Glia Promote Synaptogenesis through an IQGAP PES-7 in C. elegans.

Xiaohua Dong, Shuhan Jin, Zhiyong Shao

Cell reports 2020 Feb 25

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Synapses are fundamental to the normal function of the nervous system. Glia play a pivotal role in regulating synaptic formation. However, how presynaptic neurons assemble synaptic structure in response to the glial signals remains largely unexplored. To address this question, we use cima-1 mutant C. elegans as an in vivo model, in which the astrocyte-like VCSC glial processes ectopically reach an asynaptic neurite region and promote presynaptic formation there. Through an RNAi screen, we find that the Rho GTPase CDC-42 and IQGAP PES-7 are required in presynaptic neurons for VCSC glia-induced presynaptic formation. In addition, we find that cdc-42 and pes-7 are also required for normal synaptogenesis during postembryonic developmental stages. PES-7 activated by CDC-42 promotes presynaptic formation, most likely through regulating F-actin assembly. Given the evolutionary conservation of CDC-42 and IQGAPs, we speculate that our findings in C. elegans apply to vertebrates. Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Xiaohua Dong, Shuhan Jin, Zhiyong Shao. Glia Promote Synaptogenesis through an IQGAP PES-7 in C. elegans. Cell reports. 2020 Feb 25;30(8):2614-2626.e2