Synaptic downscaling is a homeostatic mechanism that allows neurons to reduce firing rates during chronically elevated network activity. Although synaptic downscaling is important in neural circuit ...development and epilepsy, the underlying mechanisms are poorly described. We performed small RNA profiling in picrotoxin (PTX)‐treated hippocampal neurons, a model of synaptic downscaling. Thereby, we identified eight microRNAs (miRNAs) that were increased in response to PTX, including miR‐129‐5p, whose inhibition blocked synaptic downscaling in vitro and reduced epileptic seizure severity in vivo. Using transcriptome, proteome, and bioinformatic analysis, we identified the calcium pump Atp2b4 and doublecortin (Dcx) as miR‐129‐5p targets. Restoring Atp2b4 and Dcx expression was sufficient to prevent synaptic downscaling in PTX‐treated neurons. Furthermore, we characterized a functional crosstalk between miR‐129‐5p and the RNA‐binding protein (RBP) Rbfox1. In the absence of PTX, Rbfox1 promoted the expression of Atp2b4 and Dcx. Upon PTX treatment, Rbfox1 expression was downregulated by miR‐129‐5p, thereby allowing the repression of Atp2b4 and Dcx. We therefore identified a novel activity‐dependent miRNA/RBP crosstalk during synaptic scaling, with potential implications for neural network homeostasis and epileptogenesis.
Synopsis
A systematic approach using small RNA and mRNA profiling in combination with proteomics is used to delineate post‐transcriptional regulatory pathways involved in synaptic scaling. This led to the identification of a pathway consisting of the miRNA miR‐129‐5p and the RNA‐binding protein Rbfox that controls excitatory synapse function in neurons and epileptic seizure activity in the brain.
8 microRNAs, including miR‐129‐5p, are upregulated during homeostatic synaptic downscaling in hippocampal neurons.
miR‐129‐5p inhibition blocks synaptic downscaling in vitro and kainic acid‐induced epileptic seizures in vivo.
A combination of transcriptomics, proteomics and bioinformatics was used to identify miR‐129‐5p target mRNAs, including Atp2b4, Dcx and Rbfox1/3.
Activity‐dependent downregulation of Rbfox1 by miR‐129‐5p is required for the repression of synaptic genes during homeostatic synaptic downscaling.
Combining miRNA and mRNA profiling with proteomics reveals roles for miR‐129‐5p and the RNA‐binding protein Rbfox in excitatory synapse function and epileptic seizure.
Dopaminergic signaling plays an important role in associative learning, including fear and extinction learning. Dopaminergic midbrain neurons encode prediction error-like signals when threats differ ...from expectations. Within the amygdala, GABAergic intercalated cell (ITC) clusters receive one of the densest dopaminergic projections, but their physiological consequences are incompletely understood. ITCs are important for fear extinction, a function thought to be supported by activation of ventromedial ITCs that inhibit central amygdala fear output. In mice, we reveal two distinct novel mechanisms by which mesencephalic dopaminergic afferents control ITCs. Firstly, they co-release GABA to mediate rapid, direct inhibition. Secondly, dopamine suppresses inhibitory interactions between distinct ITC clusters via presynaptic D1 receptors. Early extinction training augments both GABA co-release onto dorsomedial ITCs and dopamine-mediated suppression of dorso- to ventromedial inhibition between ITC clusters. These findings provide novel insights into dopaminergic mechanisms shaping the activity balance between distinct ITC clusters that could support their opposing roles in fear behavior.
MicroRNAs and synaptic plasticity—a mutual relationship Aksoy-Aksel, Ayla; Zampa, Federico; Schratt, Gerhard
Philosophical transactions - Royal Society. Biological sciences,
09/2014, Volume:
369, Issue:
1652
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are rapidly emerging as central regulators of gene expression in the postnatal mammalian brain. Initial studies mostly focused on the function of specific miRNAs during the ...development of neuronal connectivity in culture, using classical gain- and loss-of-function approaches. More recently, first examples have documented important roles of miRNAs in plastic processes in intact neural circuits in the rodent brain related to higher cognitive abilities and neuropsychiatric disease. At the same time, evidence is accumulating that miRNA function itself is subjected to sophisticated control mechanisms engaged by the activity of neural circuits. In this review, we attempt to pay tribute to this mutual relationship between miRNAs and synaptic plasticity. In particular, in the first part, we summarize how neuronal activity influences each step in the lifetime of miRNAs, including the regulation of transcription, maturation, gene regulatory function and turnover in mammals. In the second part, we discuss recent examples of miRNA function in synaptic plasticity in rodent models and their implications for higher cognitive function and neurological disorders, with a special emphasis on epilepsy as a disorder of abnormal nerve cell activity.
The E3 ubiquitin ligase Ube3a is an important regulator of activity-dependent synapse development and plasticity. Ube3a mutations cause Angelman syndrome and have been associated with autism spectrum ...disorders (ASD). However, the biological significance of alternative Ube3a transcripts generated in mammalian neurons remains unknown. We report here that Ube3a1 RNA, a transcript that encodes a truncated Ube3a protein lacking catalytic activity, prevents exuberant dendrite growth and promotes spine maturation in rat hippocampal neurons. Surprisingly, Ube3a1 RNA function was independent of its coding sequence but instead required a unique 3' untranslated region and an intact microRNA pathway. Ube3a1 RNA knockdown increased activity of the plasticity-regulating miR-134, suggesting that Ube3a1 RNA acts as a dendritic competing endogenous RNA. Accordingly, the dendrite-growth-promoting effect of Ube3a1 RNA knockdown in vivo is abolished in mice lacking miR-134. Taken together, our results define a noncoding function of an alternative Ube3a transcript in dendritic protein synthesis, with potential implications for Angelman syndrome and ASD.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of neuronal development, network connectivity, and synaptic plasticity. While many neuronal miRNAs were previously shown to modulate neuronal ...morphogenesis, little is known regarding the regulation of miRNA function. In a large‐scale functional screen, we identified two novel regulators of neuronal miRNA function, Nova1 and Ncoa3. Both proteins are expressed in the nucleus and the cytoplasm of developing hippocampal neurons. We found that Nova1 and Ncoa3 stimulate miRNA function by different mechanisms that converge on Argonaute (Ago) proteins, core components of the miRNA‐induced silencing complex (miRISC). While Nova1 physically interacts with Ago proteins, Ncoa3 selectively promotes the expression of Ago2 at the transcriptional level. We further show that Ncoa3 regulates dendritic complexity and dendritic spine maturation of hippocampal neurons in a miRNA‐dependent fashion. Importantly, both the loss of miRNA activity and increased dendrite complexity upon Ncoa3 knockdown were rescued by Ago2 overexpression. Together, we uncovered two novel factors that control neuronal miRISC function at the level of Ago proteins, with possible implications for the regulation of synapse development and plasticity.
Synopsis
The identification of two novel modulators of miRNA function reveals an additional layer of transcriptional and post‐transcriptional control of Argonaute proteins and adds further insight on the central role for miRNAs in neurogenesis.
Large‐scale RNAi screen identifies novel miRNA regulatory proteins in primary neurons.
Ncoa3 and Nova1 are required for the repressive activity of the spine‐regulating miR‐134.
Nova1 is a general, miRISC‐associated miRNA regulatory RBP in neurons.
Ncoa3 regulates a specific subset of miRNA target interactions involved in the control of dendritogenesis.
Ncoa3‐dependent transcriptional regulation of the miRISC protein Ago2 is required for the control of miRNA activity and dendritogenesis.
The identification of two novel modulators of miRNA function reveals an additional layer of transcriptional and post‐transcriptional control of Argonaute proteins and adds further insight on the central role for miRNAs in neurogenesis.
In terms of its sub-regional differentiation, the hippocampal CA1 region receives cortical information directly via the perforant (temporoammonic) path (pp-CA1 synapse) and indirectly via the ...tri-synaptic pathway where the last relay station is the Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapse (Sc-CA1 synapse). Research to date on pp-CA1 synapses has been conducted predominantly in vitro and never in awake animals, but these studies hint that information processing at this synapse might be distinct to processing at the Sc-CA1 synapse. Here, we characterized synaptic properties and synaptic plasticity at the pp-CA1 synapse of freely behaving adult rats. We observed that field excitatory postsynaptic potentials at the pp-CA1 synapse have longer onset latencies and a shorter time-to-peak compared to the Sc-CA1 synapse. LTP (>24 h) was successfully evoked by tetanic afferent stimulation of pp-CA1 synapses. Low frequency stimulation evoked synaptic depression at Sc-CA1 synapses, but did not elicit LTD at pp-CA1 synapses unless the Schaffer collateral afferents to the CA1 region had been severed. Paired-pulse responses also showed significant differences. Our data suggest that synaptic plasticity at the pp-CA1 synapse is distinct from the Sc-CA1 synapse and that this may reflect its specific role in hippocampal information processing.
Adaptive behaviour necessitates the formation of memories for fearful events, but also that these memories can be extinguished. Effective extinction prevents excessive and persistent reactions to ...perceived threat, as can occur in anxiety and 'trauma- and stressor-related' disorders
. However, although there is evidence that fear learning and extinction are mediated by distinct neural circuits, the nature of the interaction between these circuits remains poorly understood
. Here, through a combination of in vivo calcium imaging, functional manipulations, and slice physiology, we show that distinct inhibitory clusters of intercalated neurons (ITCs) in the mouse amygdala exert diametrically opposed roles during the acquisition and retrieval of fear extinction memory. Furthermore, we find that the ITC clusters antagonize one another through mutual synaptic inhibition and differentially access functionally distinct cortical- and midbrain-projecting amygdala output pathways. Our findings show that the balance of activity between ITC clusters represents a unique regulatory motif that orchestrates a distributed neural circuitry, which in turn regulates the switch between high- and low-fear states. These findings suggest that the ITCs have a broader role in a range of amygdala functions and associated brain states that underpins the capacity to adapt to salient environmental demands.
Optogenetics has become a key method to interrogate the function of neural populations and circuits in the brain. This technique combines the targeted expression of light-activated proteins with ...subsequent manipulation of neural activity by light. Opsins such as Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), which is a light-gated cation-channel, can be fused to or coexpressed with fluorescent proteins to allow for visualization and concurrent activation of neurons and their axonal projections. Via stereotaxic delivery of viral vectors, ChR2 can be constitutively or conditionally expressed in specific neurons in defined brain regions. Subsequently, identified axonal projections can be studied functionally ex vivo in combination with patch-clamp recordings in brain slices. This optogenetic mapping of neural circuitry has enabled the identification and characterization of novel synaptic connections and the detailed investigation of known anatomical connections previously not amenable with electrical stimulation techniques. Here, we describe a protocol for investigating functional properties of local and long-range connectivity in the brain using blue-light activated ChR2 variants and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in acute brain slices.
MicroRNAs and synaptic plasticity—a mutual relationship Aksoy-Aksel, Ayla; Zampa, Federico; Schratt, Gerhard
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences,
09/2014, Volume:
369, Issue:
1652
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are rapidly emerging as central regulators of gene expression in the postnatal mammalian brain. Initial studies mostly focused on the function of specific miRNAs during the ...development of neuronal connectivity in culture, using classical gain- and loss-of-function approaches. More recently, first examples have documented important roles of miRNAs in plastic processes in intact neural circuits in the rodent brain related to higher cognitive abilities and neuropsychiatric disease. At the same time, evidence is accumulating that miRNA function itself is subjected to sophisticated control mechanisms engaged by the activity of neural circuits. In this review, we attempt to pay tribute to this mutual relationship between miRNAs and synaptic plasticity. In particular, in the first part, we summarize how neuronal activity influences each step in the lifetime of miRNAs, including the regulation of transcription, maturation, gene regulatory function and turnover in mammals. In the second part, we discuss recent examples of miRNA function in synaptic plasticity in rodent models and their implications for higher cognitive function and neurological disorders, with a special emphasis on epilepsy as a disorder of abnormal nerve cell activity.
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