No description available.

We employed imaging, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques with the genetically tractable model organism Drosophila melanogaster to unravel fundamental biological and genetic underpinnings regulating synaptic function and plasticity. Using a forward genetic screen, we identified mutations in the Drosophila ortholog of a human WD40 repeat-containing protein termed DDB1 and CUL4 associated factor 12 (DCAF12). We show that DCAF12 likely serves as an adaptor protein for the DDB1-Cul4 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex by recruiting specific target proteins for ubiquitination. DCAF12 is expressed in neurons, muscles, and glia. In mitotically active cells such as muscles, DCAF12 is localized to nuclei and co-localizes in distinct foci with CUL4, suggesting that DCAF12 mediates a nuclear role for the CUL4 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. In neurons, DCAF12 is localized to both cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments of motor neuron cell bodies, where it colocalizes with Cul4 in nuclei. DCAF12 is also expressed at the periactive zone of presynaptic terminals, but does not distinctly associate with DDB1 or Cul4 at this region. Evoked neurotransmitter release at larval NMJs is significantly reduced in DCAF12 mutants. These defects are rescued by presynaptic expression of wild-type DCAF12, demonstrating that DCAF12 is required presynaptically and serves as an important component of the machinery that facilitates evoked release. In addition, our studies show that DCAF12 is required for the differential expression of glutamate receptor subunits at the larval NMJ through transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. GluRIID subunit mRNA levels and GluRIIA/C/D subunit protein levels are increased at DCAF12 mutant NMJs. Normal GluRIIA subunit levels can be restored by postsynaptic expression of wild-type DCAF12, but not with a truncated DCAF12 protein lacking a nuclear localization signal (∆NLS-DCAF12). Furthermore, DCAF12 overexpression in muscle nuclei reduces synaptic GluRIIA levels, an effect that can be suppressed by removing a copy of Cul4. These data strongly indicate that DCAF12 in muscle nuclei is required for GluRIIA expression and/or function in a Cul4-dependent manner. Moreover, homozygous DCAF12-GluRIIA double mutants show a strong synthetic lethality phenotype, providing further support for the hypothesis that GluRIIA directly or indirectly requires DCAF12. Mutations in glutamate receptors at larval NMJs trigger a retrograde trans-synaptic signal that leads to a compensatory increase in presynaptic release, which precisely restores the normal efficacy of synaptic transmission and muscle excitation. Reducing the gene dosage of DCAF12 by one gene copy suppresses the initiation and maintenance of GluRIIA-mediated synaptic homeostatic potentiation. This block of synaptic homeostatic potentiation can be rescued by presynaptic expression of DCAF12. In our studies, we determined that DCAF12 is critical for 3 distinct synaptic mechanisms: evoked neurotransmitter release, neurotransmitter reception by regulation of GluR subunit composition, and retrograde synaptic homeostatic signaling. Future research will strive to identify presynaptic and postsynaptic protein targets of DCAF12 and the Cul4 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex and the role of ubiquitination in regulating these synaptic processes.

Les ondes lentes (OL) sur l’électroencéphalogramme caractérisent le sommeil dit lent. Leur production dépend de la synchronisation de l’activité neuronale dans un large réseau néocortical. Les OL présentent d’importants changements au cours du vieillissement, et ce, dès le milieu de l’âge adulte. L’objectif de ce mémoire est d’évaluer la contribution de l’amincissement cortical dans les modifications des caractéristiques des OL durant l’âge adulte. Notre étude montre que la densité (nb/min) et l’amplitude (µV) des OL est liée à l’épaisseur de plusieurs régions du cortex chez des sujets jeunes et âgés. Toutefois, la pente des OL (µV/s) n’a pas semblé en relation avec la neuroanatomie. Des analyses de médiation montrent que la diminution de la densité des OL chez les personnes âgés s’explique par l’amincissement de gyri frontaux et temporaux, alors que les effets de l’âge sur l’amplitude des OL s’expliquent par l’amincissement d’un ensemble plus grand de régions corticales. / Sleep slow waves (SW) on the electroencephalogram (EEG) reflect synchronous alternance between depolarization and hyperpolarisation states in many cortical neurons. As soon as in the middle-years of life (around 45-50 years old), sleep SW change considerably. In this master’s thesis, we investigated the role of cortical thinning in normal age-related changes in characteristics of sleep SW. Our results show that SW amplitude (µV) and density(nb/min) are linked to cortical thickness in many cerebral regions in young and older subjects. However, SW slope did not present significant associations with cortical thickness. Mediation analysis showed that specific thinning in right middle frontal and middle temporal gyri explained age-related changes in SW density, whereas thinning in a large-scale network of regions explained age-related changes in SW amplitude. As a whole, our results shows that thinning in cortical regions involved in SW generation and propagation are associated with age-related changes in sleep SW.