondisjunction, NDJ) occurred when nonexchange chromosomes moved out on the spindle in a maloriented configuration and became trapped there at metaphase arrest. The discovery that congression returns nonexchange chromosomes to the metaphase plate invalidates this interpretation and raises the question of what events actually do lead to NDJ. To address this, we have assayed an allelic series of ald (mps1) meiotic mutants that complete congression at wild-type rates, but have widely varying NDJ rates in an otherwise isogenic background, as well as a nod mutant background that primarily undergoes loss of chromosome 4. Using genetic assays to measure NDJ rates, and FISH assays to measure chromosome malorientation rates in metaphase-arrested oocytes, shows that these two rates are highly correlated across ald mutants, suggesting that malorientation during congression commits these chromosomes to eventually nondisjoin. Likewise, the rate of chromosome loss observed in nod is similar to the rate at which these chromosomes fail to associate with the main chromosome mass. Together these results provide a proximal mechanism for how these meiotic mutants cause NDJ and chromosome loss and improve our understanding of how prometaphase chromosome congression relates to anaphase chromosome segregation.