Physiological basis of copper tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae nonsense-mediated mRNA decay mutants.

The eukaryotic nonsense-mediated mRNA decay pathway (NMD) is a specialized pathway that contributes to the recognition and rapid degradation of mRNA with premature termination codons. In addition to mRNAs containing premature termination codons, NMD degrades non-nonsense-containing, natural mRNAs. Approximately 5-10% of the total Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome is affected when NMD is inactivated. The regulation of natural mRNAs by NMD has physiological consequences. However, the physiological outcomes associated with the degradation of specific natural mRNAs by NMD are not fully understood. Here, we examined the physiological consequences resulting from the NMD-mediated regulation of an mRNA involved in copper homeostasis, in an attempt to understand why nmd mutant strains are more tolerant of toxic copper levels than wild-type yeast strains. We found that wild-type (UPF1) and upf1Δ mutants accumulate similar amounts of total copper when grown in medium containing elevated levels of copper; however, the copper levels in the cytoplasm of wild-type yeast cells were higher than in the upf1Δ mutant. Copper tolerance by the upf1Δ mutant is dependent on the presence of CTR2. Deletion of CTR2 resulted in similar cytoplasmic copper levels in wild-type and upf1Δ mutant strains, regardless of the environmental copper levels. This suggests that CTR2 plays a role in regulating the level of copper in the cytoplasm. We also found that the upf1Δ mutant contained elevated copper levels in the vacuole relative to wild-type yeast cells, after both strains were exposed to elevated copper levels.

Deletion of PTEN produces autism-like behavioral deficits and alterations in synaptic proteins.

Many genes have been implicated in the underlying cause of autism but each gene accounts for only a small fraction of those diagnosed with autism. There is increasing evidence that activity-dependent changes in neuronal signaling could act as a convergent mechanism for many of the changes in synaptic proteins. One candidate signaling pathway that may have a critical role in autism is the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. A major regulator of this pathway is the negative repressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). In the current study we examined the behavioral and molecular consequences in mice with neuron subset-specific deletion of PTEN. The knockout (KO) mice showed deficits in social chamber and social partition test. KO mice demonstrated alterations in repetitive behavior, as measured in the marble burying test and hole-board test. They showed no changes in ultrasonic vocalizations emitted on postnatal day 10 or 12 compared to wildtype (WT) mice. They exhibited less anxiety in the elevated-plus maze test and were more active in the open field test compared to WT mice. In addition to the behavioral alterations, KO mice had elevation of phosphorylated AKT, phosphorylated S6, and an increase in S6K. KO mice had a decrease in mGluR but an increase in total and phosphorylated fragile X mental retardation protein. The disruptions in intracellular signaling may be why the KO mice had a decrease in the dendritic potassium channel Kv4.2 and a decrease in the synaptic scaffolding proteins PSD-95 and SAP102. These findings demonstrate that deletion of PTEN results in long-term alterations in social behavior, repetitive behavior, activity, and anxiety. In addition, deletion of PTEN significantly alters mGluR signaling and many synaptic proteins in the hippocampus. Our data demonstrates that deletion of PTEN can result in many of the behavioral features of autism and may provide insights into the regulation of intracellular signaling on synaptic proteins.