Similar Datasets
Project description:Mutations in MECP2 give rise to Rett syndrome (RTT), an X-linked neurodevelop- mental disorder that results in broad cognitive impairments in females. While the exact etiology of RTT symptoms remains unknown, one possible explanation for its clinical presentation is that loss of MeCP2 causes miswiring of neural circuits due to defects in the brain’s capacity to respond to changes in neuronal activity and sensory experience. Here, we show that MeCP2 is phosphorylated at four residues in the brain (S86, S274, T308, and S421) in response to neuronal activity, and we generate a quadruple knock-in (QKI) mouse line in which all four activity-dependent sites are mutated to alanines to prevent phosphorylation. QKI mice do not display overt RTT phenotypes or detectable gene expression changes in two brain regions. However, electrophysiological recordings from the retinogeniculate synapse of QKI mice reveal that while synapse elimination is initially normal at P14, it is significantly compromised at P20. Notably, this phenotype is distinct from the synapse refinement defect previously reported for Mecp2 null mice, where synapses initially refine but then regress after the third postnatal week. We thus propose a model in which activity-induced phosphorylation of MeCP2 is critical for the proper timing of retinogeniculate synapse maturation specifically during the early postnatal period.
2023-10-15 | GSE245024 | GEO
Project description:Mutations in MECP2 give rise to Rett syndrome (RTT), an X-linked neurodevelop- mental disorder that results in broad cognitive impairments in females. While the exact etiology of RTT symptoms remains unknown, one possible explanation for its clinical presentation is that loss of MeCP2 causes miswiring of neural circuits due to defects in the brain’s capacity to respond to changes in neuronal activity and sensory experience. Here, we show that MeCP2 is phosphorylated at four residues in the brain (S86, S274, T308, and S421) in response to neuronal activity, and we generate a quadruple knock-in (QKI) mouse line in which all four activity-dependent sites are mutated to alanines to prevent phosphorylation. QKI mice do not display overt RTT phenotypes or detectable gene expression changes in two brain regions. However, electrophysiological recordings from the retinogeniculate synapse of QKI mice reveal that while synapse elimination is initially normal at P14, it is significantly compromised at P20. Notably, this phenotype is distinct from the synapse refinement defect previously reported for Mecp2 null mice, where synapses initially refine but then regress after the third postnatal week. We thus propose a model in which activity-induced phosphorylation of MeCP2 is critical for the proper timing of retinogeniculate synapse maturation specifically during the early postnatal period.
2023-10-15 | GSE245021 | GEO
Project description:Mutations in MECP2 give rise to Rett syndrome (RTT), an X-linked neurodevelop- mental disorder that results in broad cognitive impairments in females. While the exact etiology of RTT symptoms remains unknown, one possible explanation for its clinical presentation is that loss of MeCP2 causes miswiring of neural circuits due to defects in the brain’s capacity to respond to changes in neuronal activity and sensory experience. Here, we show that MeCP2 is phosphorylated at four residues in the brain (S86, S274, T308, and S421) in response to neuronal activity, and we generate a quadruple knock-in (QKI) mouse line in which all four activity-dependent sites are mutated to alanines to prevent phosphorylation. QKI mice do not display overt RTT phenotypes or detectable gene expression changes in two brain regions. However, electrophysiological recordings from the retinogeniculate synapse of QKI mice reveal that while synapse elimination is initially normal at P14, it is significantly compromised at P20. Notably, this phenotype is distinct from the synapse refinement defect previously reported for Mecp2 null mice, where synapses initially refine but then regress after the third postnatal week. We thus propose a model in which activity-induced phosphorylation of MeCP2 is critical for the proper timing of retinogeniculate synapse maturation specifically during the early postnatal period.
2023-10-15 | GSE245022 | GEO
Project description:Activity-induced MeCP2 phosphorylation regulates retinogeniculate synapse refinement
| PRJNA1026629 | ENA
Project description:Activity-induced MeCP2 phosphorylation regulates retinogeniculate synapse refinement [RNA-Seq]
| PRJNA1026636 | ENA
Project description:Activity-induced MeCP2 phosphorylation regulates retinogeniculate synapse refinement [snRNA-Seq]
| PRJNA1026637 | ENA
Project description:Activity-induced MeCP2 phosphorylation regulates retinogeniculate synapse refinement [ChIP-Seq]
| PRJNA1026635 | ENA
Project description:Mammalian sensory circuits become refined over development in an activity-dependent manner. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons from each eye first map to their target in the geniculate and then segregate into eye-specific layers by the removal and addition of axon branches. Once segregation is complete, robust functional remodeling continues as the number of afferent inputs to each geniculate neuron decreases from many to a few. It is widely assumed that large-scale axon retraction underlies this later phase of circuit refinement. On the contrary, RGC axons remain stable during functional pruning. Instead, presynaptic boutons grow in size and cluster during this process. Moreover, they exhibit dynamic spatial reorganization in response to sensory experience. Surprisingly, axon complexity decreases only after the completion of the thalamic critical period. Therefore, dynamic bouton redistribution along a broad axon backbone represents an unappreciated form of plasticity underlying developmental wiring and rewiring in the CNS.
| S-EPMC4322918 | biostudies-literature
Project description:According to the prevailing view of neural development, sensory pathways develop sequentially in a feedforward manner, whereby each local microcircuit refines and stabilizes before directing the wiring of its downstream target. In the visual system, retinal circuits are thought to mature first and direct refinement in the thalamus, after which cortical circuits refine with experience-dependent plasticity. In contrast, we now show that feedback from cortex to thalamus critically regulates refinement of the retinogeniculate projection during a discrete window in development, beginning at postnatal day 20 in mice. Disrupting cortical activity during this window, pharmacologically or chemogenetically, increases the number of retinal ganglion cells innervating each thalamic relay neuron. These results suggest that primary sensory structures develop through the concurrent and interdependent remodeling of subcortical and cortical circuits in response to sensory experience, rather than through a simple feedforward process. Our findings also highlight an unexpected function for the corticothalamic projection.
| S-EPMC5156570 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mutations in MECP2 underlie the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome (RTT). One hallmark of RTT is relatively normal development followed by a later onset of symptoms. Growing evidence suggests an etiology of disrupted synaptic function, yet it is unclear how these abnormalities explain the clinical presentation of RTT. Here we investigate synapse maturation in Mecp2-deficient mice at a circuit with distinct developmental phases: the retinogeniculate synapse. We find that synapse development in mutants is comparable to that of wild-type littermates between postnatal days 9 and 21, indicating that initial phases of synapse formation, elimination, and strengthening are not significantly affected by MeCP2 absence. However, during the subsequent experience-dependent phase of synapse remodeling, the circuit becomes abnormal in mutants as retinal innervation of relay neurons increases and retinal inputs fail to strengthen further. Moreover, synaptic plasticity in response to visual deprivation is disrupted in mutants. These results suggest a crucial role for Mecp2 in experience-dependent refinement of synaptic circuits.
| S-EPMC3082316 | biostudies-literature