Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Mol Brain. 2017 Aug 29;10(1):41. doi: 10.1186/s13041-017-0322-y.
Moesin is a cytoskeletal adaptor protein that plays an important role in modification of the actin cytoskeleton. Rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton drives both neuronal morphogenesis and the structural changes in neurons that are required for long-term memory formation. Moesin has been identified as a candidate memory gene in Drosophila, however, whether it is required for memory formation has not been evaluated. Here, we investigate the role of Moesin in neuronal morphogenesis and in short- and long-term memory formation in the courtship suppression assay, a model of associative memory. We found that both knockdown and overexpression of Moesin led to defects in axon growth and guidance as well as dendritic arborization. Moreover, reduction of Moesin expression or expression of a constitutively active phosphomimetic in the adult Drosophila brain had no effect on short term memory, but prevented long-term memory formation, an effect that was independent of its role in development. These results indicate a critical role for Moesin in both neuronal morphogenesis and long-term memory formation.
Moesin 是一种细胞骨架衔接蛋白，在肌动蛋白细胞骨架的修饰中发挥着重要作用。肌动蛋白细胞骨架的重排既驱动了神经元形态发生，也驱动了神经元的结构变化，而后者是长期记忆形成所必需的。Moesin 已被鉴定为果蝇中的候选记忆基因，然而，它是否是记忆形成所必需的尚未得到评估。在这里，我们在求爱抑制试验中研究了 Moesin 在神经元形态发生和短期及长期记忆形成中的作用，该试验是一种联想记忆模型。我们发现 Moesin 的敲低和过表达都会导致轴突生长和导向以及树突分支的缺陷。此外，在成年果蝇大脑中降低 Moesin 的表达或表达组成性激活的磷酸模拟物对短期记忆没有影响，但阻止了长期记忆的形成，这种作用与其在发育中的作用无关。这些结果表明 Moesin 在神经元形态发生和长期记忆形成中都起着关键作用。
