UBE3A-mediated p18/LAMTOR1 ubiquitination and degradation regulate mTORC1 activity and synaptic plasticity

  1. Jiandong Sun
  2. Yan Liu
  3. Yousheng Jia
  4. Xiaoning Hao
  5. Wei ju Lin
  6. Jennifer Tran
  7. Gary Lynch
  8. Michel Baudry
  9. Xiaoning Bi  Is a corresponding author
  1. Western University of Health Sciences, United States
  2. University of California, Irvine, United States

Abstract

Accumulating evidence indicates that the lysosomal Ragulator complex is essential for full activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Abnormal mTORC1 activation has been implicated in several developmental neurological disorders, including Angelman syndrome (AS), which is caused by maternal deficiency of the ubiquitin E3 ligase UBE3A. Here we report that Ube3a regulates mTORC1 signaling by targeting p18, a subunit of the Ragulator. Ube3a ubiquinates p18, resulting in its proteasomal degradation, and Ube3a deficiency in the hippocampus of AS mice induces increased lysosomal localization of p18 and other members of the Ragulator-Rag complex, and increased mTORC1 activity. P18 knockdown in hippocampal CA1 neurons of AS mice reduces elevated mTORC1 activity and improves dendritic spine maturation, long-term potentiation (LTP), as well as learning performance. Our results indicate that Ube3a-mediated regulation of p18 and subsequent mTORC1 signaling is critical for typical synaptic plasticity, dendritic spine development, and learning and memory.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. Source data files have been provided for all figures.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Jiandong Sun

    Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-4270-8704
  2. Yan Liu

    Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  3. Yousheng Jia

    Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  4. Xiaoning Hao

    Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Wei ju Lin

    Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-4578-4120
  6. Jennifer Tran

    Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  7. Gary Lynch

    Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  8. Michel Baudry

    Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  9. Xiaoning Bi

    Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, United States
    For correspondence
    xbi@westernu.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-7449-7003

Funding

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS057128)

  • Michel Baudry

National Institute of Mental Health (R15MH101703)

  • Xiaoning Bi

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: Animal studies were performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health and were according to protocols(#R17-022, #R18-007) approved by institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) of Western University of Health Sciences.

Copyright

© 2018, Sun et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

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https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.37993

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