How important are Rho GTPases in neurosecretion?

International audienc

Impact of multiple insertions of two retroelements, ZAM and Idefix at an euchromatic locus.

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The extracellular matrix glycoprotein Tenascin-C is expressed by oligodendrocyte precursor cells and required for the regulation of maturation rate, survival and responsiveness to platelet-derived growth factor

Analysis of Tenascin-C (TN-C) knockout mice revealed novel roles for this extracellular matrix (ECM) protein in regulation of the developmental programme of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), their maturation into myelinating oligodendrocytes and sensitivity to growth factors. A major component of the ECM of developing nervous tissue, TN-C was expressed in zones of proliferation, migration and morphogenesis. Examination of TN-C knockout mice showed roles for TN-C in control of OPC proliferation and migration towards zones of myelination [E. Garcion et al. (2001) Development, 128, 2485-2496]. Extending our studies of TN-C effects on OPC development we found that OPCs can endogenously express TN-C protein. This expression covered the whole range of possible TN-C isoforms and could be strongly up-regulated by leukaemia inhibitory factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor, cytokines known to modulate OPC proliferation and survival. Comparative analysis of TN-C knockout OPCs with wild-type OPCs reveals an accelerated rate of maturation in the absence of TN-C, with earlier morphological differentiation and precocious expression of myelin basic protein. TN-C knockout OPCs plated on poly-lysine displayed higher levels of apoptosis than wild-type OPCs and there was also an earlier loss of responsiveness to the protective effects of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), indicating that TN-C has anti-apoptotic effects that may be associated with PDGF signalling. The existence of mechanisms to compensate for the absence of TN-C in the knockout is indicated by the development of oligodendrocytes derived from TN-C knockout neurospheres. These were present in equivalent proportions to those found in wild-type neurospheres but displayed enhanced myelin membrane formation

Oligophrenin-1 Connects Exocytotic Fusion to Compensatory Endocytosis in Neuroendocrine Cells

International audienceOligophrenin-1 (OPHN1) is a protein with multiple domains including a Rho family GTPase-activating (Rho-GAP) domain, and a Bin-Amphiphysin-Rvs (BAR) domain. Involved in X-linked intellectual disability, OPHN1 has been reported to control several synaptic functions, including synaptic plasticity, synaptic vesicle trafficking, and endocytosis. In neuroendocrine cells, hormones and neuropep-tides stored in large dense core vesicles (secretory granules) are released through calcium-regulated exocytosis, a process that is tightly coupled to compensatory endocytosis, allowing secretory granule recycling. We show here that OPHN1 is expressed and mainly localized at the plasma membrane and in the cytosol in chromaffin cells from adrenal medulla. Using carbon fiber amperometry, we found that exocytosis is impaired at the late stage of membrane fusion in Ophn1 knockout mice and OPHN1-silenced bovine chromaffin cells. Experiments performed with ectopically expressed OPHN1 mutants indicate that OPHN1 requires its Rho-GAP domain to control fusion pore dynamics. On the other hand, compensatory endocytosis assessed by measuring dopamine-␤-hydroxylase (secretory granule membrane) internalization is severely inhibited in Ophn1 knockout chromaffin cells. This inhibitory effect is mimicked by the expression of a truncated OPHN1 mutant lacking the BAR domain, demonstrating that the BAR domain implicates OPHN1 in granule membrane recapture after exocytosis. These findings reveal for the first time that OPHN1 is a bifunctional protein that is able, through distinct mechanisms, to regulate and most likely link exocytosis to compensatory endocytosis in chromaffin cells

Dynamin-2 Regulates Fusion Pore Expansion and Quantal Release through a Mechanism that Involves Actin Dynamics in Neuroendocrine Chromaffin Cells

<div><p>Over the past years, dynamin has been implicated in tuning the amount and nature of transmitter released during exocytosis. However, the mechanism involved remains poorly understood. Here, using bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, we investigated whether this mechanism rely on dynamin’s ability to remodel actin cytoskeleton. According to this idea, inhibition of dynamin GTPase activity suppressed the calcium-dependent <i>de novo</i> cortical actin and altered the cortical actin network. Similarly, expression of a small interfering RNA directed against dynamin-2, an isoform highly expressed in chromaffin cells, changed the cortical actin network pattern. Disruption of dynamin-2 function, as well as the pharmacological inhibition of actin polymerization with cytochalasine-D, slowed down fusion pore expansion and increased the quantal size of individual exocytotic events. The effects of cytochalasine-D and dynamin-2 disruption were not additive indicating that dynamin-2 and F-actin regulate the late steps of exocytosis by a common mechanism. Together our data support a model in which dynamin-2 directs actin polymerization at the exocytosis site where both, in concert, adjust the hormone quantal release to efficiently respond to physiological demands.</p></div

Calcium-dependent cortical actin polymerization in permeabilized chromaffin cells.

<p>Cultured chromaffin cells were permeabilized in buffer KGEP (mM: 139 K⁺-glutamate, 20 Pipes, 5 EGTA, 2 ATP-Mg and 0.01 free calcium, pH 6.6) during 6 minutes with 20 µM digitonin in the presence of 0.3 µM Alexa-Fluor488-G-actin conjugate (AF488-G-actin), fixed and visualized by confocal microscopy. <b>A:</b> Total F-actin was stained using 1 µM phalloidin-rodhamine B (red) and nuclei were stained with 5 µg/ml DAPI (blue). Note that newly synthesized actin was incorporated into pre-existing cortical filaments. <b>B–C:</b> The new formation of cortical actin filaments was assessed by quantifying AF488-G-actin staining mean intensity at the cell periphery in the presence of increasing free Ca²⁺ concentrations. Note that maximal cortical actin polymerization was observed at a range of 1–10 µM of free Ca^2+. Scale = 10 µm. Data are means of cortical actin fluorescence intensity from at least 12 cells per each Ca²⁺ concentration (12 cells for 0.01 µM Ca²⁺, 13 cells for 0.1 µM Ca²⁺, 15 cells for 1 µM Ca²⁺,and 18 cells for 10 µM Ca²⁺).</p

Amperometric parameters of exocytotic events induced by 10 µM DMPP in cells transfected with pEGFP, UnR-iRNA, iRNADyn2, Dyn2WT or Dyn2K44A.

<p>Data are means ± SEM of averages, where n is the number of cells. Imax corresponds to the spike amplitude.</p>*<p>p<0.05 compared with pEGFP-transfected cells;</p>†<p>p<0.05 compared with Dyn2 WT-transfected cells (Kruskal-Wallis test).</p

Dynamin-2 and actin polymerization regulate the fusion pore expansion and quantal size in BCC.

<p>Chromaffin cells were incubated with 4 µM CytoD during 10 minutes at 37°C. After that the exocytosis was evoked with 10 µM DMPP. <b>A–C:</b> Data show average values ± SEM of Q (A), t_1/2 (B) and foot duration (C) of amperometric spikes induced by 10 µM DMPP in cells transfected with pEGFP (n = 27), Dyn2K44A (n = 13) or iRNADyn2 (n = 16). All amperometric parameter values correspond to the median values of the events from individual cells, which were subsequently averaged per treatment group. Thus, n correspond to the number of cells in each treatment group. Note that the CytoD treatment (grey bars) significantly increased Q, t_1/2 and foot duration of the exocytotic events in cells transfected with pEGFP, without additional effects in cells transfected with Dyn2K44A or iRNADyn2. * p<0.05 compared with the untreated cells (Kruskal-Wallis test).</p

Inhibition of dynamin GTP-ase activity suppresses Ca²⁺-dependent <i>de novo</i> cortical actin polymerization.

<p><b>A:</b> Representative images of F-actin formation in cells permeabilized in the presence of 10 µM free Ca²⁺. Note that no new polymerized cortical actin was observed when the permeabilization was performed in the absence of ATP-Mg (n = 16) or in the presence of 4 µM CytoD (n = 27) or 100 µM dynasore (n = 28) Scale bar = 10 µm <b>B:</b> Quantification of G-actin staining mean intensity at the cell periphery. Data are means of cortical actin fluorescence intensity *p<0.05 compared with cells treated with DMSO (ANOVA).</p

Impaired function or expression of dynamin-2 change F-actin organization pattern.

<p>Cells were transfected with Life-act-ruby (n = 11) or co-transfected with Life-act-ruby and pEGFP (n = 34), iRNA-UnR (n = 9) Dyn2WT (n = 21), Dyn2K44A (n = 31), iRNADyn2 (n = 38) or Eps15ED95/295 (n = 17) plasmids and visualized by TIRF microscopy 48 h later. To evaluate the effects of a pharmacological inhibition of dynamin, cells transfected with Life-act-ruby were treated with 100 µM dynasore (n = 28), or the vehicle DMSO (n = 25) during 1 hr at 37°C. The 81.8% of control cells exhibited a “normal” pattern with clear cortical actin fibers. This value was not significantly different in cells expressing pEGFP (73.6%), iRNA-UnR (88.9%) or Dyn2WT (85.7%) constructs. However, the expression of Dyn2K44A or iRNADyn2, as well as the treatment with dynasore, modified the cortical actin organization and 80.6%, 92.1% and 71.4% of the cells, respectively, exhibited a “punctuate” pattern. The treatment with 4 µM CytoD during 10 minutes at 37°C produced exactly the same effect: 84.6% of the cells displayed a “punctuate” pattern. Eps15ED95/295 expression did not alter actin organization (82.4% of cells exhibited a normal pattern), indicating that dynamin, but not of endocytosis disruption, modified the actin cytoskeleton pattern. Scale bar = 5 µm.</p