Neuronal membrane proteasomes regulate neuronal circuit activity in vivo and are required for learning-induced behavioral plasticity

Hai Yan He, Arifa Ahsan, Reshmi Bera, Natalie McLain, Regina Faulkner, Kapil V. Ramachandran, Seth S. Margolis, Hollis T. Cline

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Protein degradation is critical for brain function through processes that remain incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the in vivo function of the 20S neuronal membrane proteasome (NMP) in the brain of Xenopus laevis tadpoles. With biochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy, we demonstrated that NMPs are conserved in the tadpole brain and preferentially degrade neuronal activity–induced newly synthesized proteins in vivo. Using in vivo calcium imaging in the optic tectum, we showed that acute NMP inhibition rapidly increased spontaneous neuronal activity, resulting in hypersynchronization across tectal neurons. At the circuit level, inhibiting NMPs abolished learning-dependent improvement in visuomotor behavior in live animals and caused a significant deterioration in basal behavioral performance following visual training with enhanced visual experience. Our data provide in vivo characterization of NMP functions in the vertebrate nervous system and suggest that NMP-mediated degradation of activity-induced nascent proteins may serve as a homeostatic modulatory mechanism in neurons that is critical for regulating neuronal activity and experience-dependent circuit plasticity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere2216537120
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume120
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 17 2023

Keywords

  • BONCAT
  • activity-induced nascent proteins
  • neuron
  • proteasome
  • spontaneous activity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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