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Dynamic regulation of small Rho GTPases via serotonin receptors in neurons: Effects on the cytoskeleton, neuronal morphology and functions

Fachliche Zuordnung Molekulare Biologie und Physiologie von Nerven- und Gliazellen
Förderung Förderung von 2012 bis 2018
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 230769568
 
Erstellungsjahr 2019

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

Although the importance of small GTPases of the Rho family, including RhoA, Rac1 and Cdc42 in neuronal morphogenesis and motility is widely accepted, the signalling components involved in the spatiotemporal regulation of the Rho-mediated pathways are not fully characterized. We have previously shown the coupling between 5-HT4R and G13-protein leading to activation of small GTPase RhoA. We have also identified Cdc42 as a downstream effector of the 5-HT7R/G12 signalling pathway. The main goal of the proposal was thus to define molecular mechanisms involved in the dynamic regulation of small GTPases activity via serotonin receptors. Moreover, we planned to investigate the functional role of the receptor-mediated cytoskeleton reorganization for modulation of neuronal morphology, motility and synaptic plasticity. Our additional focus was on the functional role of different Cdc42 isoforms (Cdc2-palm and Cdc42-prenyl) for the morphogenic signalling in neurons. Within this proposal we demonstrated that 5-HT7R/Cdc42 signaling is involved in formation of dendritic spines and synaptogenesis in different types of neurons, including hippocampal, cortical and striatal neurons. In addition to Cdc42, we unraveled involvement of the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) as down-stream effector for the 5‐HT7R‐mediated morphogenic and synaptogenic effects. Moreover, we found that morphogenic properties of 5-HT7R were preserved in other cell types, including dendritic cells, where receptor stimulation affected cellular morphology and motility through the Cdc42-mediated signaling. Searching for molecular mechanisms underlying 5-HT7R-mediated signaling in neurons, we have uncovered a novel signaling pathway involving the 5-HT7R, the main receptor for hyaluronan CD44, the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and Cdc42. Activation of the 5-HT7R resulted in local stimulation of MMP-9, which modulated the activity of CD44 through the proteolytic cleavage of its extracellular domain. This led to enhanced activation of Cdc42 through 5-HT7R. One important physiological consequence of this signaling pathway was an increase in elongation of dendritic spines, leading to modulation of synaptic plasticity. Moreover, we found that the brain-specific isoform of Cdc42 undergoes palmitoylation and prenylation and demonstrated that such dual lipidation plays an important role in induction of dendritic protrusion and formation of dendritic spines in hippocampal neurons. We also made substantial efforts to improve existing and to develop novel microscopy approaches for quantitative analysis of the receptormediated signalling in living neurons. Among others, we developed an approach called “enhanced sectioned imaging property” (eSIP), which allows for precise and reproducible calibration of different microscopic systems.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

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