Department of Biological Sciences, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208 USA.
Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
Mol Cell Neurosci. 2014 Jan;58:62-75. doi: 10.1016/j.mcn.2013.12.001. Epub 2013 Dec 7.
Regulation of both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission is critical for proper nervous system function. Aberrant synaptic signaling, including altered excitatory to inhibitory balance, is observed in numerous neurological diseases. The ubiquitin enzyme system controls the abundance of many synaptic proteins and thus plays a key role in regulating synaptic transmission. The Anaphase-Promoting Complex (APC) is a multi-subunit ubiquitin ligase that was originally discovered as a key regulator of protein turnover during the cell cycle. More recently, the APC has been shown to function in postmitotic neurons, where it regulates diverse processes such as synapse development and synaptic transmission at glutamatergic synapses. Here we report that the APC regulates synaptic GABA signaling by acting in motor neurons to control the balance of excitatory (acetylcholine) to inhibitory (GABA) transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Loss-of-function mutants in multiple APC subunits have increased muscle excitation at the NMJ; this phenotype is rescued by expression of the missing subunit in GABA neurons. Quantitative imaging and electrophysiological analyses indicate that APC mutants have decreased GABA release but normal cholinergic transmission. Consistent with this, APC mutants exhibit convulsions in a seizure assay sensitive to reductions in GABA signaling. Previous studies in other systems showed that the APC can negatively regulate the levels of the active zone protein SYD-2 Liprin-α. Similarly, we found that SYD-2 accumulates in APC mutants at GABAergic presynaptic sites. Finally, we found that the APC subunit EMB-27 CDC16 can localize to presynapses in GABA neurons. Together, our data suggest a model in which the APC acts at GABAergic presynapses to promote GABA release and inhibit muscle excitation. These findings are the first evidence that the APC regulates transmission at inhibitory synapses and have implications for understanding nervous system pathologies, such as epilepsy, that are characterized by misregulated GABA signaling.
兴奋性和抑制性突触传递的调节对于神经系统的正常功能至关重要。在许多神经疾病中,都观察到异常的突触信号传递,包括兴奋性与抑制性平衡的改变。泛素酶系统控制着许多突触蛋白的丰度,因此在调节突触传递中起着关键作用。有丝分裂后期促进复合物(APC)是一种多亚基泛素连接酶,最初被发现是细胞周期中蛋白质周转的关键调节剂。最近,APC 已被证明在有丝分裂后神经元中发挥作用,在该神经元中,它调节多种过程,如突触发育和谷氨酸能突触的突触传递。在这里,我们报告 APC 通过在运动神经元中发挥作用来调节 GABA 信号传递,从而控制秀丽隐杆线虫神经肌肉接头(NMJ)处兴奋性(乙酰胆碱)与抑制性(GABA)传递的平衡。APC 多个亚基的功能丧失突变体导致 NMJ 处肌肉兴奋增加;这种表型可以通过在 GABA 神经元中表达缺失的亚基来挽救。定量成像和电生理分析表明,APC 突变体 GABA 释放减少,但胆碱能传递正常。与此一致,APC 突变体在一种对 GABA 信号传递减少敏感的癫痫发作测定中表现出惊厥。在其他系统的先前研究表明,APC 可以负调控活性区蛋白 SYD-2 Liprin-α的水平。同样,我们发现 SYD-2 在 GABA 能突触前位点在 APC 突变体中积累。最后,我们发现 APC 亚基 EMB-27 CDC16 可以定位于 GABA 神经元的突触前。总之,我们的数据表明 APC 在 GABA 能突触前发挥作用以促进 GABA 释放并抑制肌肉兴奋的模型。这些发现首次证明 APC 调节抑制性突触的传递,并对理解神经病理学有影响,例如以 GABA 信号传递失调为特征的癫痫。