Genetic and molecular regulation of experience-dependent structural plasticity

项目总结 神经元连接的结构可塑性对神经元的连接和重新连接至关重要 在发育和成年期对经验作出反应的神经元回路。中的缺陷 神经元连接的可塑性是许多疾病发病的基础、加重或促进因素 神经发育、神经精神和神经紊乱，包括与年龄相关的衰退。 然而，我们对整个寿命中结构可塑性的分子控制的理解 而在不同的神经元背景下是远远不完整的，部分原因是缺乏实验上的 在这种分辨率下研究这一复杂过程的易操作系统。定义明确的神经系统 秀丽线虫是鉴定基因和分子的理想系统 涉及多个生命阶段的直接比较的机制。我们建议利用一种 我们在线虫中发现的用于识别和比较的结构可塑性的稳健模型 经验型结构可塑性的遗传和分子调控 单个神经元分辨率下的发育、成年期和衰老。在目标1中，我们将使用 线虫遗传学筛选20个保守的细胞黏附、支架和信号的能力 分子在发育和发育过程中的经验依赖性结构可塑性中的作用 成人期早。目标2将全面描述老化对神经元的影响， 环路，以及两性的行为，并直接衡量任何结构性能力的变化 光诱导和抑制结构可塑性的跨成年期和老年可塑性 化学遗传工具。我们将确定维持或降低能力的机制 结构可塑性随年龄的变化，提供了新的表征和理解结构 整个寿命的可塑性。在目标3中，我们将利用依赖经验的模型 线虫的结构可塑性，以获得对多个保守序列的作用的机械性见解 和疾病相关的细胞黏附分子在结构可塑性的调节中。使用 转基因拯救实验和将标签/工具插入内源 ，我们将定义CAM的细胞、分子和时间机制 对可塑性有贡献。拟议的实验将直接有助于我们对 调节经验依赖性结构可塑性的机制和保守基因。 从而告知它在大脑健康、疾病和衰老中的作用，同时潜在地识别新的 治疗干预的分子靶点。

PROJECT SUMMARY Structural plasticity of neuronal connections is crucial for the wiring and rewiring of neuronal circuits in response to experience during development and in adulthood. Defects in plasticity of neuronal connectivity underlie, exacerbate, or contribute to the pathogenesis of many neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and neurological disorders, including age-related decline. However, our understanding of the molecular control of structural plasticity across the lifespan and in different neuronal contexts is far from complete, in part due to the lack of an experimentally tractable system to study this complex process at this resolution. The well-defined nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an ideal system to identify the genes and molecular mechanisms involved with direct comparison of multiple life stages. We propose to exploit a robust model of structural plasticity we discovered in C. elegans to identify and compare the genetic and molecular regulation of experience-dependent structural plasticity across development, adulthood, and aging at single neuron resolution. In Aim #1, we will use the power of C. elegans genetics to screen 20 conserved cell adhesion, scaffolding, and signaling molecules for roles in experience-dependent structural plasticity during both development and in early adulthood. Aim #2 will comprehensively characterize the impact of aging on a neuron, circuit, and behavior in both sexes, and directly measure any changes in the capacity for structural plasticity across adulthood and aging by inducing and inhibiting structural plasticity with opto- and chemo-genetic tools. We will identify the mechanisms that maintain or degrade the capacity for structural plasticity with age, providing novel characterization and understanding of structural plasticity across the lifespan. In Aim #3, we will leverage the model of experience-dependent structural plasticity in C. elegans to gain mechanistic insights into the role of multiple conserved and disease-associated cell adhesion molecules in the regulation of structural plasticity. Using a combination of transgenic rescue experiments and insertion of tags/tools into the endogenous CAM genes, we will define the cellular, molecular, and temporal mechanisms by which CAMs contribute to plasticity. The proposed experiments will directly contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms and conserved genes that regulate experience-dependent structural plasticity. thereby informing its role in brain health, disease, and aging, while potentially identifying novel molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.