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Primary cilia are critical for Sonic hedgehog-mediated dopaminergic neurogenesis in the embryonic midbrain.

ABSTRACT: Midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons modulate various motor and cognitive functions, and their dysfunction or degeneration has been implicated in several psychiatric diseases. Both Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) and Wnt signaling pathways have been shown to be essential for normal development of mDA neurons. Primary cilia are critical for the development of a number of structures in the brain by serving as a hub for essential developmental signaling cascades, but their role in the generation of mDA neurons has not been examined. We analyzed mutant mouse lines deficient in the intraflagellar transport protein IFT88, which is critical for primary cilia function. Conditional inactivation of Ift88 in the midbrain after E9.0 results in progressive loss of primary cilia, a decreased size of the mDA progenitor domain, and a reduction in mDA neurons. We identified Shh signaling as the primary cause of these defects, since conditional inactivation of the Shh signaling pathway after E9.0, through genetic ablation of Gli2 and Gli3 in the midbrain, results in a phenotype basically identical to the one seen in Ift88 conditional mutants. Moreover, the expansion of the mDA progenitor domain observed when Shh signaling is constitutively activated does not occur in absence of Ift88. In contrast, clusters of Shh-responding progenitors are maintained in the ventral midbrain of the hypomorphic Ift88 mouse mutant, cobblestone. Despite the residual Shh signaling, the integrity of the mDA progenitor domain is severely disturbed, and consequently very few mDA neurons are generated in cobblestone mutants. Our results identify for the first time a crucial role of primary cilia in the induction of mDA progenitors, define a narrow time window in which Shh-mediated signaling is dependent upon normal primary cilia function for this purpose, and suggest that later Wnt signaling-dependent events act independently of primary cilia.

SUBMITTER: Gazea M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5873949 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Primary cilia are critical for Sonic hedgehog-mediated dopaminergic neurogenesis in the embryonic midbrain.

Gazea Mary M Tasouri Evangelia E Tolve Marianna M Bosch Viktoria V Kabanova Anna A Gojak Christian C Kurtulmus Bahtiyar B Novikov Orna O Spatz Joachim J Pereira Gislene G Hübner Wolfgang W Brodski Claude C Tucker Kerry L KL Blaess Sandra S

Developmental biology 20151102 1

Midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons modulate various motor and cognitive functions, and their dysfunction or degeneration has been implicated in several psychiatric diseases. Both Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) and Wnt signaling pathways have been shown to be essential for normal development of mDA neurons. Primary cilia are critical for the development of a number of structures in the brain by serving as a hub for essential developmental signaling cascades, but their role in the generation of mDA neurons ...[more]

PMID: 26542012

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Project description:Background:Primary cilia are small non-motile microtubule and cell membrane protrusions expressed on most vertebrate cells, including cortical and hippocampal neurons. These small organelles serve as sensory structures sampling the extracellular environment and reprogramming the transcriptional machinery in response to environmental change. Primary cilia are decorated with a variety of receptor proteins and are necessary for specific signaling cascades such as the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway. Disrupting cilia structure or function results in a spectrum of diseases collectively referred to as ciliopathies. Common to human ciliopathies is cognitive impairment, a symptom also observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD). One hallmark of AD is accumulation of senile plaques composed of neurotoxic Amyloid-? (A?) peptide. The A? peptide is generated by the proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). We set out to determine if A? affects primary cilia structure and the Shh signaling cascade. Methods:We utilized in vitro cell-based assays in combination with fluorescent confocal microscopy to address our study goals. Shh signaling and cilia structure was studied using two different cell lines, mouse NIH3T3 and human HeLa cells. To investigate how A? levels affect Shh signaling and cilia structure in these cells, we utilized naturally secreted A? as well as synthetic A?. Effects on Shh signaling were assessed by luciferase activity while cilia structure was analyzed by fluorescent microscopy. Results:Here, we report that APP localizes to primary cilia and A? treatment results in distorted primary cilia structure. In addition, we demonstrate that A? treatment interrupts canonical Shh signal transduction. Conclusions:Overall, our study illustrates that A? can alter primary cilia structure suggesting that elevated A? levels, like those observed in AD patients, could have similar effects on neuronal primary cilia in the brain. Additionally, our study suggests that A? impairs the Shh signaling pathway. Together our findings shed light on two novel targets for future AD therapeutics.

Dataset Information

Primary cilia are critical for Sonic hedgehog-mediated dopaminergic neurogenesis in the embryonic midbrain.

Publications

Primary cilia are critical for Sonic hedgehog-mediated dopaminergic neurogenesis in the embryonic midbrain.

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