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Molecular and Cellular Biology, February 2006, p. 1510-1517, Vol. 26, No. 4
0270-7306/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/MCB.26.4.1510-1517.2006
Pawel G. Ochalski,1,
Chi-Hon Lee,2 and
Brian W. Howell1*
Neurogenetics Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, 35 Convent Dr., Bethesda, Maryland 20892,1 Unit of Neuronal Connectivity, Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Development, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 208922
Received 5 October 2005/ Accepted 9 November 2005
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Mutations that inactivate the Reelin signaling pathway cause anomalies in the organization of several brain regions and the spinal cord (48). Previous genetic and biochemical studies reveal that Reelin function requires the action of two partially redundant receptors, ApoER2 and VLDLR, and the cytoplasmic adaptor protein Dab1 (9, 18). Reelin induces rapid receptor-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of Dab1 within minutes and the slow degradation of Dab1 over several hours (1, 21). The Src family kinases Src, Fyn, and Yes have been implicated in this process, since genetic disruption of these kinases or specific inhibitors against them dramatically reduce Reelin-induced Dab1 phosphorylation and cause defects in neuronal migration in slice culture assays (2, 5, 27). Recently it has been demonstrated that mice lacking Src and Fyn have phenotypes consistent with loss of Reelin signaling (30). In addition, Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation has been suggested to be a critical mediator of the signaling cascade. Mice that express only a tyrosine-to-phenylalanine-substituted Dab1 molecule phenotypically resemble the Reelin- and the Dab1-null mutants (22). Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation has been shown to promote protein interactions between Dab1 and other signaling molecules, such as Nckß, Crk, CrkL, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and LIS1 (3, 4, 6, 8, 26, 40). It is thought that phosphorylation-dependent interactions likely mediate Reelin-regulated Dab1 functions.
A subset of genes that control neuronal migration encode proteins that regulate microtubule motor proteins. The proteins Ndel1, CDK5, Fak, Dcx, and Lis1 have been implicated in the control of nuclear placement, suggesting a significant role for this process in neuronal migration (37, 42, 43, 46, 55). The Lis1 (or Pafah1b1) gene, which was identified as the gene mutated in human lissencephaly type I, encodes a protein that interacts with the dynein motor complex (41, 47). Interestingly, Lis1 homologs in Aspergillus nidulans and Drosophila melanogaster have been shown to regulate nuclear position in a microtubule-dependent manner (10, 45, 54). It remains to be elucidated how these proteins are regulated to control nuclear movements and neuronal positioning.
The Drosophila eye is the only in vivo system in which it has been demonstrated that the action of dynein and kinesin motor proteins regulates nuclear position in postmitotic neurons (52). In addition, requirements for the nuclear lamin Lam Dm(0), the microtubule regulatory protein Klar, the serine threonine kinase Msn, and its substrate protein BicD have been demonstrated (13, 19, 39, 45, 52). Here, we address whether mouse Dab1 controls the molecular machinery that regulates nuclear placement, using the Drosophila visual system as a model. We found that expression of a tyrosine-phosphorylated Dab1 fusion protein partially rescued nuclear positioning defects caused by dominant mutations in Glued, which encodes a subunit of dynactin. We also identified a role for the amyloid precursor protein (APP)-like (APPL) in the compensation for Dab1 overexpression. Together our findings support a model in which Dab1 functions to regulate neuronal positioning through influences on nucleokinesis within postmitotic neurons.
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Scanning electron microscopy. Three-day-old adult female flies were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer and processed as previously described (40).
Larval eye disk dissections and immunostaining. Central nervous system/eye-antennal disk complexes were dissected from third-instar wandering larvae (with 16 to 20 rows of Elav-positive photoreceptor clusters), fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, and stained using anti-Elav 7E8A10 (1:300; Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank [DSHB]), anti-Chaoptin 24B10 (1:100; DSHB), and Alexa Fluor-phalloidin (Molecular Probes). Images were collected on a Zeiss LSM 510 confocal microscope.
Fly histology. The heads from adult female flies were removed using microdissection scissors and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde (Electron Microscopy Sciences). The tissue was then infiltrated with 20% sucrose overnight and frozen in Tissue-Tek OCT compound (Sakura Finetechnical Co.), and 12-µm horizontal sections were cut. The samples were stained with DAPI (4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole), mounted using Vectashield mounting medium (Vector Laboratories), and examined using an inverted DeltaVision system microscope (Applied Precision).
Reelin stimulations of primary neuronal cultures. Reelin- and control-conditioned media were prepared as previously described (40). Primary neuronal cultures were established using forebrains from embryonic day 15.5 embryos from wild-type and human APP (hAPP) transgenic littermates (line APPSWE 2576) as previously described (40). The culture medium was changed 3 to 6 hours prior to stimulation. Reelin time course stimulations were performed by replacing the growth medium with Reelin-conditioned or control-conditioned medium and incubating the cells at 37°C as indicated. To test the effects of the Aß fragment of APP on Reelin stimulation, purified peptide (Biosource) was added to Reelin-conditioned medium at 500 pg/ml, a level that is observed in conditioned media after several hours of culture. The stimulation was stopped on ice by the addition of ice-cold radioimmunoprecipitation assay lysis buffer. Blots were probed with rabbit anti-Dab1 (1:1,000; Biodesign), mouse antiphosphotyrosine 4G10 (1:2,000; Upstate), mouse anti-ß-tubulin E7 (1:100; DSHB), or mouse antiactin AC-15 (1:10,000; Sigma). The autoradiographs were scanned, and bands were quantified using the ImageJ software. Values were normalized to actin.
All mice used to generate cultures in this study were handled under the animal care and use guidelines of the NIH.
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Expression of tyrosine-phosphorylated Dab1 partially rescues the Glued phenotype. The Drosophila Glued mutant provides an ideal model for the analysis of genetic influences on nuclear position in postmitotic neurons. Dominant mutations in Glued produce readily apparent external eye anomalies, which can be used to assess genetic interactions (52). Furthermore, the photoreceptor nuclei migrate into the optic stalk in the Glued mutant. We investigated the consequences of Dab1 expression on the external eye morphology in the Glued mutant as an initial test. We compared the external eye morphology of Drosophila with a dominant negative allele of Glued, Gl1, to that of Gl1 flies expressing Dab1RFP in the photoreceptor cells. As previously demonstrated, Gl1 flies show reductions in eye volume, irregular organization of the ommatidial array, and numerous fusions of ommatidia (Fig. 1A and E) (13). Expression of Dab1RFP on the Gl1 background partially rescues the organization of the ommatidial array, and half the number of fusions were observed (Fig. 1B, F, and I). To determine if the rescue was dependent upon Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation, we examined whether expression of Dab1RFP-5F ameliorated the eye phenotype. Expression of neither Dab1RFP-5F nor RFP alters the appearance of the Gl1 mutant eye or significantly reduces the number of fusions observed (Fig. 1C, D, G, H, and I). The expression level of the phenylalanine-substituted Dab1RFP-5F molecule was similar to that of unsubstituted Dab1 (data available upon request). Taken together, these data suggest that the phosphorylation sites are required for the observed effect on external eye morphology.
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FIG. 1. Expression of tyrosine-phosphorylated Dab1RFP partially rescues the Gl1 external eye phenotype. (A and E) Scanning electron micrograph of an Elav-Gal4/+; +/+; Gl1/+ eye shows the characteristic small rough eye. At higher magnification the ommatidia appear disorganized, with variable sizes and frequent fusions. The bristles are also often duplicated. Bar, 100 µm. Panels E to H are magnified x5 compared to panel A. (B and F) Gl1 flies overexpressing phosphorylated Dab1RFP (UAS-Dab1RFP/Elav-Gal4; +/+; Gl1/+) have fuller and smoother eyes, with a net improvement in the arrangement of ommatidial facets, fewer fusions, and better organized bristles. (C, D, G, and H) Flies expressing a phosphorylation-defective Dab1RFP-5F mutant (Elav-Gal4/+; UAS-Dab1RFP-5F/+; Gl1/+) (C and G) or RFP (UAS-RFP/Elav-Gal4; +/+; Gl1/+) (D and H) on the Gl1 background show no significant improvement of the external eye morphology. (I) The number of fusions in a 156- by 118-µm area of the eye was counted. Five or six animals were examined for each mutant. The data were analyzed by unpaired t tests (*, P < 0.0001; , P = 0.1525; , P = 0.6807). The error bars are standard errors of the means.
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Dab1 expression improves nuclear position in the Glued background. In wild-type larvae, photoreceptor cell clusters are positioned in a highly organized manner with their nuclei anchored in the upper third of the retina (Fig. 2A). As previously described, in Gl1 mutants the majority of photoreceptor cell bodies and nuclei fail to position correctly; instead, numerous nuclei migrate into the optic stalk, with only a thin process remaining in the retina (compare Fig. 2B with A) (52). In Dab1RFP- or Dab1RFP-5F-expressing larvae, Dab1 was observed throughout the cytoplasm of photoreceptor cells (Fig. 2D and data not shown). Moreover, we observed that Dab1RFP expression improves the nuclear position of photoreceptor cells within the imaginal disk (compare Fig. 2B with D and Fig. 3C with D). In particular, we observed fewer nuclei in the lower third of the retina and more nuclei in the upper two-thirds compared to Gl1 mutants in the absence of Dab1RFP expression (Fig. 3G). A large number of nuclei did remain in the optic stalk with Dab1RFP expression. This may reflect confounding problems in the Gl1 mutant photoreceptors that are not rescued by altering the balance of the microtubule motor proteins. This rescue is comparable to rescue observed previously by loss-of-function mutations in the kinesin heavy chain (khc) gene, in both the external eye morphology and the position of nuclei within the retina and optic stalk (52). In contrast to Dab1RFP, expression of Dab1RFP-5F or RFP failed to rescue the photoreceptor position (Fig. 3E, F, and G). This suggests that Dab1 regulates motor proteins that control nuclear placement, in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.
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FIG. 2. Photoreceptor cell differentiation and axonal projection in third-instar imaginal disks. (A) A wild-type third-instar eye disk stained with a photoreceptor-specific antibody (anti-Chaoptin, green), a neuronal nuclear marker (anti-Elav, blue) and phalloidin (red) demonstrates the stereotypical arrangement of photoreceptor clusters in the developing retina. The photoreceptor cell bodies are anchored in the upper two-thirds of the retina, between the actin-rich apical and basal surfaces. The optic stalk is free of nuclei. (B and C) In the Elav/+; +/+; Gl1/+ (B) or UAS-RFP/Elav; +/+; Gl1/+ (C) eye disks, the photoreceptors span the retina but many of the cell bodies and nuclei have migrated into the optic stalk. (D) However, in the UAS-Dab1RFP/Elav; +/+; Gl1/+ imaginal disks, fewer nuclei were observed in the lower one-third of the elongated retinal cells. Dab1RFP expression was observed throughout the cytoplasm of UAS-Dab1RFP/Elav;+/+;Gl1/+ photoreceptor cells (labeled with anti-Dab1 in red, phalloidin in green, and anti-Elav in blue). Bar, 10 µm.
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FIG. 3. Expression of phosphorylated Dab1RFP rescues the nuclear misplacement defect in the Gl1 mutant third-instar eye disk. (A) Wild-type photoreceptor nuclei (labeled with anti-Elav, green) are positioned in clusters under the actin-rich apical surface of the developing retina (red). Note that all nuclei are found in the top two-thirds of the retina and none in the optic stalk (bottom). Bar, 10 µm. (B) Schematic representation of a wild-type eye disk showing the arrangement of photoreceptor cells. MF, morphogenetic furrow; OS, optic stalk. (C) In the Gl1 animal the nuclei are scattered throughout the retina, and many of them migrate in the optic stalk, under the actin-rich basal surface of the retina. (D) Expression of phosphorylated Dab1RFP in the photoreceptor cells under the Elav-Gal4 driver (see Fig. 2) results in fewer nuclei trapped in the lower one-third of the retina and more found in their normal position closer to the apical surface. (E and F) Neither the phosphorylation-defective Dab1RFP-5F mutant (E) nor RFP alone (F) rescued the Gl1 nuclear phenotype. (G) The positions of individual nuclei were measured in four to six animals for each mutant (average of 300 to 500 nuclei per mutant). For each nucleus, the values were presented as a ratio of the total distance between the basal and apical surfaces over the distance of the individual nucleus to the apex. The values were grouped in two bins, with the basal bin (values of 1.5 or less) representing nuclei found in the lower one-third of the retina. The data were analyzed by unpaired t tests (*, P = 0.0353; , P = 0.3673; , P = 0.6201). The error bars are standard errors of the means. WT, wild type.
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APPL deficiency enhances Dab1 overexpression phenotypes. Dab1 also interacts with proteins implicated in kinesin function. Dab1 binds a sequence motif in the C-terminal domain of amyloid precursor protein, YENPTY, which matches the Dab1 PTB domain binding consensus (23, 50). Interestingly, the YENPTY motif is identical between mouse APP and Drosophila APPL proteins. The physical interaction between Dab and APP family members is likely conserved through evolution, since Drosophila Dab interacts with mammalian APP (35). It has recently been shown that both APPL and human APP promote neurite outgrowth in response to injury in the Drosophila central nervous system, suggesting conserved roles for this family of proteins (32). In Drosophila, APPL acts as a kinesin cargo receptor, and interference with its function leads to cargo jam phenotypes (15, 49). Mammalian APP has been suggested to have a similar function; however, this has recently been disputed (15, 28, 31). To examine whether APP family members influence Dab1 function, we generated flies that overexpress Dab1RFP in the visual system on an Appl-deficient genetic background. Broad, high-level expression of Dab1RFP in the developing Drosophila visual system using the strong GMR-Gal4 driver results in a rough eye phenotype (Fig. 4B and F) (40). Appl is expressed in the developing photoreceptor cells, but there is no morphological defect in the visual system of Appl-null flies (33, 34). We observed, however, that expression of Dab1RFP in Appl-deficient flies results in a worsening of the external eye morphology (Fig. 4D and H), characterized by a loss of organization of the ommatidial array and an increase in ommatidial fusions. Therefore in the absence of APPL, flies appear to be less able to compensate for the effects of high-level Dab1RFP expression.
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FIG. 4. Loss of APPL enhances the rough eye phenotype in Dab1RFP-overexpressing flies. (A and E) The scanning electron micrograph of an adult UAS-RFP/GMR-Gal4 control fly shows smooth external eye morphology with a linear array of ommatidial lens facets and interommatidial bristles. Bars, 100 µm (A) and 20 µm (E).(B and F) The UAS-Dab1RFP/GMR-Gal4 eye is rough, with disruptions in the linear arrangement of ommatidial lens facets and occasional fusions. (C and G) On the Appl-deficient background, UAS-RFP/GMR-Gal4 adults do not demonstrate any eye roughening. (D and H) However, expression of UAS-Dab1-RFP/GMR-Gal4 on the Appl-deficient background leads to worsening of the rough eye compared to that in panel B. The eye is characterized by a circular arrangement of the ommatidial lens facets compared to the relatively linear pattern observed in the UAS-Dab1-RFP/GMR-Gal4 flies, as well as more frequent ommatidial fusions.
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FIG. 5. Phosphorylated Dab1RFP alters nuclear or cellular positioning in the adult retina. (A) DAPI staining of control UAS-RFP/GMR-Gal4 eyes shows nuclei forming an arc pattern containing apical and basal nuclei with a nucleus-free region in the middle. Bar, 100 µm. (B) Adult UAS-Dab1RFP/GMR-Gal4 retinas had alterations in the nuclear position of the apical nuclei. (C) Minor disturbances of the outer layer of nuclei were observed in UAS-Dab1RFP-5F/GMR-Gal4 flies. (D) The arrangement of nuclei in UAS-Dab1RFP-158V/GMR-Gal4 flies was similar in severity to the Dab1RFP phenotype. (E) Appl deficiency causes only subtle, localized disturbances of the nuclear rows in Drosophila expressing RFP. (F) However, Appl deficiency in conjunction with the UAS-Dab1RFP/GMR-Gal4 transgenes caused a dramatic increase in the number of misplaced nuclei, with a loss of the central nucleus-free area. (G) The nuclear placement in Dab1RFP-5F-expressing retinas was also more erratic on the Appl mutant background. (H) In contrast, the phenotype of Dab1RFP-158V/GMR-Gal4 was relatively unaltered by Appl deficiency.
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In the above-described experiment, the nuclei were displaced towards the optic stalk by high-level Dab1 expression from the GMR driver, which becomes especially apparent in the Appl mutant background. In contrast, with low-level expression of Dab1 using the Elav driver, the effect was to rescue the nuclei towards the apical pole in the Glued mutant background. Differential effects caused by protein expression level are common in the study of components of the molecular motors. For instance, overexpression of dynamitin, a subunit of dynactin, disrupts dynactin function, while stoichiometric levels are required for function (11). APP overexpression interferes with kinesin function, resulting in a vesicle jam phenotype, which is partially rescued by reduced doses of dynactin (15). Overexpression of various components of the motors apparently sequesters critical subunits away from the complexes, hindering their function. APPL may act to sequester Dab1 and reduce interference with microtubule motor proteins in transgenic flies expressing high levels of Dab1RFP.
Overexpression of APP attenuates Reelin-induced Dab1 phosphorylation in mammalian neurons. One obvious question raised by this work is whether APP family members affect Dab1 function in mammalian systems. In mammals, there are three family members (APP, APLP1, and APLP2) that have recently been demonstrated to influence neuronal positioning. The disruption of all three genes leads to lissencephaly type II, which is distinct from the cortical dysplasia caused by mutations in the components of the Reelin pathway (17). Neither Dab1 nor Reelin levels appear to be significantly altered in these mice. This suggests that APP family proteins are not essential for Reelin activity; however, it does not rule out possible roles for APP in the down-regulation or fine-tuning of Reelin signaling.
To address whether expression levels of APP family members influence Reelin signaling, we compared the response of cortical neurons from embryonic mice that overexpress human APP (25) to the response of normal neurons. Equal numbers of wild-type and hAPP-overexpressing neurons, harvested in parallel from the same litter, were stimulated with control- or Reelin-conditioned medium. Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation was assayed at various times after stimulation. We observed that Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation was induced by Reelin stimulation in both wild-type and hAPP-expressing neurons. However, the hAPP-overexpressing neurons responded less robustly to Reelin, and Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation reached levels that were approximately 30 percent of those observed in wild-type neurons (Fig. 6A and B). These observations suggest that increased levels of APP expression may quench Reelin signaling.
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FIG. 6. APP transgenic neurons respond less robustly to Reelin stimulation. (A) Primary neuronal cultures from embryonic day 15.5 wild-type or hAPP transgenic littermates were stimulated with control (C) or Reelin-enriched (R) medium for 2 to 120 min as indicated. Reelin-induced Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation (pY) was apparent after 2 min of treatment, with a peak at 30 min, followed by signal decrease over the next 1.5 h in wild-type neurons. In contrast, stimulation of hAPP-expressing neurons failed to induce equivalent levels of Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation. Similar time courses and total phosphorylation levels were observed in five paired experiments. (B) Quantification of Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation normalized to actin from the experiment shown in panel A demonstrated that hAPP expression reduces Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation to a value of less than half of that observed from wild-type neurons.
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Recently it has been demonstrated that overexpression of human APP, APLP1, and APLP2 causes phenotypes in Drosophila that are augmented by overexpression of and suppressed by reductions in Drosophila Dab (35). These phenotypes resemble Notch gain-of-function phenotypes in the mechano-sensory organ, and roles for Dab in Notch signaling have been proposed previously (14). Here we found an antagonistic relationship between APP family members and Dab1 function. This relationship could explain observations that despite continued expression of Reelin and the receptors in adult animals, Dab1 tyrosine phosphorylation is dramatically reduced after birth, at times when APP expression levels are increasing (20, 29, 38). In mouse, loss of Dab1 is associated with augmented Tau phosphorylation in some genetic backgrounds. Qualitative trait locus mapping identified a chromosomal region in the in vicinity of APP that correlates with increased Tau phosphorylation (7). It will be interesting to determine if APP and Dab1 interact genetically in mouse and how this influences Reelin signaling and Tau phosphorylation.
Partial rescue of the dominant Glued mutant phenotype by a tyrosine-phosphorylated Dab1 molecule was similar to the rescue by dominant mutations in khc (52). The tyrosine phosphorylation-defective mutant Dab1-5F did not functionally rescue. The most straightforward explanations of this are that Dab1 either acts to enhance Dynein motor function or acts to suppress kinesin function (Fig. 7), in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. It has previously been demonstrated that tyrosine-phosphorylated Dab1 binds to Lis1, an evolutionarily conserved regulatory component of dynein-dynactin motor complexes. It is possible that through the formation of a complex with Lis1, Dab1 is capable of activating the nuclear positioning function of dynein motor proteins.
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FIG. 7. A model for the role of Dab1 in nuclear placement. Enhancement of dynein-dynactin-related activity and suppression of Kinesin function are possible mechanisms by which tyrosine-phosphorylated Dab1 could act to partially rescue the Glued mutant phenotype.
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None of the authors has any financial interests related to this work.
This work was supported by NINDS intramural funds and an HHMI-NIH research scholarship to P.G.O.
These individuals contributed equally to this paper. ![]()
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