Small G protein RAC-2 regulates forgetting via the JNK-1 signalling pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT

Although forgetting was once regarded as a passive decline in memory and an occasional source of embarrassment, recent research suggests that it is an active biological process of removing outdated or irrelevant memories via activation of specific genes and signal transduction pathways. Rho family G proteins are known to have a role in synaptic plasticity mediated by the actin cytoskeleton. However, the current study reveals that another Rho guanosine triphosphate enzyme (GTPase), RAC-2, facilitates the occurrence of forgetting in Caenorhabditis elegans independent of actin dynamics. Functioning downstream of RAC-2 in the same signalling pathway, JNK-1 and its phosphorylated protein are required to positively regulate forgetting. The pan-neuronal rescue of RAC-2 or JNK-1, instead of AWC neuron-specific expression, reverses the delayed forgetting caused by the rac-2 mutation, which indicates that the involvement of RAC-2/JNK-1 in more than AWCs must be required. In summary, our work elucidates the action of the Rho GTPase RAC-2 and downstream JNK-1 as a potential novel pathway in forgetting in C. elegans.