Biology subjects

Nakagawa, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Nakagawa, I..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Flexible value coding in the mesolimbic dopamine system depending on internal water and sodium balance

Homeostatic imbalances elicit strong cravings, such as thirst and salt appetite, to restore equilibrium. Although midbrain dopaminergic neurons are known to encode the value of foods, their nutritional state-dependency remains unknown. Here, we show that the activity of the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway flexibly expresses the positive and negative values of water and salt depending on the internal state in mice. Mice showed behavioral preference and aversion to water and salt depending on their internal water and sodium balance. Fiber photometry recordings revealed that dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens flexibly showed bidirectional excitatory and inhibitory responses to water and salt intake in a state-dependent manner. Furthermore, these dopaminergic and behavioral responses could be simulated by a homeostatic reinforcement learning model. Our results demonstrate the nutritional state-dependency of value coding in mesolimbic dopamine systems, providing new insights into neural circuits underlying homeostatic regulation of appetitive and avoidance behaviors.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

C9ORF72 dipeptide repeat proteins disrupt formation of GEM bodies and induce aberrant accumulation of survival of motor neuron protein

A GGGGCC repeat expansion in the C9ORF72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a devastating motor neuron disease. In the neurons of ALS patients, dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) are produced from repeat-containing RNAs by an unconventional form of translation, and some of these proteins, especially those containing poly(glycine-arginine) and poly(proline-arginine), are toxic to neurons. Gemini of coiled bodies (GEMs) are nuclear structures that harbor survival of motor neuron (SMN) protein, and SMN is essential for the assembly of U-rich small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) that are central for splicing. We previously reported that GEMs are lost and that snRNP biogenesis is misregulated in the motor neurons of ALS patients. Here we show that DPRs interfere with GEM formation and proper SMN localization in HeLa cells and iPSC-derived motor neurons from an ALS patient with the C9ORF72 mutation. The accumulation of poly(glycine-arginine) markedly reduced the number of GEMs and caused the formation of aberrant cytoplasmic RNA granules that sequestered SMN. These findings indicate the functional impairment of SMN in motor neurons expressing DPRs and may provide a mechanism to explain the vulnerability of motor neurons of C9ORF72-ALS patients.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Intracellular Group A Streptococcus induces Golgi fragmentation to impair host defenses through Streptolysin O and NAD-glycohydrolase

Group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) is a major human pathogen that causes streptococcal pharyngitis, skin and soft-tissue infections, and life-threatening conditions such as streptococcal toxic-shock syndrome. During infection, GAS not only invades diverse host cells, but also injects effector proteins such as NAD-glycohydrolase (Nga) into the host cells through a streptolysin O (SLO)-dependent mechanism without invading the cells; Nga and SLO are two major virulence factors that are associated with increased bacterial virulence. Here, we have shown that the invading GAS induces fragmentation of the Golgi complex and inhibits anterograde transport in the infected host cells through the secreted toxins SLO and Nga. GAS infection-induced Golgi fragmentation required both bacterial invasion and SLO-mediated Nga translocation into the host cytosol. The cellular Golgi network is critical for the sorting of surface molecules and thus is essential for epithelial barrier integrity and the immune response of macrophages to pathogens. In epithelial cells, inhibition of anterograde trafficking by invading GAS and Nga resulted in the redistribution of E-cadherin to the cytosol and an increase in bacterial translocation across the epithelial barrier. Moreover, in macrophages, interleukin-8 secretion in response to GAS infection was found to be suppressed by intracellular GAS and Nga. Our findings reveal a previously undescribed bacterial invasion-dependent function of Nga as well as a previously unrecognized GAS-host interaction that is associated GAS pathogenesis. ImportanceTwo prominent virulence factors of GAS, SLO and Nga, have been established to be linked to enhanced pathogenicity of prevalent GAS strains. Recent advances show that SLO and Nga are important for intracellular survival of GAS in epithelial cells and macrophages. Here, we found that invading GAS disrupt the Golgi complex in host cells by SLO and Nga. We showed that GAS-induced Golgi fragmentation requires bacterial invasion into host cells, SLO pore-formation activity, and Nga NADase activity. GAS-induced Golgi fragmentation resulted in the impairment of epithelial barrier and chemokine secretion in macrophages. This immune inhibition property of SLO and Nga by intracellular GAS indicates that the invasion of GAS is associated with virulence exerted by SLO and Nga.

microbiology↗