National Creative Research Initiative Center for Memory, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Sep 18;109(38):15520-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1116224109. Epub 2012 Sep 4.
The consolidation of long-term memory for sensitization and synaptic facilitation in Aplysia requires synthesis of new mRNA including the immediate early gene Aplysia CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (ApC/EBP). After the rapid induction of ApC/EBP expression in response to repeated treatments of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), ApC/EBP mRNA is temporarily expressed in sensory neurons of sensory-to-motor synapses. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the rapid degradation of ApC/EBP transcript is not known. Here, we cloned an AU-rich element (ARE)-binding protein, ApAUF1, which functions as a destabilizing factor for ApC/EBP mRNA. ApAUF1 was found to bind to the 3' UTR of ApC/EBP mRNA that contains AREs and subsequently reduces the expression of ApC/EBP 3' UTR-containing reporter genes. Moreover, overexpression of ApAUF1 inhibited the induction of ApC/EBP mRNA in sensory neurons and also impaired long-term facilitation of sensory-to-motor synapses by repetitive 5-HT treatments. These results provide evidence for a critical role of the posttranscriptional modification of ApC/EBP mRNA during the consolidation of synaptic plasticity.
长时程记忆的巩固对于敏感化和突触易化来说是必需的,在海兔中,这需要新的 mRNA 的合成,包括即刻早期基因 Aplysia CCAAT 增强子结合蛋白(ApC/EBP)。在对 5-羟色胺(5-HT)进行重复处理后,ApC/EBP 表达迅速诱导,ApC/EBP mRNA 暂时在感觉神经元中表达,这些感觉神经元与感觉-运动突触有关。然而,ApC/EBP 转录本快速降解的分子机制尚不清楚。在这里,我们克隆了一个富含 AU 的元件(ARE)结合蛋白 ApAUF1,它作为 ApC/EBP mRNA 的不稳定因子发挥作用。发现 ApAUF1 与含有 ARE 的 ApC/EBP mRNA 的 3'UTR 结合,随后降低含有 ApC/EBP 3'UTR 的报告基因的表达。此外,ApAUF1 的过表达抑制了感觉神经元中 ApC/EBP mRNA 的诱导,也损害了重复 5-HT 处理引起的感觉-运动突触的长时程易化。这些结果为突触可塑性巩固过程中 ApC/EBP mRNA 的转录后修饰提供了证据。