Activation of microglia is an early immune response to damage in the brain. Although a key role for Ca2+ as trigger of microglial activation has been considered, little is known about the molecular scenario for regulating Ca2+ homeostasis in these cells. Taking into account the importance of the endoplasmic reticulum as a cellular Ca2+ store, the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+‐ATPase (SERCA2b) is an interesting target to modulate intracellular Ca2+ dynamics. We found upregulation of SERCA2b in activated microglia of human brain with Alzheimer's disease and we further studied the participation of SERCA2b in microglial functions by using the BV2 murine microglial cell line and primary microglia isolated from mouse brain. To trigger microglia activation, we used the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is known to induce an increase of cytosolic Ca2+. Our results showed an upregulated expression of SERCA2b in LPS‐induced activated microglia likely associated to an attempt to restore the increased cytosolic Ca2+ concentration. We analyzed SERCA2b contribution in microglial migration by using the specific SERCA inhibitor thapsigargin in scratch assays. Microglial migration was strongly stimulated with thapsigargin, even more than with LPS‐induction, but delayed in time. However, phagocytic capacity of microglia was blocked in the presence of the SERCA inhibitor, indicating the importance of a tight control of cytosolic Ca2+ in these processes. All together, these results provide for the first time compelling evidence for SERCA2b as a major player regulating microglial functions, affecting migration and phagocytosis in an opposite manner.

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Here we describe the in vivo DNA assembly approach, where molecular cloning procedures are performed using an E. coli recA-independent recombination pathway, which assembles linear fragments of DNA with short homologous termini. This pathway is present in all standard laboratory E. coli strains and, by bypassing the need for in vitro DNA assembly, allows simplified molecular cloning to be performed without the plasmid instability issues associated with specialized recombination-cloning bacterial strains. The methodology requires specific primer design and can perform all standard plasmid modifications (insertions, deletions, mutagenesis, and sub-cloning) in a rapid, simple, and cost-efficient manner, as it does not require commercial kits or specialized bacterial strains. Additionally, this approach can be used to perform complex procedures such as multiple modifications to a plasmid, as up to 6 linear fragments can be assembled in vivo by this recombination pathway. Procedures generally require less than 3 h, involving PCR amplification, DpnI digestion of template DNA, and transformation, upon which circular plasmids are assembled. In this chapter we describe the requirements, procedure, and potential pitfalls when using this technique, as well as protocol variations to overcome the most common issues.

The Neuronal Calcium Sensor 1 and Ric-8A coregulate synapse number and probability of neurotransmitter release. Recently, the structures of Ric-8A bound to Gα have revealed how Ric-8A phosphorylation promotes Gα recognition and activity as a chaperone and guanine nucleotide exchange factor. However, the molecular mechanism by which NCS-1 regulates Ric-8A activity and its interaction with Gα subunits is not well understood. Given the interest in the NCS-1/Ric-8A complex as a therapeutic target in nervous system disorders, it is necessary to shed light on this molecular mechanism of action at atomic level. We have reconstituted NCS-1/Ric-8A complexes to conduct a multimodal approach and determine the sequence of Ca2+signals and phosphorylation events that promote the interaction of Ric-8A with Gα. Our data show that the binding of NCS-1 and Gα to Ric-8A are mutually exclusive. Importantly, NCS-1 induces a profound structural rearrangement in Ric-8A that traps the protein in a conformational state that is inaccessible to Casein Kinase II-mediated phosphorylation, demonstrating one aspect of its negative regulation of Ric-8A-mediated G-protein signaling. Functional experiments indicate a loss of Ric-8A GEF activity towards Gα when complexed with NCS-1, and restoration of nucleotide exchange activity upon increasing Ca2+concentration. Finally, the high-resolution crystallographic data reported here that define the NCS-1/Ric-8A interface will allow the development of therapeutic synapse function regulators with improved activity and selectivity.