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The C-terminal of CASY-1/Calsyntenin regulates GABAergic synaptic transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction.

ABSTRACT: The C. elegans ortholog of mammalian calsyntenins, CASY-1, is an evolutionarily conserved type-I transmembrane protein that is highly enriched in the nervous system. Mammalian calsyntenins are strongly expressed at inhibitory synapses, but their role in synapse development and function is still elusive. Here, we report a crucial role for CASY-1 in regulating GABAergic synaptic transmission at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction (NMJ). The shorter isoforms of CASY-1; CASY-1B and CASY-1C, express and function in GABA motor neurons where they regulate GABA neurotransmission. Using pharmacological, behavioral, electrophysiological, optogenetic and imaging approaches we establish that GABA release is compromised at the NMJ in casy-1 mutants. Further, we demonstrate that CASY-1 is required to modulate the transport of GABAergic synaptic vesicle (SV) precursors through a possible interaction with the SV motor protein, UNC-104/KIF1A. This study proposes a possible evolutionarily conserved model for the regulation of GABA synaptic functioning by calsyntenins.

SUBMITTER: Thapliyal S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5864096 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The C-terminal of CASY-1/Calsyntenin regulates GABAergic synaptic transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction.

Thapliyal Shruti S Vasudevan Amruta A Dong Yongming Y Bai Jihong J Koushika Sandhya P SP Babu Kavita K

PLoS genetics 20180312 3

The C. elegans ortholog of mammalian calsyntenins, CASY-1, is an evolutionarily conserved type-I transmembrane protein that is highly enriched in the nervous system. Mammalian calsyntenins are strongly expressed at inhibitory synapses, but their role in synapse development and function is still elusive. Here, we report a crucial role for CASY-1 in regulating GABAergic synaptic transmission at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction (NMJ). The shorter isoforms of CASY-1; CASY-1B and CASY-1C, expres ...[more]

PMID: 29529030

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Project description:Regulation of both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission is critical for proper nervous system function. Aberrant synaptic signaling, including altered excitatory to inhibitory balance, is observed in numerous neurological diseases. The ubiquitin enzyme system controls the abundance of many synaptic proteins and thus plays a key role in regulating synaptic transmission. The Anaphase-Promoting Complex (APC) is a multi-subunit ubiquitin ligase that was originally discovered as a key regulator of protein turnover during the cell cycle. More recently, the APC has been shown to function in postmitotic neurons, where it regulates diverse processes such as synapse development and synaptic transmission at glutamatergic synapses. Here we report that the APC regulates synaptic GABA signaling by acting in motor neurons to control the balance of excitatory (acetylcholine) to inhibitory (GABA) transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Loss-of-function mutants in multiple APC subunits have increased muscle excitation at the NMJ; this phenotype is rescued by expression of the missing subunit in GABA neurons. Quantitative imaging and electrophysiological analyses indicate that APC mutants have decreased GABA release but normal cholinergic transmission. Consistent with this, APC mutants exhibit convulsions in a seizure assay sensitive to reductions in GABA signaling. Previous studies in other systems showed that the APC can negatively regulate the levels of the active zone protein SYD-2 Liprin-α. Similarly, we found that SYD-2 accumulates in APC mutants at GABAergic presynaptic sites. Finally, we found that the APC subunit EMB-27 CDC16 can localize to presynapses in GABA neurons. Together, our data suggest a model in which the APC acts at GABAergic presynapses to promote GABA release and inhibit muscle excitation. These findings are the first evidence that the APC regulates transmission at inhibitory synapses and have implications for understanding nervous system pathologies, such as epilepsy, that are characterized by misregulated GABA signaling.

Dataset Information

The C-terminal of CASY-1/Calsyntenin regulates GABAergic synaptic transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction.

Publications

The C-terminal of CASY-1/Calsyntenin regulates GABAergic synaptic transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction.

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