Biomedical subjects

Eric F Schmidt

Publications and source records attributed to Eric F Schmidt.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

RanBPM contributes to Semaphorin3A signaling through plexin-A receptors.

Secreted Semaphorin3A (Sema3A) proteins are known to act as diffusible and repellant axonal guidance cues during nervous system development. A receptor complex consisting of a Neuropilin and a Plexin-A mediates their effects. Plexin-A signal transduction has remained poorly defined despite the documented involvement of collapsin response mediator protein and molecule interacting with CasL proteins (MICALs) as mediators of Plexin-A activation. Here, we defined a domain of Plexin-A1 required for Sema3A signaling in a reconstituted environment and then searched for proteins interacting with this domain. RanBPM is shown to physically interact with Plexin-A1, and the RanBPM/Plexin complex is regulated by MICAL expression. Overexpression of RanBPM cooperates with PlexinA1 to reduce non-neuronal cell spreading and strongly inhibit axonal outgrowth in vitro and in vivo. A truncated RanBPM protein blocks Sema3A responsiveness in non-neuronal and neuronal cells. Suppression of RanBPM expression reduces Sema3A responsiveness. Thus, RanBPM is a mediator of Sema3A signaling through Plexin-A. RanBPM has the potential to link Plexin-A receptors to retrograde transport and microtubule function in axonal guidance.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed2003

Structural bases for CRMP function in plexin-dependent semaphorin3A signaling.

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) are cytosolic phosphoproteins involved in neuronal differentiation and axonal guidance. CRMP2 was previously shown to mediate the repulsive effect of Sema3A on axons and to participate in axonal specification. The X-ray crystal structure of murine CRMP1 was determined at 2.1 A resolution and demonstrates that CRMP1 is a bilobed 'lung-shaped' protein forming a tetrameric assembly. Structure-based mutagenesis of surface-exposed residues was employed to map functional domains. As a rapid assay for CRMP, we exploited a reconstituted Sema3A signaling system in COS-7 cells expressing the receptor components Neuropilin1 and PlexinA1 (NP1/PlexA1). In these cells, CRMP and PlexA1 form a physical complex that is reduced in amount by NP1 but enhanced by Sema3A/NP1. Furthermore, CRMP accelerates Sema3A-induced cell contraction. Alanine substitutions in one domain of CRMP1 produce a constitutively active protein that causes Sema3A-independent COS-7 contraction. This mutant CRMP mimics the DRG neurite outgrowth-inhibiting effects of Sema3A and reduces Sema3A-induced axonal repulsion. These data provide a structural view of CRMP function in Plex-dependent Sema3A signaling.

Alanine↗

PubMed2003

Extinction-induced upregulation in AMPA receptors reduces cocaine-seeking behaviour.

Cocaine addiction is thought to involve persistent neurobiological changes that facilitate relapse to drug use despite efforts to abstain. But the propensity for relapse may be reduced by extinction training--a form of inhibitory learning that progressively reduces cocaine-seeking behaviour in the absence of cocaine reward. Here we show that extinction training during withdrawal from chronic cocaine self-administration induces experience-dependent increases in the GluR1 and GluR2/3 subunits of AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate) glutamate receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell, a brain region that is critically involved in cocaine reward. Increases in the GluR1 subunit are positively associated with the level of extinction achieved during training, suggesting that GluR1 may promote extinction of cocaine seeking. Indeed, viral-mediated overexpression of both GluR1 and GluR2 in nucleus accumbens shell neurons facilitates extinction of cocaine- but not sucrose-seeking responses. A single extinction training session, when conducted during GluR subunit overexpression, attenuates stress-induced relapse to cocaine seeking even after GluR overexpression declines. Our findings indicate that extinction-induced plasticity in AMPA receptors may facilitate control over cocaine seeking by restoring glutamatergic tone in the nucleus accumbens, and may reduce the propensity for relapse under stressful situations in prolonged abstinence.

Animals↗