cAMP Signaling–Mediated Phosphorylation of Diacylglycerol Lipase α Regulates Interaction With Ankyrin-G and Dendritic Spine Morphology

Sehyoun Yoon, Kristoffer Myczek, Peter Penzes*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Diacylglycerol lipase α (DAGLα), a major biosynthetic enzyme for endogenous cannabinoid signaling, has emerged as a risk gene in multiple psychiatric disorders. However, its role in the regulation of dendritic spine plasticity is unclear. Methods: DAGLα wild-type or point mutants were overexpressed in primary cortical neurons or human embryonic kidney 293T cells. The effects of mutated variants on interaction, dendritic spine morphology, and dynamics were examined by proximity ligation assay or fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Behavioral tests and immunohistochemistry were performed with ankyrin-G conditional knockout and wild-type male mice. Results: DAGLα modulated dendritic spine size and density, but the effects of changes in its protein level versus enzymatic activity were different, implicating either a 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG)–dependent or –independent mechanism. The 2-AG–independent effects were mediated by the interaction of DAGLα with ankyrin-G, a multifunctional scaffold protein implicated in psychiatric disorders. Using superresolution microscopy, we observed that they colocalized in distinct nanodomains, which correlated with spine size. In situ proximity ligation assay combined with structured illumination microscopy revealed that DAGLα phosphorylation upon forskolin treatment enhanced the interaction with ankyrin-G in spines, leading to increased spine size and decreased DAGLα surface diffusion. Ankyrin-G conditional knockout mice showed significantly decreased DAGLα-positive neurons in the forebrain. In mice, ankyrin-G was required for forskolin-dependent reversal of depression-related behavior. Conclusions: Taken together, ANK3 and DAGLA, both neuropsychiatric disorder genes, interact in a complex to regulate spine morphology. These data reveal novel synaptic signaling mechanisms and potential therapeutic avenues.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)263-274
Number of pages12
JournalBiological psychiatry
Volume90
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 15 2021

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R01MH107182 [to PP]). This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R01MH107182 [to PP]). SY initiated the project and performed all experiments and data analysis unless otherwise stated. KM designed the yeast-2-hybrid experiments. PP supervised the project and interpreted data. We thank the Center for Advanced Microscopy and the Behavioral Phenotyping Core facilities at Northwestern University for the use of the N-SIM and behavioral tests, respectively. The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Keywords

  • ANK3
  • DAGLα
  • Endocannabinoid
  • Proximity ligation assay
  • Structured illumination microscopy
  • cAMP

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biological Psychiatry

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