Expression of long-lasting synaptic plasticity and long-term memory requires new protein synthesis, which can be repressed by phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α subunit (eIF2α). It was reported previously that eIF2α phosphorylation is elevated in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and AD model mice. Therefore, we determined whether suppressing eIF2α kinases could alleviate synaptic plasticity and memory deficits in AD model mice. The genetic deletion of the eIF2α kinase PERK prevented enhanced eIF2α phosphorylation, as well as deficits in protein synthesis, synaptic plasticity, and spatial memory in APP/PS1 AD model mice. Similarly, deletion of another eIF2α kinase, GCN2, prevented impairments of synaptic plasticity and spatial memory defects displayed in the APP/PS1 mice. Our findings implicate aberrant eIF2α phosphorylation as a novel molecular mechanism underlying AD-related synaptic pathophysioloy and memory dysfunction and suggest that PERK and GCN2 are potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of individuals with AD.

Intracellular ISG15 is an interferon (IFN)-α/β-inducible ubiquitin-like modifier which can covalently bind other proteins in a process called ISGylation; it is an effector of IFN-α/β-dependent antiviral immunity in mice1–4. We previously published a study describing humans with inherited ISG15 deficiency but without unusually severe viral diseases5. We showed that these patients were prone to mycobacterial disease and that human ISG15 was non-redundant as an extracellular IFN-γ-inducing molecule. We show here that ISG15-deficient patients also display unanticipated cellular, immunological and clinical signs of enhanced IFN-α/β immunity, reminiscent of the Mendelian autoinflammatory interferonopathies Aicardi–Goutières syndrome and spondyloenchondrodysplasia6–9.We further show that an absence of intracellular ISG15 in the patients’ cells prevents the accumulation of USP1810,11, a potent negative regulator of IFN-α/β signalling, resulting in the enhancement and amplification of IFN-α/β responses. Human ISG15, therefore, is not only redundant for antiviral immunity, but is a key negative regulator of IFN-α/β immunity. In humans, intracellular ISG15 is IFN-α/β-inducible not to serve as a substrate for ISGylation-dependent antiviral immunity, but to ensure USP18-dependent regulation of IFN-α/β and prevention of IFN-α/β-dependent autoinflammation.

The maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP) requires a brief period of accelerated protein synthesis soon after synaptic stimulation, suggesting that an early phase of enhanced translation contributes to stable LTP. The mechanism regulating protein synthesis and the location and identities of mRNAs translated are not well understood. Here, we show in acute brain slices that the induction of protein synthesis-dependent hippocampal LTP increases the expression of elongation factor 1A (eEF1A), the mRNA of which contains a 5Ј terminal oligopyrimidine tract. This effect is blocked by rapamycin, indicating that the increase in EF1A expression is mediated by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. We find that mRNA for eEF1A is present in pyramidal cell dendrites and that the LTP-associated increase in eEF1A expression was intact in dendrites that had been severed from their cell bodies before stimulation. eEF1A levels increased within 5 min after stimulation in a translation-dependent manner, and this effect remained stable for 3 h. These results suggest a mechanism whereby synaptic stimulation, by signaling through the mTOR pathway, produces an increase in dendritic translational capacity that contributes to LTP maintenance.

BackgroundThe mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an evolutionarily conserved Ser/Thr protein kinase that plays a pivotal role in multiple fundamental biological processes, including synaptic plasticity. We explored the relationship between the mTOR pathway and β-amyloid (Aβ)-induced synaptic dysfunction, which is considered to be critical in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methodology/Principal FindingsWe provide evidence that inhibition of mTOR signaling correlates with impairment in synaptic plasticity in hippocampal slices from an AD mouse model and in wild-type slices exposed to exogenous Aβ1-42. Importantly, by up-regulating mTOR signaling, glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitors rescued LTP in the AD mouse model, and genetic deletion of FK506-binding protein 12 (FKBP12) prevented Aβ-induced impairment in long-term potentiation (LTP). In addition, confocal microscopy demonstrated co-localization of intraneuronal Aβ42 with mTOR.Conclusions/SignificanceThese data support the notion that the mTOR pathway modulates Aβ-related synaptic dysfunction in AD.

Protein synthesis is required for persistent forms of synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP).A key regulator of LTP-related protein synthesis is mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which is thought to modulate translational capacity by facilitating the synthesis of particular components of the protein synthesis machinery. Recently, extracellularly regulated kinase (ERK) also was shown to mediate plasticity-related translation, an effect that may involve regulation of the mTOR pathway. We studied the interaction between the mTOR and ERK pathways in hippocampal LTP induced at CA3-CA1 synapses by high-frequency synaptic stimulation (HFS). Within minutes after HFS, the expression of multiple translational proteins, the synthesis of which is under the control of mTOR, increased in area CA1 stratum radiatum. This upregulation was detected in pyramidal cell dendrites and was blocked by inhibitors of the ERK pathway. In addition, ERK mediated the stimulation of mTOR by HFS. The possibility that ERK regulates mTOR by acting at a component further upstream in the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-mTOR pathway was tested by probing the phosphorylation of p90-S6 kinase, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1), and Akt. ERK inhibitors blocked HFS-induced phosphorylation of all three proteins at sites implicated in the regulation of mTOR. Moreover, a component of basal and HFS-induced ERK activity depended on PI3K, indicating that mTOR-mediated protein synthesis in LTP requires coincident and mutually dependent activity in the PI3K and ERK pathways. The role of ERK in regulating PDK1 and Akt, with their extensive effects on cellular function, has important implications for the coordinated response of the neuron to LTP-inducing stimulation.

The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a Ser/Thr kinase that is activated in response to low-energy states to coordinate multiple signaling pathways to maintain cellular energy homeostasis. Dysregulation of AMPK signaling has been observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is associated with abnormal neuronal energy metabolism. In the current study we tested the hypothesis that aberrant AMPK signaling underlies AD-associated synaptic plasticity impairments by using pharmacological and genetic approaches. We found that amyloid ␤ (A␤)-induced inhibition of long-term potentiation (LTP) and enhancement of long-term depression were corrected by the AMPK inhibitor compound C (CC). Similarly, LTP impairments in APP/PS1 transgenic mice that model AD were improved by CC treatment. In addition, A␤-induced LTP failure was prevented in mice with genetic deletion of the AMPK ␣2-subunit, the predominant AMPK catalytic subunit in the brain. Furthermore, we found that eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) and its kinase eEF2K are key downstream effectors that mediate the detrimental effects of hyperactive AMPK in AD pathophysiology. Our findings describe a previously unrecognized role of aberrant AMPK signaling in AD-related synaptic pathophysiology and reveal a potential therapeutic target for AD.

A central question in Alzheimer's disease research is what role synaptic activity plays in the disease process. Synaptic activity has been shown to induce ␤-amyloid peptide release into the extracellular space, and extracellular ␤-amyloid has been shown to be toxic to synapses. We now provide evidence that the well established synaptotoxicity of extracellular ␤-amyloid requires ␥-secretase processing of amyloid precursor protein. Recent evidence supports an important role for intraneuronal ␤-amyloid in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. We show that synaptic activity reduces intraneuronal ␤-amyloid and protects against ␤-amyloid-related synaptic alterations. We demonstrate that synaptic activity promotes the transport of the amyloid precursor protein to synapses using live cell imaging, and that the protease neprilysin is involved in reduction of intraneuronal ␤-amyloid with synaptic activity.

BackgroundThe phosphatase PTEN governs the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway which is arguably the most important pro-survival pathway in neurons. Recently, PTEN has also been implicated in multiple important CNS functions such as neuronal differentiation, plasticity, injury and drug addiction. It has been reported that loss of PTEN protein, accompanied by Akt activation, occurs under excitotoxic conditions (stroke) as well as in Alzheimer's (AD) brains. However the molecular signals and mechanism underlying PTEN loss are unknown.ResultsIn this study, we investigated redox regulation of PTEN, namely S-nitrosylation, a covalent modification of cysteine residues by nitric oxide (NO), and H2O2-mediated oxidation. We found that S-nitrosylation of PTEN was markedly elevated in brains in the early stages of AD (MCI). Surprisingly, there was no increase in the H2O2-mediated oxidation of PTEN, a modification common in cancer cell types, in the MCI/AD brains as compared to normal aged control. Using several cultured neuronal models, we further demonstrate that S-nitrosylation, in conjunction with NO-mediated enhanced ubiquitination, regulates both the lipid phosphatase activity and protein stability of PTEN. S-nitrosylation and oxidation occur on overlapping and distinct Cys residues of PTEN. The NO signal induces PTEN protein degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) through NEDD4-1-mediated ubiquitination.ConclusionThis study demonstrates for the first time that NO-mediated redox regulation is the mechanism of PTEN protein degradation, which is distinguished from the H2O2-mediated PTEN oxidation, known to only inactivate the enzyme. This novel regulatory mechanism likely accounts for the PTEN loss observed in neurodegeneration such as in AD, in which NO plays a critical pathophysiological role.