Structural plasticity of dendritic spines is thought to underlie memory formation. Size of a dendritic spine is considered proportional to the size of its postsynaptic density (PSD), number of glutamate receptors and synaptic strength. However, whether this correlation is true for all dendritic spine volumes, and remains stable during synaptic plasticity, is largely unknown. In this study, we take advantage of 3D electron microscopy and reconstruct dendritic spines and cores of PSDs from the stratum radiatum of the area CA1 of organotypic hippocampal slices. We observe that approximately 1/3 of dendritic spines, in a range of medium sizes, fail to reach significant correlation between dendritic spine volume and PSD surface area or PSD-core volume. During NMDA receptor-dependent chemical long-term potentiation (NMDAR-cLTP) dendritic spines and their PSD not only grow, but also PSD area and PSD-core volume to spine volume ratio is increased, and the correlation between the sizes of these two is tightened. Further analysis specified that only spines that contain smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) grow during cLTP, while PSD-cores grow irrespectively of the presence of SER in the spine. Dendritic spines with SER also show higher correlation of the volumetric parameters than spines without SER, and this correlation is further increased during cLTP only in the spines that contain SER. Overall, we found that correlation between PSD surface area and spine volume is not consistent across all spine volumes, is modified and tightened during synaptic plasticity and regulated by SER.
It is generally accepted that formation and storage of memory relies on alterations of the structure and function of brain circuits. However, the structural data, which show learning-induced and long-lasting remodeling of synapses, are still very sparse. Here, we reconstruct 1927 dendritic spines and their postsynaptic densities (PSDs), representing a postsynaptic part of the glutamatergic synapse, in the hippocampal area CA1 of the mice that underwent spatial training. We observe that in young adult (5 months), mice volume of PSDs, but not the volume of the spines, is increased 26 h after the training. The training-induced growth of PSDs is specific for the dendritic spines that lack smooth endoplasmic reticulum and spine apparatuses, and requires autophosphorylation of αCaMKII. Interestingly, aging alters training-induced ultrastructural remodeling of dendritic spines. In old mice, both the median volumes of dendritic spines and PSDs shift after training toward bigger values. Overall, our data support the hypothesis that formation of memory leaves long-lasting footprint on the ultrastructure of brain circuits; however, the form of circuit remodeling changes with age.
For many bacterial respiratory infections, development of (severe) disease is preceded by asymptomatic colonization of the upper airways. For Streptococcus pneumoniae, the transition to severe lower respiratory tract infection is associated with an increase in nasopharyngeal colonization density. Insight into how the mucosal immune system restricts colonization may provide new strategies to prevent clinical symptoms. Several studies have provided indirect evidence that the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) may confer nonspecific protection against respiratory infections. Here, we show that CTB reduces the pneumococcal load in the nasopharynx, which required activation of the caspase-1/11 inflammasome, mucosal T cells, and macrophages. Our findings suggest that CTB-dependent activation of the local innate response synergizes with noncognate T cells to restrict bacterial load. Our study not only provides insight into the immunological components required for containment and clearance of pneumococcal carriage, but also highlights an important yet often understudied aspect of adjuvants.
is a major scaffolding protein of the post-synaptic density (PSD) of a glutamatergic synapse. PSD-95, via interactions with stargazin, anchors AMPA receptors at the synapse and regulates AMPAR currents. The expression of PSD-95 is regulated during synaptic plasticity. It is, however, unknown whether this regulation is required for induction of functional plasticity of glutamatergic synapses. Here, we show that NMDA-induced long-term depression of synaptic transmission (NMDA-LTD) is accompanied by downregulation of PSD-95 protein levels. Using pharmacologic and molecular manipulations, we further demonstrate that the NMDA-induced downregulation of PSD-95 depends on the activation of CaMKII and CaMKII-driven phosphorylation of PSD-95 serine 73. Surprisingly, neither CaMKII activity nor CaMKII-dependent phosphorylation of PSD-95 serine 73 are required for the expression of NMDA-LTD. These results support the hypothesis that synaptic plasticity of AMPARs may occur without dynamic regulation of PSD-95 protein levels. PSD-95 is the major scaffolding protein of a glutamatergic synapse 1 affecting its stability, activity-dependent modifications 2-5 and functional plasticity 6-9. PSD-95 interacts directly with NMDA receptors and with AMPA receptors through an auxiliary protein stargazin 10,11. Interaction of PSD-95 with stargazin regulates synaptic content of AMPARs 10,12,13. In agreement with these findings mice lacking functional PSD-95 protein have greatly enhanced hippocampal, NMDAR-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas NMDAR-dependent long-term depression (LTD) is absent 6. Conversely, overexpression of PSD-95 occludes LTP 7,8 and decreases the threshold for LTD induction 9. Importantly, PSD-95 is a highly dynamic protein. Upon stimulation, PSD-95 is phosphorylated at serine 73 and transiently removed from the dendritic spine in a CaMKII-dependent manner 2. However, inhibition of this process by mutation of serine 73 to alanine does not affect the propensity to induce LTP 2. Sturgill et al. have also shown that NMDA-LTD provokes rapid destabilization of PSD-95 in the spine head 4. It is yet unknown whether LTD-induced elimination of PSD-95 protein from the dendritic spine is necessary for the expression of LTD. Here, using organotypic hippocampal cultures (OHC) we confirmed that PSD-95 protein levels were downregulated in the stratum radiatum of CA1 hippocampal field after induction of NMDA-LTD 4. Since it has been shown that CaMKII-dependent phosphorylation of PSD-95 on serine 73 (PSD-95:Ser73) regulates the binding of PSD-95 to NMDAR 14 and translocation of PSD-95 from activated spines 2 , we checked if CaMKII contributes to LTD-induced downregulation of PSD-95. Using pharmacological manipulations and AAV transfection approach we found that NMDA-LTD-induced downregulation of PSD-95 levels is regulated by CaMKII activity and CaMKII-driven phosphorylation of PSD-95:Ser73. Surprisingly, we also observed that neither CaMKII activity nor CaMKII-dependent phosphorylation of PSD-95:Ser73 are necessary for the ex...
Background. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common inherited muscle disease that leads to severe disability and death in young men. DMD is caused by out-of-frame mutations in the largest known gene, which encodes dystrophin. The loss of DMD gene expression manifests in progressive degeneration and wasting of striated muscles aggravated by sterile inflammation. Current conventional treatments are palliative only, whereas experimental therapeutic approaches focus on the re-expression of dystrophin in myofibers. However, recent studies established that DMD pathology begins already in prenatal development prior to myofiber formation while, in adult muscle, it affects satellite (stem) cells and the proper development of myofibers. Regeneration defects that exacerbate muscle degeneration appear to be a good therapeutic target, as maintaining regeneration would counteract muscle wasting. It is also the only feasible treatment in advanced stages of the disease. Yet, it is unknown whether dystrophic myoblasts, the intermediary between satellite cells and myofibers and effectors of muscle growth and repair, are also affected. Therefore, we investigated whether DMD myoblasts show a dystrophic phenotype. Methods and Findings. Using a combination of transcriptomic, molecular, biochemical, and functional analyses we demonstrate, to our knowledge for the first time, convergent cell-autonomous abnormalities in primary mouse and human dystrophic myoblasts. In Dmdmdx mouse myoblasts lacking full-length dystrophin transcripts, expression of 170 other genes was significantly altered. Myod1 (p=2.9e-21) and key muscle genes controlled by MyoD (Myog, Mymk, Mymx, epigenetic regulators, ECM interactors, calcium signaling and fibrosis genes) were significantly downregulated. Gene ontology enrichment analysis indicated significant alterations in genes involved in muscle development and function. These transcriptomic abnormalities translated into increased proliferation (p=3.0e-3), reduced migration towards both sera-rich (p=3.8e-2) and cytokine-containing medium (p=1.0e-2), and significantly accelerated differentiation in 3D organotypic cultures. These altered myoblast functions are essential for muscle regeneration. The defects were caused by the loss of expression of full-length dystrophin as strikingly similar and not exacerbated alterations were also observed in dystrophin-null Dmdmdx-βgeo myoblasts. Furthermore, corresponding abnormalities were identified in human DMD primary myoblasts and in an established dystrophic mouse muscle (SC5) cell line, confirming universal, cross-species and cell-autonomous nature of this defect. Conclusions. These results, for the first time, demonstrate the disease continuum: DMD defects in satellite cells cause myoblast dysfunctions diminishing muscle regeneration, which is essential to counteract myofiber degeneration. Full-length dystrophins play a critical role in these processes. Contrary to the established belief, our data identify myoblasts as a novel and important therapeutic target for treatment of this lethal disease.
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