Placental development in a mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder, leading to fatal loss of motor neurons. It is caused by loss of function of the SMN gene, which is expressed throughout the body, and there is increasing evidence of dysfunction in non-neuronal tissues. Birthweight is one of most powerful prognostic factors for infants born with SMA, and intrauterine growth restriction is common. In the SMNΔ7 mouse model of SMA, pups with the disease lived 25% longer when their mothers were fed a higher fat, "breeder" diet. The placenta is responsible for transport of nutrients from mother to fetus, and is a major determinant of fetal growth. Thus, the present study tested the hypothesis that placental development is impaired in SMNΔ7 conceptuses. Detailed morphological characterization revealed no defects in SMNΔ7 placental development, and expression of key transcription factors regulating mouse placental development was unaffected. The intrauterine growth restriction observed in SMA infants likely does not result from impaired placental development.

Expansion of neurofilament medium C terminus increases axonal diameter independent of increases in conduction velocity or myelin thickness.

Maturation of the peripheral nervous system requires specification of axonal diameter, which, in turn, has a significant influence on nerve conduction velocity. Radial axonal growth initiates with myelination, and is dependent upon the C terminus of neurofilament medium (NF-M). Molecular phylogenetic analysis in mammals suggested that expanded NF-M C termini correlated with larger-diameter axons. We used gene targeting and computational modeling to test this new hypothesis. Increasing the length of NF-M C terminus in mice increased diameter of motor axons without altering neurofilament subunit stoichiometry. Computational modeling predicted that an expanded NF-M C terminus extended farther from the neurofilament core independent of lysine-serine-proline (KSP) phosphorylation. However, expansion of NF-M C terminus did not affect the distance between adjacent neurofilaments. Increased axonal diameter did not increase conduction velocity, possibly due to a failure to increase myelin thickness by the same proportion. Failure of myelin to compensate for larger axonal diameters suggested a lack of plasticity during the processes of myelination and radial axonal growth.

Muscle pathology without severe nerve pathology in a new mouse model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2E.

Mutations in neurofilament light (NF-L) have been linked to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2E (CMT2E) in humans. To provide insight into disease pathogenesis, we developed a novel line of CMT2E mice that constitutively express human NF-L (hNF-L) with a glutamic acid to lysine mutation at position 397 (hNF-L(E397K)). This new line of mice developed signs consistent with CMT2E patients. Disease signs were first observed at 4 months in hNF-L(E397K) mice, and consisted of aberrant hind limb posture, digit deformities, reduced voluntary locomotor activity, reduced motor nerve conduction velocities (MNCVs) and muscle atrophy. Reduced voluntary locomotor activity and muscle pathology occurred without significant denervation, and hNF-L(E397K) mice showed relatively mild signs of nerve pathology. Nerve pathology in hNF-L(E397K) mice was characterized by ectopic accumulations of phosphorylated NFs in motor neuron cell bodies as early as 1 month. Moreover, NF organization was altered in motor and sensory roots, with small motor axons being most affected. Peak axonal diameter was reduced for small motor axons prior to and after the onset of overt phenotypes, whereas large motor axons were affected only after onset, which correlated with reduced MNCVs. Additionally, there was a small reduction in the number of sensory axons in symptomatic hNF-L(E397K) mice. hNF-L(E397K) mice are a novel line of CMT2E mice that recapitulate many of the overt phenotypes observed in CMT2E patients and hNF-L(P22S) mice. The cellular pathology observed in hNF-L(E397K) mice differed from that recently reported in hNF-L(P22S) mice, suggesting that overt CMT2E phenotypes may arise through different cellular mechanisms.

The spinal muscular atrophy mouse model, SMAΔ7, displays altered axonal transport without global neurofilament alterations.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neurodegenerative disease resulting from decreased levels of survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) protein. Reduced SMN1 levels are linked to pathology at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), which includes decreased vesicle density and organization, decreased quantal release, increased endplate potential duration, and neurofilament (NF) accumulations. This work presents a first study towards defining molecular alterations that may lead to the development of NMJ pathology in SMA. Fast, anterograde transport of synaptic vesicle 2 (SV2-c) and synaptotagmin (Syt1) proteins was reduced 2 days prior to the observed decrease in synaptic vesicle density. Moreover, reduced accumulation of SV2-c or Syt1 was not due to reduced protein expression or reduced kinesin activity. Dynein levels were reduced at times that are consistent with NF accumulations at NMJs. Furthermore, NF distribution, from cell body to sciatic nerve, appeared normal in SMA∆7 mice. Taken together, these results suggest that reduced axonal transport may provide a mechanistic explanation for reduced synaptic vesicle density and concomitant synaptic transmission defects, while providing evidence that suggests NF accumulations result from local NMJ alterations to NFs.

Internode length is reduced during myelination and remyelination by neurofilament medium phosphorylation in motor axons.

The distance between nodes of Ranvier, referred to as internode length, positively correlates with axon diameter, and is optimized during development to ensure maximal neuronal conduction velocity. Following myelin loss, internode length is reestablished through remyelination. However, remyelination results in short internode lengths and reduced conduction rates. We analyzed the potential role of neurofilament phosphorylation in regulating internode length during remyelination and myelination. Following ethidium bromide induced demyelination, levels of neurofilament medium (NF-M) and heavy (NF-H) phosphorylation were unaffected. Preventing NF-M lysine-serine-proline (KSP) repeat phosphorylation increased internode length by 30% after remyelination. To further analyze the role of NF-M phosphorylation in regulating internode length, gene replacement was used to produce mice in which all KSP serine residues were replaced with glutamate to mimic constitutive phosphorylation. Mimicking constitutive KSP phosphorylation reduced internode length by 16% during myelination and motor nerve conduction velocity by ~27% without altering sensory nerve structure or function. Our results suggest that NF-M KSP phosphorylation is part of a cooperative mechanism between axons and Schwann cells that together determine internode length, and suggest motor and sensory axons utilize different mechanisms to establish internode length.

Exacerbation of Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2E neuropathy following traumatic nerve injury.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. CMT disease signs include distal limb neuropathy, abnormal gait, sensory defects, and deafness. We generated a novel line of CMT2E mice expressing hNF-L(E397K), which displayed muscle atrophy of the lower limbs without denervation, proximal reduction in large caliber axons, and decreased nerve conduction velocity. In this study, we challenged wild type, hNF-L and hNF-L(E397K) mice with crush injury to the sciatic nerve. We analyzed functional recovery by measuring toe spread and analyzed gait using the Catwalk system. hNF-L(E397K) mice demonstrated reduced recovery from nerve injury consistent with increased susceptibility to neuropathy observed in CMT patients. In addition, hNF-L(E397K) developed a permanent reduction in their ability to weight bear, increased mechanical allodynia, and premature gait shift in the injured limb, which led to increasingly disrupted interlimb coordination in hNF-L(E397K). Exacerbation of neuropathy after injury and identification of gait alterations in combination with previously described pathology suggests that hNF-L(E397K) mice recapitulate many of clinical signs associated with CMT2. Therefore, hNF-L(E397K) mice provide a model for determining the efficacy of novel therapies.

Neurofilament Phosphorylation during Development and Disease: Which Came First, the Phosphorylation or the Accumulation?

Posttranslational modification of proteins is a ubiquitous cellular mechanism for regulating protein function. Some of the most heavily modified neuronal proteins are cytoskeletal proteins of long myelinated axons referred to as neurofilaments (NFs). NFs are type IV intermediate filaments (IFs) that can be composed of four subunits, neurofilament heavy (NF-H), neurofilament medium (NF-M), neurofilament light (NF-L), and α-internexin. Within wild type axons, NFs are responsible for mediating radial growth, a process that determines axonal diameter. NFs are phosphorylated on highly conserved lysine-serine-proline (KSP) repeats located along the C-termini of both NF-M and NF-H within myelinated axonal regions. Phosphorylation is thought to regulate aspects of NF transport and function. However, a key pathological hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases is ectopic accumulation and phosphorylation of NFs. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the posttranslational modifications that occur in both normal and diseased axons. We review evidence that challenges the role of KSP phosphorylation as essential for radial growth and suggests an alternative role for NF phosphorylation in myelinated axons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that regulation of NF phosphorylation dynamics may be essential to avoiding NF accumulations.