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Biology subjects

Martinez, A. D.

Publications and source records attributed to Martinez, A. D..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Gain-of-function dynamin-2 mutations linked to centronuclear myopathy impair Ca2+-induced exocytosis in human myoblasts

Gain-of-function mutations of dynamin-2, a mechano-GTPase that remodels membrane and actin filaments, cause centronuclear myopathy (CNM), a congenital disease that mainly affects skeletal muscle tissue. Among these mutations, the variants p.A618T and p.S619L lead to gain of function and cause a severe neonatal phenotype. By using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) in immortalized human myoblasts expressing the pH-sensitive fluorescent protein (pHluorin) fused to the insulin-responsive aminopeptidase IRAP as reporter of the GLUT4 vesicle-trafficking, we measured single pHluorin signals to investigate how p.A618T and p.S619L mutations influence exocytosis. We show here that both dynamin-2 mutations significantly reduced the number and durations of pHluorin signals induced by 10 M ionomycin, indicating that in addition to impair exocytosis, they also affect the fusion pore dynamics. These mutations also disrupt the formation of actin filaments, a process that reportedly favors exocytosis. This altered exocytosis might importantly disturb the plasmalemma expression of functional proteins such as the glucose transporter GLUT4 in skeletal muscle cells, impacting the physiology of the skeletal muscle tissue and contributing to the CNM disease.

physiology↗

Long-term Pannexin 1 ablation promotes structural and functional modifications in hippocampal neurons through the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and Rho GTPases activity.

Enhanced activity and overexpression of Pannexin 1 (PANX1) channels contribute to neuronal pathologies, such as epilepsy and Alzheimers disease (AD). In the hippocampus, the PANX1 channels ablation alters glutamatergic neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and memory flexibility. Nevertheless, PANX1-knockout (KO) mice still preserve the ability to learn, suggesting that compensatory mechanisms work to stabilize neuronal activity. Here, we show that the absence of PANX1 in the adult brain promotes a series of structural and functional modifications in KO hippocampal synapses, preserving spontaneous activity. Adult CA1 neurons of KO mice exhibit enhanced excitability, complex dendritic branching, spine maturation, and multiple synaptic contacts compared to the WT condition. These modifications seem to rely on the actin-cytoskeleton dynamics as an increase in actin polymerization and an imbalance between Rac1 and RhoA GTPase activity is observed in the absence of PANX1. Our findings highlight a novel interaction between PANX1, actin, and small Rho GTPases that appear to be relevant for synapse maintenance as a long-term compensatory mechanism for PANX1 deficiency.

neuroscience↗