Project description:Throughout life, neuronal networks in the mammalian neocortex maintain a balance of excitation and inhibition which is essential for neuronal computation. Deviations from a balanced state have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and severe disruptions result in epilepsy. To maintain balance, neuronal microcircuits composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons sense alterations in neural activity and adjust neuronal connectivity and function. Here, we identified a signaling pathway in the adult mouse neocortex that is activated in response to elevated neuronal network activity. Over-activation of excitatory neurons is signaled to the network through the elevation of BMP2, a growth factor well-known for its role as morphogen in embryonic development. BMP2 acts on parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons through the transcription factor SMAD1, which controls an array of glutamatergic synapse proteins and components of peri-neuronal nets. PV interneuron-specific disruption of BMP2-SMAD1 signaling is accompanied by a loss of PV cell glutamatergic innervation, underdeveloped peri-neuronal nets, and decreased excitability. Ultimately, this impairment of PV interneuron functional recruitment disrupts cortical excitation – inhibition balance with mice exhibiting spontaneous epileptic seizures. Our findings suggest that developmental morphogen signaling is re-purposed to stabilize cortical networks in the adult mammalian brain.
Project description:Throughout life, neuronal networks in the mammalian neocortex maintain a balance of excitation and inhibition which is essential for neuronal computation. Deviations from a balanced state have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and severe disruptions result in epilepsy. To maintain balance, neuronal microcircuits composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons sense alterations in neural activity and adjust neuronal connectivity and function. Here, we identified a signaling pathway in the adult mouse neocortex that is activated in response to elevated neuronal network activity. Over-activation of excitatory neurons is signaled to the network through the elevation of BMP2, a growth factor well-known for its role as morphogen in embryonic development. BMP2 acts on parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons through the transcription factor SMAD1, which controls an array of glutamatergic synapse proteins and components of peri-neuronal nets. PV interneuron-specific disruption of BMP2-SMAD1 signaling is accompanied by a loss of PV cell glutamatergic innervation, underdeveloped peri-neuronal nets, and decreased excitability. Ultimately, this impairment of PV interneuron functional recruitment disrupts cortical excitation – inhibition balance with mice exhibiting spontaneous epileptic seizures. Our findings suggest that developmental morphogen signaling is re-purposed to stabilize cortical networks in the adult mammalian brain.
Project description:Throughout life, neuronal networks in the mammalian neocortex maintain a balance of excitation and inhibition which is essential for neuronal computation. Deviations from a balanced state have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and severe disruptions result in epilepsy. To maintain balance, neuronal microcircuits composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons sense alterations in neural activity and adjust neuronal connectivity and function. Here, we identified a signaling pathway in the adult mouse neocortex that is activated in response to elevated neuronal network activity. Over-activation of excitatory neurons is signaled to the network through the elevation of BMP2, a growth factor well-known for its role as morphogen in embryonic development. BMP2 acts on parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons through the transcription factor SMAD1, which controls an array of glutamatergic synapse proteins and components of peri-neuronal nets. PV interneuron-specific disruption of BMP2-SMAD1 signaling is accompanied by a loss of PV cell glutamatergic innervation, underdeveloped peri-neuronal nets, and decreased excitability. Ultimately, this impairment of PV interneuron functional recruitment disrupts cortical excitation – inhibition balance with mice exhibiting spontaneous epileptic seizures. Our findings suggest that developmental morphogen signaling is re-purposed to stabilize cortical networks in the adult mammalian brain.
Project description:Throughout life, neuronal networks in the mammalian neocortex maintain a balance of excitation and inhibition which is essential for neuronal computation. Deviations from a balanced state have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and severe disruptions result in epilepsy. To maintain balance, neuronal microcircuits composed of excitatory and inhibitory neurons sense alterations in neural activity and adjust neuronal connectivity and function. Here, we identified a signaling pathway in the adult mouse neocortex that is activated in response to elevated neuronal network activity. Over-activation of excitatory neurons is signaled to the network through the elevation of BMP2, a growth factor well-known for its role as morphogen in embryonic development. BMP2 acts on parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons through the transcription factor SMAD1, which controls an array of glutamatergic synapse proteins and components of peri-neuronal nets. PV interneuron-specific disruption of BMP2-SMAD1 signaling is accompanied by a loss of PV cell glutamatergic innervation, underdeveloped peri-neuronal nets, and decreased excitability. Ultimately, this impairment of PV interneuron functional recruitment disrupts cortical excitation – inhibition balance with mice exhibiting spontaneous epileptic seizures. Our findings suggest that developmental morphogen signaling is re-purposed to stabilize cortical networks in the adult mammalian brain.
Project description:The dorsoventral gradient of BMP signaling plays an essential role in embryonic patterning, with high BMP signal activating ventral-lateral mesoderm markers directly, and low BMP signal inducing neural tissues. The Zinc finger SWIM domain-containing protein 4 (zswim4) is expressed in the dorsal blastopore lip at the onset of Xenopus gastrula and then enriched at the forming neuroectoderm at mid-gastrula stages. Overexpression of zswim4 in Xenopus embryos causes inhibition of the anterior axis and shortened, curved body, and knockdown or knockout of zswim4 disturbed embryonic body axis formation and head development. The expression of ventral-lateral mesoderm marker genes was reduced after zswim4 overexpression and increased in embryos with zswim4 knockdown. Neural marker genes were repressed in zswim4 morphant. Mechanistically Zswim4 attenuates BMP signal through reducing protein stability of Smad1 in both Xenopus embryos and HEK293T cells. Zswim4 interacts with Smad1 and promotes ubiquitination of Smad1 in HEK293T cells. To identify the interaction partner of Zswim4 in regulating Smad1 stability, we performed SILAC based IP in HEK293T cells, and the precipitates were analyzed by Mass Spectrometry.
Project description:Smad1/5 are transcription factors that engage in BMP-induced transcription. We determined and analyzed Smad1/5 binding sites by ChIP-sequencing. We used expression microarrays to compare the Smad1/5 binding sites identified by ChIP-seq to BMP-induced gene expressions.
Project description:Smad1/5 binding regions were identified by ChIP-seq. HUVECs were treated with BMP for 1.5 h and anti-SMAD1/5 ChIP-seq analyses were performed using Illumina genome analyzer.