Eps8 Regulates Axonal Filopodia in Hippocampal Neurons in Response to Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
Name
Menna-2009-Eps8 Regulates Axonal Filopodia in Hippocampal Neurons in Response to Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).pdf
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1.86 MB
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Author(s)
Matteoli, Michela
Scita, Giorgio
Di Fiore, Pier Paolo
Kreienkamp, Hans-Jürgen
Sawallisch, Corinna
Offenhauser, Nina
Hertzog, Maud
Frittoli, Emanuela
Gelsomino, Giuliana
Schenk, Ursula
Date Issued
June 2009
Journal
PLoS Biology
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Citation
Menna, Elisabetta et al. “Eps8 Regulates Axonal Filopodia in Hippocampal Neurons in Response to Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF).” PLoS Biol 7.6 (2009): e1000138. © 2009 Menna et al.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The regulation of filopodia plays a crucial role during neuronal development and synaptogenesis. Axonal filopodia, which are known to originate presynaptic specializations, are regulated in response to neurotrophic factors. The structural components of filopodia are actin filaments, whose dynamics and organization are controlled by ensembles of actin-binding proteins. How neurotrophic factors regulate these latter proteins remains, however, poorly defined. Here, using a combination of mouse genetic, biochemical, and cell biological assays, we show that genetic removal of Eps8, an actin-binding and regulatory protein enriched in the growth cones and developing processes of neurons, significantly augments the number and density of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP)-dependent axonal filopodia. The reintroduction of Eps8 wild type (WT), but not an Eps8 capping-defective mutant, into primary hippocampal neurons restored axonal filopodia to WT levels. We further show that the actin barbed-end capping activity of Eps8 is inhibited by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) treatment through MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of Eps8 residues S624 and T628. Additionally, an Eps8 mutant, impaired in the MAPK target sites (S624A/T628A), displays increased association to actin-rich structures, is resistant to BDNF-mediated release from microfilaments, and inhibits BDNF-induced filopodia. The opposite is observed for a phosphomimetic Eps8 (S624E/T628E) mutant. Thus, collectively, our data identify Eps8 as a critical capping protein in the regulation of axonal filopodia and delineate a molecular pathway by which BDNF, through MAPK-dependent phosphorylation of Eps8, stimulates axonal filopodia formation, a process with crucial impacts on neuronal development and synapse formation.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
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DOI of Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000138
