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Conserved cellular function and stress‐mediated regulation among members of the proteolipid protein family
Author(s) -
Fernández María E.,
Alfonso Julieta,
Brocco Marcela A.,
Frasch Alberto C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.22298
Subject(s) - proteolipid protein 1 , transmembrane protein , biology , myelin proteolipid protein , microbiology and biotechnology , hippocampal formation , gene isoform , protein family , genetics , neuroscience , gene , myelin , receptor , central nervous system , myelin basic protein
Chronic stress causes morphological alterations in the hippocampus of rodents and tree shrews, including atrophy of CA3 dendrites and loss of synapses. The molecular mechanisms underlying these structural changes remain largely unknown. We have previously identified M6a as a stress responsive gene and shown that M6a is involved in filopodium/spine outgrowth and, likely, synapse formation. M6a belongs to the proteolipid protein (PLP) family, all of their members having four transmembrane domains that allow their localization at the plasma membrane. In the present work, we analyzed other members of this family, the closely related M6b as well as PLP and its splice variant DM20. We found that chronic restraint stress in mice reduces M6b and DM20, but not PLP, mRNA levels in the hippocampus. In addition, M6b and DM20, but again not PLP, induce filopodium formation in primary cultures of hippocampal neurons. Several M6b protein isoforms were studied, all of them having similar effects except for the one lacking the transmembrane domains. Our results reveal a conserved cellular function and a stress‐mediated regulation among members of the proteolipid protein family, suggesting an involvement of proteolipid proteins in the stress response. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.