Biology subjects

Oyama, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Oyama, K..

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Chemogenetic dissection of the primate prefronto-subcortical pathways for working memory and decision-making

The primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) is situated at the core of higher brain functions by linking and cooperating with the caudate nucleus (CD) and mediodorsal thalamus (MD) via neural circuits. However, the distinctive roles of these prefronto-subcortical pathways remain elusive. Combining in vivo neuronal projection mapping with chemogenetic synaptic silencing, we reversibly dissected key pathways from PFC to the CD and MD individually in single monkeys. We found that silencing the bilateral PFC-MD projections, but not the PFC-CD projections, impaired performance in a spatial working memory task. Conversely, silencing the unilateral PFC-CD projection, but not the PFC-MD projection, altered preference in a free-choice task. These results revealed dissociable roles of the prefronto-subcortical pathways in working memory and decision-making, representing the technical advantage of imaging-guided pathway-selective chemogenetic manipulation for dissecting neural circuits underlying cognitive functions in primates.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Genome evolution of a non-parasitic secondary heterotroph, the diatom Nitzschia putrida

Secondary loss of photosynthesis is observed across almost all plastid-bearing branches of the eukaryotic tree of life. However, genome-based insights into the transition from a phototroph into a secondary heterotroph have so far only been revealed for parasitic species. Free-living organisms can yield unique insights into the evolutionary consequence of the loss of photosynthesis, as the parasitic lifestyle requires specific adaptations to host environments. Here we report on the diploid genome of the free-living diatom Nitzschia putrida (35 Mbp), a non-photosynthetic osmotroph whose photosynthetic relatives contribute ca. 40% of net oceanic primary production. Comparative analyses with photosynthetic diatoms revealed that a combination of genes loss, the horizontal acquisition of genes involved in organic carbon degradation, a unique secretome and the rapid divergence of conserved gene families involved in cell wall and extracellular metabolism appear to have facilitated the lifestyle of a non-parasitic, free-living secondary heterotroph.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Heat hypersensitivity of ryanodine receptor type 1 mutants implicated in malignant hyperthermia

Cellular heat-sensing is a universal strategy for avoiding thermal damage and adapting to environments by regulating thermogenic activities. If heat-sensing results in the acceleration of processes governing cellular thermogenesis, hyperthermia can occur. However, how this positive feedback loop contributes to hyperthermia development, especially the gap between heat-sensing and thermogenesis, remains largely unknown. Here, we show that an optically controlled local heat pulse induces an intracellular Ca2+ burst in cultured HEK 293 cells overexpressing ryanodine-receptor-type-1 (RyR1) mutants related to the life-threatening illness malignant hyperthermia (MH), and that the Ca2+ burst originates from heat-induced Ca2+-release (HICR) because of the mutant channels heat hypersensitivity. Furthermore, the heat hypersensitivity of the four RyR1 mutants was ranked, highlighting the complexity of MH. Our findings reveal the novel cellular heat-sensing mechanism, HICR, is essential for the functional positive feedback loop causing MH, suggesting a well-tuned HICR is fundamental for heat-mediated intracellular signaling.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

Single caudate neurons encode temporally discounted value for formulating motivation for action

The term temporal discounting describes both choice preferences and motivation for delayed rewards. Here we show that neuronal activity in the dorsal part of the primate caudate head (dCDh) signals the temporally discounted value needed to compute the motivation for delayed rewards. Macaque monkeys performed an instrumental task, in which visual cues indicated the forthcoming size and delay duration before reward. Single dCDh neurons represented the temporally discounted value without reflecting changes in the animals physiological state. Bilateral pharmacological or chemogenetic inactivation of dCDh markedly distorted the normal task performance based on the integration of reward size and delay, but did not affect the task performance for different reward sizes without delay. These results suggest that dCDh is involved in encoding the integrated multidimensional information critical for motivation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Structural basis for histone variant H3tK27me3 recognition by PHF1 and PHF19

The PRC2 (Polycomb repressive complex 2) complex is a multi-component histone H3K27 methyltransferase, best known for silencing Hox genes during embryonic development. The Polycomb-like proteins PHF1, MTF2 and PHF19 are critical components of PRC2 by stimulating its catalytic activity in embryonic stem (ES) cells. The Tudor domains of PHF1/19 have been previously shown to be readers of H3K36me3 in vitro. However, some other studies suggest that PHF1 and PHF19 co-localize with the H3K27me3 mark, but not H3K36me3 in cells. Here, we provide further evidence that PHF1 co-localizes with H3tK27 in testis, and its Tudor domain preferentially binds to H3tK27me3 over canonical H3K27me3 in vitro. Our complex structures of the Tudor domains of PHF1 and PHF19 with H3tK27me3 shed light on the molecular basis for preferential recognition of H3tK27me3 by PHF1 and PHF19 over canonical H3K27me3, implicating that H3tK27me3 might be a physiological ligand of PHF1/19.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Deschloroclozapine: a potent and selective chemogenetic actuator enables rapid neuronal and behavioral modulations in mice and monkeys

The chemogenetic technology Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) affords remotely reversible control of cellular signaling, neuronal activity and behavior. Although the combination of muscarinic-based DREADDs with clozapine-N-oxide (CNO) has been widely used, sluggish kinetics, metabolic liabilities, and potential off-target effects of CNO represent areas for improvement. Here we provide a new high affinity and selective agonist deschloroclozapine (DCZ) for muscarinic-based DREADDs. Positron emission tomography revealed that DCZ selectively bound to and occupied DREADDs in both mice and monkeys. Systemic delivery of low doses of DCZ (1 or 3 g/kg) enhanced neuronal activity via hM3Dq within minutes in mice and monkeys. Intramuscular injections of DCZ (100 g/kg) reversibly induced spatial working memory deficits in monkeys expressing hM4Di in the prefrontal cortex. DCZ represents the most potent, selective, metabolically stable and fast-acting DREADD agonist reported with utility in both mice and non-human primates for a variety of applications.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Elasticity and Topography-Controlled Collagen Hydrogels Mimicking Native Cellular Milieus

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that the elasticity and topography of a cell culture substrate influence cell behavior, in addition to its chemical composition. However, cellular responses to in vivo extracellular matrix (ECM), a hydrogel of proteins (mainly collagen) with various elasticity and a nanometer-to micrometer-scale topography, remain to be elucidated owing to a lack of substrate that provides such complex cues. This study introduces novel collagen hydrogels that can combine, for the first time, elastic, topographic, and compositional cues that recapitulate native ECM. A simple and reagent-free method based on radiation crosslinking alters ECM-derived collagen solutions into hydrogels with a well-defined and tunable elastic modulus covering the broad range of soft tissues (1-236 kPa) and microtopographies while ensuring intrinsic biological functionality of collagen. These collagen hydrogels enabled investigating cell responses to soft topographic cues such as those encountered in vivo, revealing that topography overrides the elasticity and structurally constrains cell morphology by controlling actin cytoskeleton organization. The collagen hydrogels not only reduce in vivo and in vitro behavioral disparity of cells by mimicking native ECM but also facilitate the design of artificial ECM to control cell function and fate in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2019

Synechocystis KaiC3 displays temperature and KaiB dependent ATPase activity and is important for viability in darkness

Cyanobacteria form a heterogeneous bacterial group with diverse lifestyles, acclimation strategies and differences in the presence of circadian clock proteins. In Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, a unique posttranslational KaiABC oscillator drives circadian rhythms. ATPase activity of KaiC correlates with the period of the clock and mediates temperature compensation. Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 expresses additional Kai proteins, of which KaiB3 and KaiC3 proteins were suggested to fine-tune the standard KaiAB1C1 oscillator. In the present study, we therefore characterized the enzymatic activity of KaiC3 as a representative of non-standard KaiC homologs in vitro. KaiC3 displayed ATPase activity, which were lower compared to the Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 KaiC protein. ATP hydrolysis was temperature-dependent. Hence, KaiC3 is missing a defining feature of the model cyanobacterial circadian oscillator. Yeast two-hybrid analysis showed that KaiC3 interacts with KaiB3, KaiC1 and KaiB1. Further, KaiB3 and KaiB1 reduced in vitro ATP hydrolysis by KaiC3. Spot assays showed that chemoheterotrophic growth in constant darkness is completely abolished after deletion of{Delta} kaiAB1C1 and reduced in the absence of kaiC3. We therefore suggest a role for adaptation to darkness for KaiC3 as well as a crosstalk between the KaiC1 and KaiC3 based systems.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Signaling incentive and drive in the primate ventral pallidum for motivational control of goal-directed action

Processing incentive and drive is essential for control of goal-directed behavior. The limbic part of the basal ganglia has been emphasized in these processes, yet the exact neuronal mechanism has remained elusive. In this study, we examined the neuronal activity of the ventral pallidum (VP) and its upstream area, the rostromedial caudate (rmCD), while two male macaque monkeys performed an instrumental lever-release task, in which a visual cue indicated the forthcoming reward size. We found that the activity of some neurons in VP and rmCD reflected the expected reward-size transiently following the cue. Reward-size coding appeared earlier and stronger in VP than in rmCD. We also found that the activity in these areas was modulated by the satiation level of monkeys, which also occurred more frequently in VP than in rmCD. The information regarding reward-size and satiation-level was independently signaled in the neuronal populations of these areas. The data thus highlighted the neuronal coding of key variables for goal-directed behavior in VP. Furthermore, pharmacological inactivation of VP induced more severe deficit of goal-directed behavior than inactivation of rmCD, which was indicated by abnormal error repetition and diminished satiation effect on the performance. These results suggest that VP encodes incentive value and internal drive, and plays a pivotal role in the control of motivation to promote goal-directed behavior.\n\nSignificance StatementThe limbic part of the basal ganglia has been emphasized in the motivational control of goal-directed action. Here, we investigated how the ventral pallidum (VP) and the rostromedial caudate (rmCD) encode incentive value and internal drive, and control goal-directed behavior. Neuronal recording and subsequent pharmacological inactivation revealed that VP had stronger coding of reward size and satiation level than rmCD. Reward size and satiation level were independently encoded in the neuronal population of these areas. Furthermore, VP inactivation impaired goal-directed behavior more severely than rmCD inactivation. These results highlighted the central role of VP in the motivational control of goal-directed action.

neuroscience↗