Nuclear ERK1/2 signaling potentiation enhances neuroprotection and cognition via Importinα1/KPNA2.

Cell signaling is central to neuronal activity and its dysregulation may lead to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Here, we show that selective genetic potentiation of neuronal ERK signaling prevents cell death in vitro and in vivo in the mouse brain, while attenuation of ERK signaling does the opposite. This neuroprotective effect mediated by an enhanced nuclear ERK activity can also be induced by the novel cell penetrating peptide RB5. In vitro administration of RB5 disrupts the preferential interaction of ERK1 MAP kinase with importinα1/KPNA2 over ERK2, facilitates ERK1/2 nuclear translocation, and enhances global ERK activity. Importantly, RB5 treatment in vivo promotes neuroprotection in mouse models of Huntington's (HD), Alzheimer's (AD), and Parkinson's (PD) disease, and enhances ERK signaling in a human cellular model of HD. Additionally, RB5-mediated potentiation of ERK nuclear signaling facilitates synaptic plasticity, enhances cognition in healthy rodents, and rescues cognitive impairments in AD and HD models. The reported molecular mechanism shared across multiple neurodegenerative disorders reveals a potential new therapeutic target approach based on the modulation of KPNA2-ERK1/2 interactions.

Stretch-activated ion channel TMEM63B associates with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies and progressive neurodegeneration.

By converting physical forces into electrical signals or triggering intracellular cascades, stretch-activated ion channels allow the cell to respond to osmotic and mechanical stress. Knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying associations of stretch-activated ion channels with human disease is limited. Here, we describe 17 unrelated individuals with severe early-onset developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), intellectual disability, and severe motor and cortical visual impairment associated with progressive neurodegenerative brain changes carrying ten distinct heterozygous variants of TMEM63B, encoding for a highly conserved stretch-activated ion channel. The variants occurred de novo in 16/17 individuals for whom parental DNA was available and either missense, including the recurrent p.Val44Met in 7/17 individuals, or in-frame, all affecting conserved residues located in transmembrane regions of the protein. In 12 individuals, hematological abnormalities co-occurred, such as macrocytosis and hemolysis, requiring blood transfusions in some. We modeled six variants (p.Val44Met, p.Arg433His, p.Thr481Asn, p.Gly580Ser, p.Arg660Thr, and p.Phe697Leu), each affecting a distinct transmembrane domain of the channel, in transfected Neuro2a cells and demonstrated inward leak cation currents across the mutated channel even in isotonic conditions, while the response to hypo-osmotic challenge was impaired, as were the Ca2+ transients generated under hypo-osmotic stimulation. Ectopic expression of the p.Val44Met and p.Gly580Cys variants in Drosophila resulted in early death. TMEM63B-associated DEE represents a recognizable clinicopathological entity in which altered cation conductivity results in a severe neurological phenotype with progressive brain damage and early-onset epilepsy associated with hematological abnormalities in most individuals.

A Superfolder Green Fluorescent Protein-Based Biosensor Allows Monitoring of Chloride in the Endoplasmic Reticulum.

Though the concentration of chloride has been measured in the cytoplasm and in secretory granules of live cells, it cannot be measured within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) due to poor fluorescence of existing biosensors. We developed a fluorescent biosensor composed of a chloride-sensitive superfolder GFP and long Stokes-shifted mKate2 for simultaneous chloride and pH measurements that retained fluorescence in the ER lumen. Using this sensor, we showed that the chloride concentration in the ER is significantly lower than that in the cytosol. This improved biosensor enables dynamic measurement of chloride in the ER and may be useful in other environments where protein folding is challenging.

Neuroinflammation: A Signature or a Cause of Epilepsy?

Epilepsy can be both a primary pathology and a secondary effect of many neurological conditions. Many papers show that neuroinflammation is a product of epilepsy, and that in pathological conditions characterized by neuroinflammation, there is a higher probability to develop epilepsy. However, the bidirectional mechanism of the reciprocal interaction between epilepsy and neuroinflammation remains to be fully understood. Here, we attempt to explore and discuss the relationship between epilepsy and inflammation in some paradigmatic neurological and systemic disorders associated with epilepsy. In particular, we have chosen one representative form of epilepsy for each one of its actual known etiologies. A better understanding of the mechanistic link between neuroinflammation and epilepsy would be important to improve subject-based therapies, both for prophylaxis and for the treatment of epilepsy.

Modelling genetic mosaicism of neurodevelopmental disorders in vivo by a Cre-amplifying fluorescent reporter.

Genetic mosaicism, a condition in which an organ includes cells with different genotypes, is frequently present in monogenic diseases of the central nervous system caused by the random inactivation of the X-chromosome, in the case of X-linked pathologies, or by somatic mutations affecting a subset of neurons. The comprehension of the mechanisms of these diseases and of the cell-autonomous effects of specific mutations requires the generation of sparse mosaic models, in which the genotype of each neuron is univocally identified by the expression of a fluorescent protein in vivo. Here, we show a dual-color reporter system that, when expressed in a floxed mouse line for a target gene, leads to the creation of mosaics with tunable degree. We demonstrate the generation of a knockout mosaic of the autism/epilepsy related gene PTEN in which the genotype of each neuron is reliably identified, and the neuronal phenotype is accurately characterized by two-photon microscopy.

Simultaneous two-photon imaging of intracellular chloride concentration and pH in mouse pyramidal neurons in vivo.

Intracellular chloride ([Cl-]i) and pH (pHi) are fundamental regulators of neuronal excitability. They exert wide-ranging effects on synaptic signaling and plasticity and on development and disorders of the brain. The ideal technique to elucidate the underlying ionic mechanisms is quantitative and combined two-photon imaging of [Cl-]i and pHi, but this has never been performed at the cellular level in vivo. Here, by using a genetically encoded fluorescent sensor that includes a spectroscopic reference (an element insensitive to Cl- and pH), we show that ratiometric imaging is strongly affected by the optical properties of the brain. We have designed a method that fully corrects for this source of error. Parallel measurements of [Cl-]i and pHi at the single-cell level in the mouse cortex showed the in vivo presence of the widely discussed developmental fall in [Cl-]i and the role of the K-Cl cotransporter KCC2 in this process. Then, we introduce a dynamic two-photon excitation protocol to simultaneously determine the changes of pHi and [Cl-]i in response to hypercapnia and seizure activity.

Localization and trafficking of fluorescently tagged ERK1 and ERK2.

The action of ERK1 and ERK2 activity on the nuclear substrates requires crossing the nuclear envelope and the localization of phospho-ERK into the nucleus. The nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking of ERK is therefore crucial for the correct functioning of the pathway. Indeed, this step is necessary for the correct control of gene expression by growth-factors, for morphological transformation of fibroblasts and for neurite extension in PC12. Furthermore, disruption of ERK2 localization in the nucleus severely affects the transduction of ERK2 signaling. This process has now been observed and quantitatively measured by expressing fluorescently tagged ERK1 and ERK2. These experiments provide important insight on the operation of these signaling modules and have revealed an hitherto unknown functional difference between ERK1 and ERK2.

The N-terminal domain of ERK1 accounts for the functional differences with ERK2.

The Extracellular Regulated Kinase 1 and 2 transduce a variety of extracellular stimuli regulating processes as diverse as proliferation, differentiation and synaptic plasticity. Once activated in the cytoplasm, ERK1 and ERK2 translocate into the nucleus and interact with nuclear substrates to induce specific programs of gene expression. ERK1/2 share 85% of aminoacid identity and all known functional domains and thence they have been considered functionally equivalent until recent studies found that the ablation of either ERK1 or ERK2 causes dramatically different phenotypes. To search a molecular justification of this dichotomy we investigated whether the different functions of ERK1 and 2 might depend on the properties of their cytoplasmic-nuclear trafficking. Since in the nucleus ERK1/2 is predominantly inactivated, the maintenance of a constant level of nuclear activity requires continuous shuttling of activated protein from the cytoplasm. For this reason, different nuclear-cytoplasmic trafficking of ERK1 and 2 would cause a differential signalling capability. We have characterised the trafficking of fluorescently tagged ERK1 and ERK2 by means of time-lapse imaging in living cells. Surprisingly, we found that ERK1 shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm at a much slower rate than ERK2. This difference is caused by a domain of ERK1 located at its N-terminus since the progressive deletion of these residues converted the shuttling features of ERK1 into those of ERK2. Conversely, the fusion of this ERK1 sequence at the N-terminus of ERK2 slowed down its shuttling to a similar value found for ERK1. Finally, computational, biochemical and cellular studies indicated that the reduced nuclear shuttling of ERK1 causes a strong reduction of its nuclear phosphorylation compared to ERK2, leading to a reduced capability of ERK1 to carry proliferative signals to the nucleus. This mechanism significantly contributes to the differential ability of ERK1 and 2 to generate an overall signalling output.