The RNA-binding protein Nab2 regulates the proteome of the developing Drosophila brain

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et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

RNA binding proteins support neurodevelopment by modulating numerous steps in post-transcriptional regulation, including splicing, export, translation, and turnover of mRNAs that can traffic into axons and dendrites. One such RBP is ZC3H14, which is lost in an inherited intellectual disability. The Drosophila melanogaster ZC3H14 ortholog, Nab2, localizes to neuronal nuclei and cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granules, and is required for olfactory memory and proper axon projection into brain mushroom bodies. Nab2 can act as a translational repressor in conjunction with the Fragile-X mental retardation protein homolog Fmr1 and shares target RNAs with the Fmr1-interacting RBP Ataxin-2. However, neuronal signaling pathways regulated by Nab2 and their potential roles outside of mushroom body axons remain undefined. Here, we demonstrate that Nab2 restricts branching and projection of larval sensory dendrites via the planar cell polarity pathway, and that this link may provide a conserved mechanism through which Nab2/ZC3H14 modulates projection of both axons and dendrites. Planar cell polarity proteins are enriched in a Nab2-regulated brain proteomic dataset. Complementary genetic data indicate that Nab2 guides dendrite and axon growth through the planar-cell-polarity pathway. Analysis of the core planar cell polarity protein Vang, which is depleted in the Nab2 mutant whole-brain proteome, uncovers selective and dramatic loss of Vang within axon/dendrite-enriched brain neuropil relative to brain regions containing cell bodies. Collectively, these data demonstrate that Nab2 regulates dendritic arbors and axon projection by a planar-cell-polarity-linked mechanism and identify Nab2 as required for accumulation of the core planar cell polarity factor Vang in distal neuronal projections.

Section: Global Proteomicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Drosophila RNA binding protein Nab2 patterns dendritic arbors and axons via the planar cell polarity pathway

List

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

The Nab2 RNA-binding protein patterns dendritic and axonal projections through a planar cell polarity-sensitive mechanism

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G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics

et al. 2022

RNA binding proteins support neurodevelopment by modulating numerous steps in post-transcriptional regulation, including splicing, export, translation, and turnover of mRNAs that can traffic into axons and dendrites. One such RBP is ZC3H14, which is lost in an inherited intellectual disability. The Drosophila melanogaster ZC3H14 ortholog, Nab2, localizes to neuronal nuclei and cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granules, and is required for olfactory memory and proper axon projection into brain mushroom bodies. Nab2 can act as a translational repressor in conjunction with the Fragile-X mental retardation protein homolog Fmr1 and shares target RNAs with the Fmr1-interacting RBP Ataxin-2. However, neuronal signaling pathways regulated by Nab2 and their potential roles outside of mushroom body axons remain undefined. Here, we present an analysis of a brain proteomic dataset that indicates that multiple planar cell polarity (PCP) proteins are affected by Nab2 loss, and couple this with genetic data that demonstrate that Nab2 has a previously unappreciated role in restricting the growth and branching of dendrites that elaborate from larval body-wall sensory neurons. Further analysis confirms that Nab2 loss sensitizes sensory dendrites to the genetic dose of PCP components, and that Nab2-PCP genetic interactions are also observed during Nab2-dependent control of axon projection in the central nervous system mushroom bodies. Collectively, these data identify the conserved Nab2 RNA binding protein as a likely component of post-transcriptional mechanisms that limit dendrite growth and branching in Drosophila sensory neurons and genetically link this role to the PCP pathway. Given that mammalian ZC3H14 localizes to dendritic spines and controls spine density in hippocampal neurons, these Nab2-PCP genetic data may highlight a conserved path through which Nab2/ZC3H14 loss affects morphogenesis of both axons and dendrites in diverse species.

The disease-associated proteins Drosophila Nab2 and Ataxin-2 interact with shared RNAs and coregulate neuronal morphology

et al. 2022

Genetics

Nab2 encodes the Drosophila melanogaster member of a conserved family of zinc finger polyadenosine RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) linked to multiple steps in post-transcriptional regulation. Mutation of the Nab2 human ortholog ZC3H14 gives rise to an autosomal recessive intellectual disability but understanding of Nab2/ZC3H14 function in metazoan nervous systems is limited, in part because no comprehensive identification of metazoan Nab2/ZC3H14-associated RNA transcripts has yet been conducted. Moreover, many Nab2/ZC3H14 functional protein partnerships remain unidentified. Here, we present evidence that Nab2 genetically interacts with Ataxin-2 (Atx2), which encodes a neuronal translational regulator, and that these factors coordinately regulate neuronal morphology, circadian behavior, and adult viability. We then present the first high-throughput identifications of Nab2- and Atx2-associated RNAs in Drosophila brain neurons using RNA immunoprecipitation-sequencing (RIP-Seq). Critically, the RNA interactomes of each RBP overlap, and Nab2 exhibits high specificity in its RNA associations in neurons in vivo, associating with a small fraction of all polyadenylated RNAs. The identities of shared associated transcripts (e.g., drk, me31B, stai) and of transcripts specific to Nab2 or Atx2 (e.g., Arpc2 and tea) promise insight into neuronal functions of, and genetic interactions between, each RBP. Consistent with prior biochemical studies, Nab2-associated neuronal RNAs are overrepresented for internal A-rich motifs, suggesting these sequences may partially mediate Nab2 target selection. These data support a model where Nab2 functionally opposes Atx2 in neurons, demonstrate Nab2 shares associated neuronal RNAs with Atx2, and reveal Drosophila Nab2 associates with a more specific subset of polyadenylated mRNAs than its polyadenosine affinity alone may suggest.