title: A CaMKII-NeuroD signaling pathway specifies dendritic morphogenesis.
abstract: The elaboration of dendrites is fundamental to the establishment of neuronal polarity and connectivity, but the mechanisms that underlie dendritic morphogenesis are poorly understood. We found that the genetic knockdown of the transcription factor NeuroD in primary granule neurons including in organotypic cerebellar slices profoundly impaired the generation and maintenance of dendrites while sparing the development of axons. We also found that NeuroD mediated neuronal activity-dependent dendritogenesis. The activity-induced protein kinase CaMKII catalyzed the phosphorylation of NeuroD at distinct sites, including endogenous NeuroD at Ser336 in primary neurons, and thereby stimulated dendritic growth. These findings uncover an essential function for NeuroD in granule neuron dendritic morphogenesis. Our study also defines the CaMKII-NeuroD signaling pathway as a novel mechanism underlying activity-regulated dendritic growth that may play important roles in the developing and mature brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Brice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gaudillière
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Konishi
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de la Iglesia
authors.forename: Gui lan
authors.initials: Gl
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Azad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D016764:Cell Polarity; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010766:Phosphorylation; D034622:RNA Interference; D051381:Rats; D012694:Serine / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012694:Serine; C093564:Neurogenic differentiation factor 1