Autophagy links MTOR and GABA signaling in the brain.
Kelvin Kai-Wan HuiMotomasa TanakaPublished in: Autophagy (2019)
The disruption of MTOR-regulated macroautophagy/autophagy was previously shown to cause autistic-like abnormalities; however, the underlying molecular defects remained largely unresolved. In a recent study, we demonstrated that autophagy deficiency induced by conditional Atg7 deletion in either forebrain GABAergic inhibitory or excitatory neurons leads to a similar set of autistic-like behavioral abnormalities even when induced following the peak period of synaptic pruning during postnatal neurodevelopment. Our proteomic analysis and molecular dissection further revealed a mechanism in which the GABAA receptor trafficking function of GABARAP (gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor associated protein) family proteins was compromised as they became sequestered by SQSTM1/p62-positive aggregates formed due to autophagy deficiency. Our discovery of autophagy as a link between MTOR and GABA signaling may have implications not limited to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, but could potentially be involved in other human pathologies such as cancer and diabetes in which both pathways are implicated.
Keyphrases
- cell death
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- signaling pathway
- oxidative stress
- cell proliferation
- endothelial cells
- cardiovascular disease
- small molecule
- high glucose
- high throughput
- white matter
- single cell
- diabetic rats
- preterm infants
- insulin resistance
- functional connectivity
- resting state
- spinal cord injury
- adipose tissue
- drug induced
- congenital heart disease
- brain injury