Dataset Information

The spinal muscular atrophy with pontocerebellar hypoplasia gene VRK1 regulates neuronal migration through an amyloid-? precursor protein-dependent mechanism.

ABSTRACT: Spinal muscular atrophy with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (SMA-PCH) is an infantile SMA variant with additional manifestations, particularly severe microcephaly. We previously identified a nonsense mutation in Vaccinia-related kinase 1 (VRK1), R358X, as a cause of SMA-PCH. VRK1-R358X is a rare founder mutation in Ashkenazi Jews, and additional mutations in patients of different origins have recently been identified. VRK1 is a nuclear serine/threonine protein kinase known to play multiple roles in cellular proliferation, cell cycle regulation, and carcinogenesis. However, VRK1 was not known to have neuronal functions before its identification as a gene mutated in SMA-PCH. Here we show that VRK1-R358X homozygosity results in lack of VRK1 protein, and demonstrate a role for VRK1 in neuronal migration and neuronal stem cell proliferation. Using shRNA in utero electroporation in mice, we show that Vrk1 knockdown significantly impairs cortical neuronal migration, and affects the cell cycle of neuronal progenitors. Expression of wild-type human VRK1 rescues both proliferation and migration phenotypes. However, kinase-dead human VRK1 rescues only the migration impairment, suggesting the role of VRK1 in neuronal migration is partly noncatalytic. Furthermore, we found that VRK1 deficiency in human and mouse leads to downregulation of amyloid-? precursor protein (APP), a known neuronal migration gene. APP overexpression rescues the phenotype caused by Vrk1 knockdown, suggesting that VRK1 affects neuronal migration through an APP-dependent mechanism.

SUBMITTER: Vinograd-Byk H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6605533 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The spinal muscular atrophy with pontocerebellar hypoplasia gene VRK1 regulates neuronal migration through an amyloid-β precursor protein-dependent mechanism.

Vinograd-Byk Hadar H Sapir Tamar T Cantarero Lara L Lazo Pedro A PA Zeligson Sharon S Lev Dorit D Lerman-Sagie Tally T Renbaum Paul P Reiner Orly O Levy-Lahad Ephrat E

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20150101 3

Spinal muscular atrophy with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (SMA-PCH) is an infantile SMA variant with additional manifestations, particularly severe microcephaly. We previously identified a nonsense mutation in Vaccinia-related kinase 1 (VRK1), R358X, as a cause of SMA-PCH. VRK1-R358X is a rare founder mutation in Ashkenazi Jews, and additional mutations in patients of different origins have recently been identified. VRK1 is a nuclear serine/threonine protein kinase known to play multiple roles in ...[more]

PMID: 25609612

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Project description:Amyloid precursor protein (APP) was originally identified as the source of ?-amyloid peptides that accumulate in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it also has been implicated in the control of multiple aspects of neuronal motility. APP belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of transmembrane proteins that can interact with a variety of adapter and signaling molecules. Recently, we showed that both APP and its insect ortholog [APPL (APP-Like)] directly bind the heterotrimeric G-protein Go?, supporting the model that APP can function as an unconventional Go?-coupled receptor. We also adapted a well characterized assay of neuronal migration in the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, to show that APPL-Go? signaling restricts ectopic growth within the developing nervous system, analogous to the role postulated for APP family proteins in controlling migration within the mammalian cortex. Using this assay, we have now identified Manduca Contactin (MsContactin) as an endogenous ligand for APPL, consistent with previous work showing that Contactins interact with APP family proteins in other systems. Using antisense-based knockdown protocols and fusion proteins targeting both proteins, we have shown that MsContactin is selectively expressed by glial cells that ensheath the migratory neurons (expressing APPL), and that MsContactin-APPL interactions normally prevent inappropriate migration and outgrowth. These results provide new evidence that Contactins can function as authentic ligands for APP family proteins that regulate APP-dependent responses in the developing nervous system. They also support the model that misregulated Contactin-APP interactions might provoke aberrant activation of Go? and its effectors, thereby contributing to the neurodegenerative sequelae that typify AD.Members of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) family participate in many aspects of neuronal development, but the ligands that normally activate APP signaling have remained controversial. This research provides new evidence that members of the Contactin family function as authentic ligands for APP and its orthologs, and that this evolutionarily conserved class of membrane-attached proteins regulates key aspects of APP-dependent migration and outgrowth in the embryonic nervous system. By defining the normal role of Contactin-APP signaling during development, these studies also provide the framework for investigating how the misregulation of Contactin-APP interactions might contribute to neuronal dysfunction in the context of both normal aging and neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease.

Dataset Information

The spinal muscular atrophy with pontocerebellar hypoplasia gene VRK1 regulates neuronal migration through an amyloid-? precursor protein-dependent mechanism.

Publications

The spinal muscular atrophy with pontocerebellar hypoplasia gene VRK1 regulates neuronal migration through an amyloid-β precursor protein-dependent mechanism.

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