Dheeravath, K. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2026

MeCP2 is Necessary in Cerebellar Purkinje Cells for Precise Network Dynamics During Associative Motor Learning

Loss-of-function variants of MECP2 cause Rett syndrome; however, their impact on cerebellar computations for learning remains poorly understood. Here, we show that Mecp2 deletion specifically in Purkinje cells does not broadly disrupt cerebellar-dependent behaviors but selectively compromises those that require precise timing, coordination, and associative updating in the cerebellar cortex. Mecp2 loss altered the emergence of learning-related Purkinje cell activity in vivo and disrupted their intrinsic and synaptic properties that support adaptive cerebellar output. These findings identify MeCP2 as a critical player in Purkinje cell function to regulate cerebellar learning signals and suggest that Rett syndrome-related motor dysfunction reflects impaired adaptive computation rather than a generalized loss of motor capacity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

RGS10 differently modulates NFκB subunit transcription and inflammatory cytokine profiles in peritoneal macrophages.

Regulator of G-protein signaling 10 (RGS10) has been shown to regulate multiple inflammatory pathways relevant to disease pathogenesis. Of particular importance is the ability of RGS10 to negatively regulate the NFkB pathway, a prominent pro-inflammatory pathway implicated in multiple inflammatory disease phenotypes. However, the exact mechanism by which RGS10 regulates NFkB is unknown. Considering that RGS10 translocates into the nucleus upon stimulation, we hypothesize that RGS10 may regulate NFKB through transcription. To determine whether RGS10 mediates NFkB transcription, we stimulated RGS10 KO and B6 peritoneal macrophages and collected cell lysate over 24 hours to assess transcript levels of NFkB and related proinflammatory cytokines. Here we found that RGS10 differentially regulates the transcription of N{kappa}KB subunits and NF{kappa}B-dependent cytokines. Further studies are warranted to understand the potential role of RGS10 in transcriptional regulation of inflammatory states.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2024

RGS10 Attenuates Systemic Immune Dysregulation Induced by Chronic Inflammatory Stress

Regulator of G-protein signaling 10 (RGS10), a key homeostatic regulator of immune cells, has been implicated in multiple diseases associated with aging and chronic inflammation including Parkinsons Disease (PD). Interestingly, subjects with idiopathic PD display reduced levels of RGS10 in subsets of peripheral immune cells. Additionally, individuals with PD have been shown to have increased activated peripheral immune cells in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) compared to age-matched healthy controls. However, it is unknown whether CSF-resident peripheral immune cells in individuals with PD also exhibit decreased levels of RGS10. Therefore, we performed an analysis of RGS10 levels in the proteomic database of the CSF from the Michael J. Fox Foundation Parkinsons Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) study. We found that RGS10 levels are decreased in the CSF of individuals with PD compared to healthy controls and prodromal individuals. Moreover, we find that RGS10 levels decrease with age but not PD progression and that males have less RGS10 than females in PD. Importantly, studies have established an association between chronic systemic inflammation (CSI) and neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD, and known sources of CSI have been identified as risk factors for developing PD; however, the role of peripheral immune cell dysregulation in this process has been underexplored. As RGS10 levels are decreased in the CSF and circulating peripheral immune cells of individuals with PD, we hypothesized that RGS10 regulates peripheral immune cell responses to CSI prior to the onset of neurodegeneration. To test this, we induced CSI for 6 weeks in C57BL6/J mice and RGS10 KO mice to assess circulating and CNS-associated peripheral immune cell responses. We found that RGS10 deficiency synergizes with CSI to induce a bias for inflammatory and cytotoxic cell populations, a reduction in antigen presentation in peripheral blood immune cells, as well as in and around the brain that is most notable in males. These results highlight RGS10 as an important regulator of the systemic immune response to CSI and implicate RGS10 as a potential contributor to the development of immune dysregulation in PD.

immunology↗