No abstract

FTY720 (fingolimod), an FDA-approved drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis, has beneficial effects in the CNS that are not yet well understood, independent of its effects on immune cell trafficking. We show that FTY720 enters the nucleus, where it is phosphorylated by sphingosine kinase 2 (SphK2), and that nuclear FTY720-P binds and inhibits class I histone deacetylases (HDACs), enhancing specific histone acetylations. FTY720 is also phosphorylated in mice and accumulates in the brain, including the hippocampus, inhibits HDACs and enhances histone acetylation and gene expression programs associated with memory and learning, and rescues memory deficits independently of its immunosuppressive actions. Sphk2−/− mice have lower levels of hippocampal sphingosine-1-phosphate, an endogenous HDAC inhibitor, and reduced histone acetylation, and display deficits in spatial memory and impaired contextual fear extinction. Thus, sphingosine-1-phosphate and SphK2 play specific roles in memory functions and FTY720 may be a useful adjuvant therapy to facilitate extinction of aversive memories.

Molecules comprising the extracellular matrix (ECM), and the family of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that regulate them, perform essential functions during neuroplasticity in both developing and adult nervous systems, including substrate guidance during neuritogenesis and the establishment of boundaries for axonal terminal fields. MMP proteolysis of ECM molecules may perform a permissive or inductive role in fiber remodeling and synaptogenesis initiated by deafferentation. This study examined functional and structural effects of MMP inhibition during the early phases of deafferentation-induced sprouting, characterizing components of the degeneration/proliferation cycle that may be dependent on MMP activity. Adult rats received unilateral lesions of the entorhinal cortex to induce collateral sprouting of the crossed temporodentate fiber pathway. This was followed by intraventricular infusion of the MMP inhibitor FN-439 (2.9 mg/kg) or saline vehicle. After 7 d postlesion, rats underwent in vivo electrophysiological recording or histological processing for electron microscopic analysis. Lesioned rats receiving vehicle exhibited normal sprouting and synaptogenesis, with the emergence of the capacity for long-term potentiation (LTP) within the sprouting pathway, and the successful clearance of degenerating terminals with subsequent synaptic proliferation. In contrast, lesioned rats receiving the MMP inhibitor failed to develop the capacity for LTP and showed persistent cellular debris. Current source density analysis also revealed an FN-439-induced disruption of the current sink, normally localized to the middle region of the granule cell dendrites, corresponding to the terminal field of the crossed temporodentate fibers. These results establish a role for MMP-dependent processes in the deafferentation/sprouting cycle.

Previous studies have demonstrated that polyribosomes are selectively positioned beneath postsynaptic sites on CNS neurons. In spine-bearing neurons, these polyribosomes are selectively localized at the base of the spines, and occasionally within spine heads. The present study evaluates whether there are relationships between the polyribosomes and other organelles of the postsynaptic cytoplasm, including membranous cisterns and spine apparatuses. Dendritic spines from the dentate gyrus and hippocampus of the rat were analyzed at the electron-microscopic level in 2 ways. First, relatively thick sections were prepared for electron microscopy, and spines were photographed in stereo using a goniometer stage. Second, conventional serial thin sections were taken, and spines were reconstructed. From the stereo photographs and serial reconstructions, we determined the proportion of polyribosomes that was associated with membranous cisterns. We also counted the number of ribosomes per cluster to determine whether there were differences between polyribosomes in different intradendritic locations, or between free polyribosomes and polyribosomes on cisternal membranes. From the serially reconstructed spines we determined the incidence of polyribosomes, membranous cisterns, and spine apparatuses, and evaluated the relationships between these organelles. We found that in both the dentate gyrus and hippocampus, about 50% of the polyribosomes that were present beneath the base of spines were associated with membranous cisterns. Polyribosomes that were present in the head of the spine were rarely associated with a cistern, however. The overall incidence of polyribosomes was similar in spines with spine apparatuses and spines without a spine apparatus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)