The fate of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) during corticogenesis is determined by a complex interplay of genetic or epigenetic components, but the underlying mechanism is incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that Suppressor of Mek null (Smek) interact with methyl-CpG-binding domain 3 (Mbd3) and the complex plays a critical role in self-renewal and neuronal differentiation of NPCs. We found that Smek promotes Mbd3 polyubiquitylation and degradation, blocking recruitment of the repressive Mbd3/nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex at the neurogenesis-associated gene loci, and, as a consequence, increasing acetyl histone H3 activity and cortical neurogenesis. Furthermore, overexpression of Mbd3 significantly blocked neuronal differentiation of NPCs, and Mbd3 depletion rescued neurogenesis defects seen in Smek1/2 knockout mice. These results reveal a novel molecular mechanism underlying Smek/Mbd3/NuRD axis-mediated control of NPCs' self-renewal and neuronal differentiation during mammalian corticogenesis.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001220 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
December 2024
Nanobiology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT, USA.
Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles with remarkable precision in response to presynaptic calcium influx but exhibit significant heterogeneity in exocytosis timing and efficacy based on the recent history of activity. This heterogeneity is critical for information transfer in the brain, yet its molecular basis remains poorly understood. Here, we employ a biochemically-defined fusion assay under physiologically relevant conditions to delineate the minimal protein machinery sufficient to account for various modes of calcium-triggered vesicle fusion dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, West Lafayette, Indiana, IN, USA.
Circuit-based biomarkers distinguishing the gradual progression of Lewy pathology across synucleinopathies remain unknown. Here, we show that seeding of α-synuclein preformed fibrils in mouse dorsal striatum and motor cortex leads to distinct prodromal-phase cortical dysfunction across months. Our findings reveal that while both seeding sites had increased cortical pathology and hyperexcitability, distinct differences in electrophysiological and cellular ensemble patterns were crucial in distinguishing pathology spread between the two seeding sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Growth differentiation factor 15, GDF15, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues act through brainstem neurons that co-localise their receptors, GDNF-family receptor α-like (GFRAL) and GLP1R, to reduce food intake and body weight. However, their use as clinical treatments is partially hampered since both can also induce sickness-like behaviours, including aversion, that are mediated through a well-characterised pathway via the exterolateral parabrachial nucleus. Here, in mice, we describe a separate pathway downstream of GFRAL/GLP1R neurons that involves a distinct population of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) cells in the medial nucleus of the tractus solitarius.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement
December 2024
Department of Pathology, Molecular, and Cell-Based Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD), primary age-related tauopathy (PART), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) all feature hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau)-immunoreactive neurofibrillary degeneration, but differ in neuroanatomical distribution and progression of neurofibrillary degeneration and amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition.
Methods: We used Nanostring GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling to compare the expression of 70 proteins in neurofibrillary tangle (NFT)-bearing and non-NFT-bearing neurons in hippocampal CA1, CA2, and CA4 subregions and entorhinal cortex of cases with autopsy-confirmed AD (n = 8), PART (n = 7), and CTE (n = 5).
Results: There were numerous subregion-specific differences related to Aβ processing, autophagy/proteostasis, inflammation, gliosis, oxidative stress, neuronal/synaptic integrity, and p-tau epitopes among these different disorders.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Biomedical Data Science Group, Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) shows significant sex differences in prevalence and clinical manifestations, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.
Methods: This study used a large-scale, single-cell transcriptomic atlas of the human prefrontal cortex to investigate sex-dependent molecular changes in AD. Our approach combined cell type-specific and sex-specific differential gene expression analysis, pathway enrichment, gene regulatory network construction, and cell-cell communication analysis to identify sex-dependent changes.
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