Reactive oxygen species regulate activity-dependent neuronal plasticity in Drosophila
- University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, United States
- University of Manchester, United Kingdom
- University of York, United Kingdom
Abstract
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been extensively studied as damaging agents associated with ageing and neurodegenerative conditions. Their role in the nervous system under non-pathological conditions has remained poorly understood. Working with the Drosophila larval locomotor network, we show that in neurons ROS act as obligate signals required for neuronal activity-dependent structural plasticity, of both pre- and postsynaptic terminals. ROS signaling is also necessary for maintaining evoked synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction, and for activity-regulated homeostatic adjustment of motor network output, as measured by larval crawling behavior. We identified the highly conserved Parkinson's disease-linked protein DJ-1ß as a redox sensor in neurons where it regulates structural plasticity, in part via modulation of the PTEN-PI3Kinase pathway. This study provides a new conceptual framework of neuronal ROS as second messengers required for neuronal plasticity and for network tuning, whose dysregulation in the ageing brain and under neurodegenerative conditions may contribute to synaptic dysfunction.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files.
Article and author information
Author details
Matthew C W Oswald
Funding
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/I01179X/1)
- Matthias Landgraf
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/M002934/1)
- Matthias Landgraf
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/I012273/1)
- Sean T Sweeney
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/M002322/1)
- Sean T Sweeney
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/N/014561/1)
- Richard A Baines
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2018, Oswald 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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Reactive oxygen species regulate activity-dependent neuronal plasticity in Drosophila
eLife 7:e39393.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.39393
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