Recruitment of Staufen2 Enhances Dendritic Localization of an Intron-Containing CaMKIIα mRNA

Cell Rep. 2017 Jul 5;20(1):13-20. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.06.026.

Abstract

Regulation of mRNA localization is a conserved cellular process observed in many types of cells and organisms. Asymmetrical mRNA distribution plays a particularly important role in the nervous system, where local translation of localized mRNA represents a key mechanism in synaptic plasticity. CaMKIIα is a very abundant mRNA detected in neurites, consistent with its crucial role at glutamatergic synapses. Here, we report the presence of CaMKIIα mRNA isoforms that contain intron i16 in dendrites, RNA granules, and synaptoneurosomes from primary neurons and brain. This subpopulation of unspliced mRNA preferentially localizes to distal dendrites in a synaptic-activity-dependent manner. Staufen2, a well-established marker of RNA transport in dendrites, interacts with intron i16 sequences and enhances its distal dendritic localization, pointing to the existence of intron-mediated mechanisms in the molecular pathways that modulate dendritic transport and localization of synaptic mRNAs.

Keywords: CaMKIIα; Stau2; dendritic localization; intron retention; mRNA transport; synaptic plasticity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / cytology
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / genetics
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Dendrites / metabolism*
  • Introns
  • Mice
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / genetics
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism*
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • RNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Synapses / metabolism

Substances

  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • RNA-Binding Proteins
  • stau2 protein, mouse
  • Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2