Larry I. Benowitz

GAP-43: an intrinsic determinant of neuronal development and plasticity

Several lines of investigation have helped clarify the role of GAP-43 (FI, B-50 or neuromodulin) in regulating the growth state of axon terminals. In transgenic mice, overexpression of GAP-43 leads to the spontaneous formation of new synapses and enhanced sprouting after injury. Null mutation of the GAP-43 gene disrupts axonal pathfinding and is generally lethal shortly after birth. Manipulations of GAP-43 expression likewise have profound effects on neurite outgrowth for cells in culture. GAP-43 appears to be involved in transducing intra- and extracellular signals to regulate cytoskeletal organization in the nerve ending. Phosphorylation by protein kinase C is particularly significant in this regard, and is linked with both nerve-terminal sprouting and long-term potentiation. In the brains of humans and other primates, high levels of GAP-43 persist in neocortical association areas and in the limbic system throughout life, where the protein might play an important role in mediating experience-dependent plasticity.

A membrane phosphoprotein associated with neural development, axonal regeneration, phospholipid metabolism, and synaptic plasticity

Abstract It has now been shown that a membrane phosphoprotein initially studied independently by several laboratories and given different designations, is in fact the same protein. Thus, the growth-associated proteins, GAP-43 and GAP-48, a phosphoprotein of the growth cone, pp46, a C-kinase substrate related to phosphatidylinositol turnover in synaptic membranes, B-50, and a C-kinase substrate associated with hippocampal long-term potentiation, F1, are identical. This protein may thus play a general role in the formation of synaptic relationships during development or regeneration, and a continuing role in the functional modulation of certain synapses throughout life.

Oncomodulin is a macrophage-derived signal for axon regeneration in retinal ganglion cells

The optic nerve, like most mature CNS pathways, does not regenerate after injury. Through unknown mechanisms, however, macrophage activation in the eye stimulates retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) to regenerate long axons beyond the site of optic nerve injury. Here we identify the calcium (Ca2+)-binding protein oncomodulin as a potent macrophage-derived growth factor for RGCs and other neurons. Oncomodulin binds to rat RGCs with high affinity in a cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent manner and stimulates more extensive outgrowth than other known trophic agents. Depletion of oncomodulin from macrophage-conditioned media (MCM) eliminates the axon-promoting activity of MCM. The effects of oncomodulin involve downstream signaling via Ca2+/calmodulin kinase and gene transcription. In vivo, oncomodulin released from microspheres promotes regeneration in the mature rat optic nerve. Oncomodulin also stimulates outgrowth from peripheral sensory neurons. Thus, oncomodulin is a new growth factor for neurons of the mature central and peripheral nervous systems.

The growth-associated protein GAP-43 appears in dorsal root ganglion cells and in the dorsal horn of the rat spinal cord following peripheral nerve injury.

When adult dorsal root ganglion cells are dissociated and maintained in vitro, both the small dark and the large light neurons show increases in the growth-associated protein GAP-43, a membrane phosphoprotein associated with neuronal development and plasticity. Immunoreactivity for GAP-43 appears in the cytoplasm of the cell bodies as early as 3.5 h post axotomy and is present in neurites and growth cones as soon as they develop. At early stages of culture (4 h to eight days) satellite/Schwann cells are also immunoreactive for GAP-43. Neurons in isolated whole dorsal root ganglion maintained in vitro become GAP-43-immunoreactive between 2 and 3 h after axotomy. It takes three days however, after cutting or crushing the sciatic nerve in adult rats in vivo, for GAP-43 immunoreactivity to appear in the axotomized dorsal root ganglion cells. GAP-43 immunoreactivity can be detected in the central terminals of primary afferent neurons in the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn of the lumbar enlargement four days after sciatic cut or crush. The intensity of the GAP-43 staining reaches a peak at 21 days and becomes undetectable nine weeks following crush injury and 36 weeks following sciatic nerve cut. The pattern of GAP-43 staining is identical to the distribution of sciatic small-calibre afferent terminals. Little or no staining is present in the deep dorsal horn, but GAP-43 does appear in the ipsilateral gracile nucleus 22 days after sciatic injury. In investigating the mechanism of GAP-43 regulation, blockade of axon transport in the sciatic nerve with vinblastine (10(-5) M-10(-4) M) or capsaicin (1.5%) was found to produce a pattern of GAP-43 immunoreactivity in the dorsal horn identical to that found with crush, while electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve had no effect. Axotomy of primary sensory neurons or the interruption of axon transport in the periphery therefore acts to trigger GAP-43 production in the cell body. The GAP-43 is transported to both the peripheral and the central terminals of the afferents. In the CNS the elevated GAP-43 levels may contribute to an inappropriate synaptic reorganization of afferent terminals that could play a role in the sensory disorders that follow nerve injury.

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Mediates Oligodendrocyte Death and Delayed Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss in a Mouse Model of Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a widespread ocular disease characterized by a progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Previous studies suggest that the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) may contribute to the disease process, although its role in vivo and its mechanism of action are unclear. To investigate pathophysiological mechanisms in glaucoma, we induced ocular hypertension (OH) in mice by angle closure via laser irradiation. This treatment resulted in a rapid upregulation of TNF-α, followed sequentially by microglial activation, loss of optic nerve oligodendrocytes, and delayed loss of RGCs. Intravitreal TNF-α injections in normal mice mimicked these effects. Conversely, an anti-TNF-α-neutralizing antibody or deleting the genes encoding TNF-α or its receptor, TNFR2, blocked the deleterious effects of OH. Deleting the CD11b/CD18 gene prevented microglial activation and also blocked the pathophysiological effects of OH. Thus TNF-α provides an essential, although indirect, link between OH and RGC loss in vivo. Blocking TNF-α signaling or inflammation, therefore, may be helpful in treating glaucoma.

NgR1 and NgR3 are receptors for chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans

In the adult mammalian CNS, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) and myelin-associated inhibitors (MAIs) stabilize neuronal structure and restrict compensatory sprouting following injury. The Nogo receptor family members NgR1 and NgR2 bind to MAIs and have been implicated in neuronal inhibition. We found that NgR1 and NgR3 bind with high affinity to the glycosaminoglycan moiety of proteoglycans and participate in CSPG inhibition in cultured neurons. Nogo receptor triple mutants (Ngr1−/−; Ngr2−/−; Ngr3−/−; which are also known as Rtn4r, Rtn4rl2 and Rtn4rl1, respectively), but not single mutants, showed enhanced axonal regeneration following retro-orbital optic nerve crush injury. The combined loss of Ngr1 and Ngr3 (Ngr1−/−; Ngr3−/−), but not Ngr1 and Ngr2 (Ngr1−/−; Ngr2−/−), was sufficient to mimic the triple mutant regeneration phenotype. Regeneration in Ngr1−/−; Ngr3−/− mice was further enhanced by simultaneous ablation of Rptpσ (also known as Ptprs), a known CSPG receptor. Collectively, our results identify NgR1 and NgR3 as CSPG receptors, suggest that there is functional redundancy among CSPG receptors, and provide evidence for shared mechanisms of MAI and CSPG inhibition.

Counteracting the Nogo Receptor Enhances Optic Nerve Regeneration If Retinal Ganglion Cells Are in an Active Growth State

Mature retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), like other CNS neurons, cannot regrow injured axons into a myelin-rich environment. If stimulated by macrophage-derived factors, however, RGCs can regenerate their axons for considerable distances through the distal optic nerve. Using this “sensitized background,” we investigated the effects of either increasing the expression or suppressing the activity of the Nogo receptor (NgR). NgR mediates the growth-inhibiting effects of three myelin proteins, Nogo, OMgp (oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein), and MAG (myelin-associated glycoprotein). Transfecting growth-sensitized RGCs with adeno-associated viruses expressing a dominant-negative form of NgR (NgRDN) increased axon regeneration several-fold; however, when the growth program of RGCs was not activated, NgRDN expression had no beneficial effects. Overexpression of wild-type NgR blocked almost all regeneration from growth-sensitized RGCs and caused axons proximal to the lesion site to retract. We conclude that gene therapy is an effective approach to enhancing axon regeneration in the CNS and that inactivation of NgR functioning greatly enhances axon regeneration provided the intrinsic growth program of neurons is activated.

Switching Mature Retinal Ganglion Cells to a Robust Growth State In Vivo: Gene Expression and Synergy with RhoA Inactivation

The inability of mature CNS neurons to regenerate injured axons has been attributed to a loss of inherent growth potential of cells and to inhibitory signals associated with myelin and the glial scar. The present study investigated two complementary issues: (1) whether mature CNS neurons can be stimulated to alter their gene expression profile and switch into a strong growth state; and (2) whether inactivating RhoA, a convergence point for multiple inhibitory signals, is sufficient to produce strong regeneration even without activating the growth state of neurons. In the mature rat, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) normally fail to regenerate axons through the injured optic nerve but can be stimulated to do so by activating macrophages in the eye (e.g., by lens injury). To investigate underlying changes in gene expression, we retrogradely labeled RGCs with a fluorescent dye, performed optic nerve surgery with or without lens injury, and 4 d later, dissociated retinas, isolated RGCs by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and examined their profiles of gene expression using microarrays. To investigate the effects of inactivating RhoA, we transfected RGCs with adeno-associated viruses carrying a gene for C3 ribosyltransferase. Our results show that, with appropriate stimulation, mature CNS neurons can undergo dramatic changes in gene expression comparable with those seen in regenerating neurons of the PNS, and that RhoA inactivation by itself results in moderate regeneration, and strongly potentiates axon regeneration through the mature optic nerve when the growth state of neurons is activated.

Inosine induces axonal rewiring and improves behavioral outcome after stroke

Cerebral infarct (stroke) often causes devastating and irreversible losses of function, in part because of the brains limited capacity for anatomical reorganization. The purine nucleoside inosine has previously been shown to induce neurons to express a set of growth-associated proteins and to extend axons in culture and in vivo. We show here that in adult rats with unilateral cortical infarcts, inosine stimulated neurons on the undamaged side of the brain to extend new projections to denervated areas of the midbrain and spinal cord. This growth was paralleled by improved performance on several behavioral measures.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 mediates retinal detachment-induced photoreceptor apoptosis.

Photoreceptor apoptosis is a major cause of visual loss in retinal detachment (RD) and several other visual disorders, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Recently, increased expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) was reported in vitreous humor samples of patients with RD and diabetic retinopathy as well as in the brain tissues of patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimers disease and multiple sclerosis. Here we report that MCP-1 plays a critical role in mediating photoreceptor apoptosis in an experimental model of RD. RD led to increased MCP-1 expression in the Müller glia and increased CD11b+ macrophage/microglia in the detached retina. An MCP-1 blocking antibody greatly reduced macrophage/microglia infiltration and RD-induced photoreceptor apoptosis. Confirming these results, MCP-1 gene-deficient mice showed significantly reduced macrophage/microglia infiltration after RD and very little photoreceptor apoptosis. In primary retinal mixed cultures, MCP-1 was cytotoxic for recoverin+ photoreceptors, and this toxicity was eliminated through immunodepleting macrophage/microglia from the culture. In vivo, deletion of the gene encoding CD11b/CD18 nearly eliminated macrophage/microglia infiltration to the retina after RD and the loss of photoreceptors. Thus, MCP-1 expression and subsequent macrophage/microglia infiltration and activation are critical for RD-induced photoreceptor apoptosis. This pathway may be an important therapeutic target for preventing photoreceptor apoptosis in RD and other CNS diseases that share a common etiology.