Defining the regulatory mechanisms that generate the wide array of neuronal phenotypes in the central nervous system is a critical challenge for the field of development and has important implications for the etiology of neurological disease and neurodegeneration. Neuronal phenotypes are defined by the expression of specific genes, but the mechanisms that regulate transcription of these genes are largely undefined. To address this critical gap in our knowledge for olfactory bulb (OB) juxtaglomerular (JG) neurons that have a dual dopamine and GABA neurotransmitter phenotype, this proposal will establish the molecular mechanisms regulating the co-expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) and glutamic acid decarboxylase 1 (Gad1) genes. The TH and GAD1 enzymes are necessary for the biosynthesis of dopamine and GABA neurotransmitters, respectively. This proposal will test the hypothesis that recruitment of partially overlapping combinatorial sets of transcription factors by novel upstream enhancer regions activate Th and Gad1 transcription in the OB. This proposal will use a combined phylogenetic and proteomic methodology that is a novel approach for establishing the regulatory mechanisms for Th and Gad1 expression. Since critical cis- regulatory elements typically show evolutionary conservation, upstream regions of both Th and Gad1 from several mammalian species will be analyzed by phylogenetic methods. In vitro and in vivo methods will demonstrate that conserved genomic elements are necessary to regulate expression in the mouse OB. Mass spectrometry and proteomic methods will identify the transcription factors that bind to the conserved elements, and functional studies will show that these proteins regulate either Th or Gad1 transcription in the mouse OB.
Specific Aim 1 will show that transcription factor proteins bound to conserved Th upstream regions synergistically enhance gene expression mediated by the Th proximal promoter. Preliminary studies have identified hnRNP-A1 as a novel regulatory factor recruited by the Th proximal promoter, validating the combined phylogenetic and proteomic methodology for identifying novel regulatory factors and their binding sequences.
Specific Aim 2 will identify the transcription factor proteins bound to a novel and conserved Gad1 upstream region, and demonstrate that these proteins are necessary for Gad1 expression in the OB. These findings will show that some proteins necessary for Gad1 expression are also necessary for Th expression in the OB, and thus, provide a mechanistic basis for the co-expression of Th and Gad1 in a subset of OB JG neurons. This proposal will significantly advance the mechanistic understanding of both OB DA neuronal differentiation and the generation of neuronal phenotypic diversity.

Public Health Relevance

This research proposal is designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that regulate the diversity of neuron phenotypes in the central nervous system. This fundamental knowledge can provide critical insight into the molecular basis of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases as well as impact the development of novel therapeutic strategies to treat these syndromes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DC008955-20
Application #
8284321
Study Section
Somatosensory and Chemosensory Systems Study Section (SCS)
Program Officer
Sullivan, Susan L
Project Start
1991-02-01
Project End
2016-05-31
Budget Start
2012-06-01
Budget End
2013-05-31
Support Year
20
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$535,154
Indirect Cost
$237,587
Name
Winifred Masterson Burke Med Research Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
780676131
City
White Plains
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10605
Wang, Meng; Fones, Lilah; Cave, John W (2018) Conserved Upstream Regulatory Regions in Mammalian Tyrosine Hydroxylase. Mol Neurobiol 55:7340-7351
Wang, Meng; Cai, Elizabeth; Fujiwara, Nana et al. (2017) Odorant Sensory Input Modulates DNA Secondary Structure Formation and Heterogeneous Ribonucleoprotein Recruitment on the Tyrosine Hydroxylase and Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 1 Promoters in the Olfactory Bulb. J Neurosci 37:4778-4789
Cave, John W; Fujiwara, Nana; Weibman, Ava R et al. (2016) Cytoarchitectural changes in the olfactory bulb of Parkinson's disease patients. NPJ Parkinsons Dis 2:16011
Willis, Dianna E; Wang, Meng; Brown, Elizabeth et al. (2016) Selective repression of gene expression in neuropathic pain by the neuron-restrictive silencing factor/repressor element-1 silencing transcription (NRSF/REST). Neurosci Lett 625:20-5
Wang, Meng; Banerjee, Kasturi; Baker, Harriet et al. (2015) Nucleotide sequence conservation of novel and established cis-regulatory sites within the tyrosine hydroxylase gene promoter. Front Biol (Beijing) 10:74-90
Fujiwara, Nana; Mazzola, Michael; Cai, Elizabeth et al. (2015) TMPyP4, a Stabilizer of Nucleic Acid Secondary Structure, Is a Novel Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor. PLoS One 10:e0139167
Hill, Justin; Cave, John (2015) Targeting the vasculature to improve neural progenitor transplant survival. Transl Neurosci 6:162-167
Cave, John W; Wang, Meng; Baker, Harriet (2014) Adult subventricular zone neural stem cells as a potential source of dopaminergic replacement neurons. Front Neurosci 8:16
Banerjee, Kasturi; Wang, Meng; Cai, Elizabeth et al. (2014) Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase transcription by hnRNP K and DNA secondary structure. Nat Commun 5:5769
Banerjee, Kasturi; Akiba, Yosuke; Baker, Harriet et al. (2013) Epigenetic control of neurotransmitter expression in olfactory bulb interneurons. Int J Dev Neurosci 31:415-23

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