DOI
10.17077/etd.axj80tfm
Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Degree
Fall 2010
Degree Name
PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Degree In
Neuroscience
First Advisor
Strack, Stefan
First Committee Member
Dailey, Michael
Second Committee Member
Usachev, Yuriy
Third Committee Member
Weiner, Joshua
Fourth Committee Member
Wemmie, John
Abstract
Mitochondria are critical for energy production and Ca2+ homeostasis and undergo fission and fusion reactions, perturbation of which can contribute to neuronal injury and disease. Mitochondrial fission is catalyzed by Drp1 (dynamin-related protein 1), a large GTPase tightly controlled by various posttranslational modifications, including phosphorylation. Bβ2 is a neuron-specific postnatally induced protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulatory subunit that mediates PP2A translocation to the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) to promote mitochondrial fragmentation and sensitize neurons to various injuries. Opposing PP2A/Bβ2's effect on mitochondrial morphology and cell death is protein kinase A (PKA) anchored to the OMM via A kinase anchoring protein 1 (AKAP1). This dissertation describes how reversible phosphorylation of Drp1 at a conserved Serine residue by an outer mitochondrial kinase (PKA/AKAP1) and phosphatase complex (PP2A/Bβ2) affects dendrite and synapse development in hippocampal neurons and synaptic plasticity and learning and memory in vivo.
Inducing mitochondria fragmentation decreases dendritic arbor complexity, but increases spine and synapse number. Mitochondrial elongation induces opposite effects. L-carnitine increases mitochondria membrane potential and recapitulates the dendritic and synaptic effects of mitochondrial elongation. Epistasis experiments substantiate our hypothesis that PP2A/Bβ2 dephosphorylates and PKA/AKAP1 phosphorylates Drp1 to change mitochondrial shape and regulate mitochondria localization, dendrite outgrowth, and synapse development.
Bβ2 null mice are viable and fertile, without obvious abnormalities. Bβ2 null mice demonstrate significantly larger cortical and hippocampal neuronal mitochondria than in wildtype. Bβ2 deletion decreases spine number on apical and basal cortical dendrites and hippocampal dendrites. Bβ2 null mice display significantly decreased input/output relationship in the hippocampus, consistent with a decrease in synapse number. In a combined context and cued fear-conditioning protocol, the hippocampal-dependent context recall trial revealed significant deficits in Bβ2 null and heterozygous mice. This deficit is also seen in hippocampal-dependent Barnes maze performance. These results are consistent with the reduced hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) found in Bβ2 null mice and demonstrate the importance of Bβ2 in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory. In conclusion, PP2A/Bβ2 and PKA/AKAP1 have important roles in mitochondria regulation and dendritic and synaptic development as seen in our results in vitro with rat hippocampal cultures and in vivo with Bβ2 null mice.
Keywords
dendrite outgrowth, dynamin-related protein 1, mitochondria, protein kinase A, protein phosphatase 2A, synaptogenesis
Pages
xvi, 120 pages
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 101-120).
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Audrey Dickey
Recommended Citation
Dickey, Audrey Sarah. "Role of pp2a/bβ2 and pka/akap1 in brain development and function via dynamin-related protein 1 (drp1) control of mitochondria shape and bioenergetics." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.axj80tfm
Comments
This thesis has been optimized for improved web viewing. If you require the original version, contact the University Archives at the University of Iowa: https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/contact/.