Clomipramine inhibits dynamin GTPase activity by L-α-phosphatidyl-L-serine stimulation.

Three dynamin isoforms play critical roles in clathrin-dependent endocytosis. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters host cells via clathrin-dependent endocytosis. We previously reported that 3-(3-chloro-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[b,f]azepin-5-yl)-N,N-dimethylpropan-1-amine (clomipramine) inhibits the GTPase activity of dynamin 1, which is in mainly neuron. Therefore, we investigated whether clomipramine inhibits the activity of other dynamin isoforms in this study. We found that, similar to its inhibitory effect on dynamin 1, clomipramine inhibited the l-α-phosphatidyl-l-serine-stimulated GTPase activity of dynamin 2, which is expressed ubiquitously, and dynamin 3, which is expressed in the lung. Inhibition of GTPase activity raises the possibility that clomipramine can suppress SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells.

Distinctive Regulation of Emotional Behaviors and Fear-Related Gene Expression Responses in Two Extended Amygdala Subnuclei With Similar Molecular Profiles.

The central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the lateral division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are the two major nuclei of the central extended amygdala that plays essential roles in threat processing, responsible for emotional states such as fear and anxiety. While some studies suggested functional differences between these nuclei, others showed anatomical and neurochemical similarities. Despite their complex subnuclear organization, subnuclei-specific functional impact on behavior and their underlying molecular profiles remain obscure. We here constitutively inhibited neurotransmission of protein kinase C-δ-positive (PKCδ+) neurons-a major cell type of the lateral subdivision of the CeA (CeL) and the oval nucleus of the BNST (BNSTov)-and found striking subnuclei-specific effects on fear- and anxiety-related behaviors, respectively. To obtain molecular clues for this dissociation, we conducted RNA sequencing in subnuclei-targeted micropunch samples. The CeL and the BNSTov displayed similar gene expression profiles at the basal level; however, both displayed differential gene expression when animals were exposed to fear-related stimuli, with a more robust expression change in the CeL. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular makeup and differential engagement of distinct subnuclei of the extended amygdala, critical for regulation of threat processing.

Cortical transcriptome analysis after spinal cord injury reveals the regenerative mechanism of central nervous system in CRMP2 knock-in mice.

Recent studies have shown that mutation at Ser522 causes inhibition of collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2) phosphorylation and induces axon elongation and partial recovery of the lost sensorimotor function after spinal cord injury (SCI). We aimed to reveal the intracellular mechanism in axotomized neurons in the CRMP2 knock-in (CRMP2KI) mouse model by performing transcriptome analysis in mouse sensorimotor cortex using micro-dissection punching system. Prior to that, we analyzed the structural pathophysiology in axotomized or neighboring neurons after SCI and found that somatic atrophy and dendritic spine reduction in sensorimotor cortex were suppressed in CRMP2KI mice. Further analysis of the transcriptome has aided in the identification of four hemoglobin genes Hba-a1, Hba-a2, Hbb-bs, and Hbb-bt that are significantly upregulated in wild-type mice with concomitant upregulation of genes involved in the oxidative phosphorylation and ribosomal pathways after SCI. However, we observed substantial upregulation in channel activity genes and downregulation of genes regulating vesicles, synaptic function, glial cell differentiation in CRMP2KI mice. Moreover, the transcriptome profile of CRMP2KI mice has been discussed wherein energy metabolism and neuronal pathways were found to be differentially regulated. Our results showed that CRMP2KI mice displayed improved SCI pathophysiology not only via microtubule stabilization in neurons, but also possibly via the whole metabolic system in the central nervous system, response changes in glial cells, and synapses. Taken together, we reveal new insights on SCI pathophysiology and the regenerative mechanism of central nervous system by the inhibition of CRMP2 phosphorylation at Ser522. All these experiments were performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at Waseda University, Japan (2017-A027 approved on March 21, 2017; 2018-A003 approved on March 25, 2018; 2019-A026 approved on March 25, 2019).

Effective microtissue RNA extraction coupled with Smart-seq2 for reproducible and robust spatial transcriptome analysis.

Spatial transcriptomics is useful for understanding the molecular organization of a tissue and providing insights into cellular function in a morphological context. In order to obtain reproducible results in spatial transcriptomics, we have to maintain tissue morphology and RNA molecule stability during the image acquisition and biomolecule collection processes. Here, we developed a tissue processing method for robust and reproducible RNA-seq from tissue microdissection samples. In this method, we suppressed RNA degradation in fresh-frozen tissue specimens by dehydration fixation and effectively collected a small amount of RNA molecules from microdissection samples by magnetic beads. We demonstrated the spatial transcriptome analysis of the mouse liver and brain in serial microdissection samples (100 µm in a diameter and 10 µm in thickness) produced by a microdissection punching system. Using our method, we could prevent RNA degradation at room temperature and effectively produce a sequencing library with Smart-seq2. This resulted in reproducible sequence read mapping in exon regions and the detection of more than 2000 genes compared to non-fixed samples in the RNA-seq analysis. Our method would be applied to various transcriptome analyses, providing the information for region specific gene expression in tissue specimens.

Site-specific gene expression analysis using an automated tissue micro-dissection punching system.

Site-specific gene expression analyses are important for understanding tissue functions. Despite rapid developments in DNA-related technologies, the site-specific analysis of whole genome expression for a tissue remains challenging. Thus, a new tool is required for capturing multiple tissue micro-dissections or single cells while retaining the positional information. Here, we describe the development of such a system, which can pick up micro-dissections by punching a tissue repeatedly in a very short period, e.g., 5 s/sampling cycle. A photo of the punched tissue provides information on the dissected positions, allowing site-specific gene expression analysis. We demonstrate the site-specific analysis of a frozen tissue slice of mouse brain by analyzing many micro-dissections produced from the tissue at a 300-µm pitch. The site-specific analysis provided new insights into the gene expression profiles in a tissue and on tissue functions. The analysis of site-specific whole genome expression may therefore, open new avenues in life science.

Regulation of cargo-selective endocytosis by dynamin 2 GTPase-activating protein girdin.

In clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), specificity and selectivity for cargoes are thought to be tightly regulated by cargo-specific adaptors for distinct cellular functions. Here, we show that the actin-binding protein girdin is a regulator of cargo-selective CME. Girdin interacts with dynamin 2, a GTPase that excises endocytic vesicles from the plasma membrane, and functions as its GTPase-activating protein. Interestingly, girdin depletion leads to the defect in clathrin-coated pit formation in the center of cells. Also, we find that girdin differentially interacts with some cargoes, which competitively prevents girdin from interacting with dynamin 2 and confers the cargo selectivity for CME. Therefore, girdin regulates transferrin and E-cadherin endocytosis in the center of cells and their subsequent polarized intracellular localization, but has no effect on integrin and epidermal growth factor receptor endocytosis that occurs at the cell periphery. Our results reveal that girdin regulates selective CME via a mechanism involving dynamin 2, but not by operating as a cargo-specific adaptor.

Replacement of Arg-386 with Gly in dynamin 1 middle domain reduced GTPase activity and oligomer stability in the absence of lipids.

Dynamin plays an important role in membrane fission during endocytosis, and its middle domain is involved in the formation of functional oligomers. In this study, we found that replacement of Arg-386 with Gly in the middle domain region of dynamin 1 did not affect the intermolecular interactions of dynamin 1 in the presence of phosphatidylserine-liposomes. But, unexpectedly, this variant showed lower guanosine 5'-triphosphatase activity in the absence of phosphatidylserine-liposomes and enhanced monomer formation from oligomers. Our results indicate that GTPase activity in the absence of lipids is important in the dissociation of oligomer complexes, i.e., reduced basal dynamin 1 GTPase activity is associated with instability of dynamin oligomers.

Suppression of dynamin GTPase activity by sertraline leads to inhibition of dynamin-dependent endocytosis.

Dynamin (Dyn) 1 plays a role in recycling of synaptic vesicles, and thus in nervous system function. We previously showed that sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is a mixed-type inhibitor of Dyn 1 with respect to both GTP and L-alpha-phosphatidyl-L-serine (PS) in vitro, and we suggested that it may regulate the neurotransmitter transport by modulating synaptic vesicle endocytosis via inhibition of Dyn 1 GTPase. Here, we investigated the effect of sertraline on endocytosis of marker proteins in human neuroblastoma SH-Sy5Y cells and HeLa cells. Sertraline inhibited endocytosis in both cell lines. Western blotting showed that SH-Sy5Y expresses Dyn 1 and Dyn 2, while HeLa expresses only Dyn 2. GTPase assay showed that sertraline inhibited Dyn 2 as well as Dyn 1. Therefore, the effect of sertraline on endocytosis was mediated by Dyn 2, at least in HeLa cells, as well as by Dyn 1 in cell lines that express it. Moreover, the inhibition mechanism of transferrin (Tf) uptake by sertraline differed from that in cells expressing Dyn 1 K44A, a GTP binding-defective variant, and sertraline did not interfere with the interaction between Dyn 1 and PS-liposomes.

Some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors inhibit dynamin I guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase).

Neuronal dynamin I plays a critical role in the recycling of synaptic vesicles, and thus in nervous system function. We expressed and purified dynamin I to explore potentially clinically useful endocytosis inhibitors and to examine the mechanism of their action. We estimated the IC(50) of nineteen psychotropic drugs for dynamin I. The IC(50) values of two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (sertraline and fluvoxamine) were 7.3+/-1.0 and 14.7+/-1.6 microM, respectively. Kinetic analyses revealed that fluvoxamine is a noncompetitive inhibitor of dynamin I guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) with respect to guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) and a competitive inhibitor with respect to L-phosphatidylserine (PS). Fluvoxamine may compete with PS for binding to the pleckstrin homology domain of dynamin I. On the other hand, sertraline was a mixed type inhibitor with respect to both GTP and PS. Our results indicate that sertraline and fluvoxamine may regulate the transportation of neurotransmitters by modulating synaptic vesicle endocytosis via the inhibition of dynamin I GTPase.