Neuronal ageing is promoted by the decay of the microtubule cytoskeleton

by Pilar Okenve-Ramos, Rory Gosling, Monika Chojnowska-Monga, Kriti Gupta, Samuel Shields, Haifa Alhadyian, Ceryce Collie, Emilia Gregory, Natalia Sanchez-Soriano Natural ageing is accompanied by a decline in motor, sensory, and cognitive functions, all impacting quality of life. Ageing is also the predominant risk factor for many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson ’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. We need to therefore gain a better understanding of the cellular and physiological processes underlying age-related neuronal decay. However, gaining this understanding is a slow process due to the large amount of time required to age mammalian or vertebrate an imal models. Here, we introduce a new cellular model within theDrosophila brain, in which we report classical ageing hallmarks previously observed in the primate brain. These hallmarks include axonal swellings, cytoskeletal decay, a reduction in axonal calibre, and morphological changes arising at synaptic terminals. In the fly brain, these changes begin to occur within a few weeks, ideal to study the underlying mechanisms of ageing. We discovered that the decay of the neuronal microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton precedes the onset of other ageing hallmarks. We showed that the MT-binding factors Tau, EB1, and Shot/MACF1, are necessary for MT maintenance in axons and synapses, and that their functional loss during ageing triggers MT bundle decay, followed by a decline in axons and synaptic terminals. Furthermore,...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: research