Characterization of the role of the CPEB family of RNA-binding proteins in neurodegeneration

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in the elderly. It is associated to a progressive loss of memory, problems in learning and behaviour changes. This disease is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates and intracellular deposits of hyperp...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Anta Rodríguez, Héctor
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:CBUC, CESCA
Repositorio:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/664116
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/664116
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Amyloid beta
TPA
CPEB
Translational control
Synaptic mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation
Beta amiloide
Control traducional
Corte y poliadenilación sinápticos de ARNm
616.8
Descripción
Sumario:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia in the elderly. It is associated to a progressive loss of memory, problems in learning and behaviour changes. This disease is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates and intracellular deposits of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. Both aggregates trigger neuronal apoptosis and glial inflammation, leading to the cognitive decline found in AD patients. Interestingly, the serine protease tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which is induced by Aβ, has been found to play a dual, dose-dependent role in the disease. Physiological levels of tPA confers neuroprotection through plasmin generation and Aβ degradation. In contrast, high doses of tPA activate intracellular signalling pathways in neurons and glial cells, inducing neuronal apoptosis and inflammation. However, the molecular mechanisms that govern the regulation of tPA expression in AD have still not been fully elucidated. In this work, we demonstrate that Aβ-induced tPA expression is regulated by translational control. In particular, our results show that CPEB1 and CPEB4, two members of the cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein (CPEB) family of RNA-binding proteins, control local tPA synthesis in response to Aβ. Specifically, Aβ promotes tPA mRNA translation in the dendritic spines through synaptic polyadenylation and synaptic cleavage and polyadenylation, a mechanism that is impaired in the absence of CPEB1 or CPEB4. Our results also demonstrate that the pre-mRNA 3'-end processing machinery required for the efficient cleavage and polyadenylation of mRNAs is also present in the synaptic terminals. Finally, we have found that, similarly to tPA, CPEB4 is upregulated in the synaptic terminals in response Aβ and in vivo in the brain of AD patients.