Artemin and an Artemin-Derived Peptide, Artefin, Induce Neuronal Survival, and Differentiation Through Ret and NCAM

Mirolyuba Ilieva, Janne Nielsen, Irina Korshunova, Kamil Gotfryd, Elisabeth Bock, Stanislava Pankratova, Tanja Maria Michel

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Abstract

Artemin (ARTN) is a neurotrophic factor from the GDNF family ligands (GFLs) that is involved in development of the nervous system and neuronal differentiation and survival. ARTN signals through a complex receptor system consisting of the RET receptor tyrosine kinase and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored co-receptor GFL receptor α, GFRα3. We found that ARTN binds directly to neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and that ARTN-induced neuritogenesis requires NCAM expression and activation of NCAM-associated signaling partners, thus corroborating that NCAM is an alternative receptor for ARTN. We designed a small peptide, artefin, that could interact with GFRα3 and demonstrated that this peptide agonist induces RET phosphorylation and mimics the biological functions of ARTN - neuroprotection and neurite outgrowth. Moreover, artefin mimicked the binding of ARTN to NCAM and required NCAM expression and activation for its neurite elongation effect, thereby suggesting that artefin represents a binding site for NCAM within ARTN. We showed that biological effects of ARTN and artefin can be inhibited by abrogation of both NCAM and RET, suggesting a more complex signaling mechanism that previously thought. As NCAM plays a significant role in neurodevelopment, regeneration, and synaptic plasticity we suggest that ARTN and its mimetics are promising candidates for treatment of neurological disorders and warrant further investigations.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer47
TidsskriftFrontiers in Molecular Neuroscience
Vol/bind12
Antal sider14
ISSN1662-5099
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2019

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