SUMMARY We report a novel mechanism of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) nucleocytoplasmic export by nuclear envelope budding. During development of Drosophila synapses, a fragment of the Wnt-1 receptor, DFrizzled2, is imported into postsynaptic nuclei where it forms prominent foci. We now show these foci to be composed of large RNP granules harboring synaptic protein transcripts. These RNPs exit the nucleus via a budding mechanism akin to nuclear egress of Herpes-type viruses, a process previously thought to be exclusive to these viruses. During this mechanism, RNP granules bud into the space between the inner and the outer nuclear membranes (the perinuclear space), in a manner dependent on Lamin C, a nuclear protein linked to muscular dystrophies. Like herpes virus nuclear egress, this process requires protein kinase C, which is known to disrupt the lamin through phosphorylation. We suggest that nuclear budding is an endogenous nuclear export pathway for large RNP granules.

Background: Release of microvesicles, including exosomes, is a novel mechanism of intercellular communication. At Drosophila synapses, the transmembrane Wnt-binding protein Evi/Wls is released in vesicles. Results: Evi-exosome release requires Rab11, Syntaxin 1A, and Myosin5. Conclusion: We established an in vivo system to elucidate the mechanisms of exosomal release. Significance: This is the first in vivo characterization of exosomal communication in the nervous system.

SUMMARY A previously unrecognized mechanism by which large ribonucleoprotein (megaRNP) granules exit the nucleus is by budding through the nuclear envelope (NE). This mechanism is akin to the nuclear egress of Herpes-type viruses and is essential for proper synapse development. However, the molecular machinery required to remodel the NE during this process is unknown. Here we identify Torsin, a AAA-ATPase that in humans is linked to dystonia, as a major mediator of primary megaRNP envelopment during NE-budding. In torsin mutants, megaRNPs accumulate within the perinuclear space and the mRNAs contained within fail to reach synaptic sites, preventing normal synaptic protein synthesis, and thus proper synaptic bouton development. These studies begin to establish the cellular machinery underlying the exit of megaRNPs via budding, offer an explanation to the “nuclear blebbing” phenotype found in dystonia models and provide an important link between Torsin and synaptic phenotypes observed in dystonia.

Summary Predator-prey interactions are vital determinants in the natural selection of behavioral traits. However, we have few insights into both the neural mechanisms and the selective advantage of specific behavioral traits. Gentle touch to the anterior half of the body of Caenorhabditis elegans elicits an escape response in which the animal quickly reverses and suppresses exploratory head movements [1]. Even though the C. elegans touch response has provided one of the rare examples of how neural networks translate sensory input to a coordinated motor output [2], the ecological significance of the escape response is unclear. We investigate predator-prey relationships between C. elegans and predacious fungi that catch nematodes using constricting rings as trapping devices. We show that the constricting rings of Drechslerella doedycoides catch early larval stages with a diameter similar to the trap opening. There is a delay between the ring entry and ring closure, which allows the animal to withdraw from the trap before getting caught. Mutants that fail to suppress head movements in response to touch are caught more efficiently than the wild type in constricting fungal rings. Direct competition experiments show that the suppression of head movements in response to touch is an ecologically relevant behavior that allows the C. elegans to smoothly retract from a fungal noose and evade capture. These results suggest that selective pressures imposed by predacious fungi have shaped the evolution of C. elegans escape behavior.

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The mammalian tumor suppressor, phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), inhibits cell growth and survival by dephosphorylating phosphatidylinositol-(3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PI[3,4,5]P3). We have found a homologue of PTEN in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe (ptn1). This was an unexpected finding because yeast (S. pombe and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) lack the class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases that generate PI(3,4,5)P3 in higher eukaryotes. Indeed, PI(3,4,5)P3 has not been detected in yeast. Surprisingly, upon deletion of ptn1 in S. pombe, PI(3,4,5)P3 became detectable at levels comparable to those in mammalian cells, indicating that a pathway exists for synthesis of this lipid and that the S. pombe ptn1, like mammalian PTEN, suppresses PI(3,4,5)P3 levels. By examining various mutants, we show that synthesis of PI(3,4,5)P3 in S. pombe requires the class III phosphoinositide 3-kinase, vps34p, and the phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase, its3p, but does not require the phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate 5-kinase, fab1p. These studies suggest that a pathway for PI(3,4,5)P3 synthesis downstream of a class III phosphoinositide 3-kinase evolved before the appearance of class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases.

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Epidermal growth factor-responsive neural precursor cells were used as donor cells for transplantation into wild-type and myelin-deficient shiverer (shi) mice. The cells engrafted robustly within the CNS following intracerebroventricular and cisternal transplantation in neonatal mice. The cells adopted glial phenotypes, and some functioned as oligodendrocytes, producing myelin basic protein and morphologically normal internodal myelin sheaths. When individual shi mice received two transplants (on post-natal days 1 and 3), donor-derived cells disseminated widely and expressed myelin basic protein in central white matter tracts throughout the brain.