Identifying Cell Adhesion Molecules (CAM) that respond to insulin signaling to modulate synapses in Caenorhabditis elegans
Olteanu, Armand
Olteanu, Armand
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Abstract
Behavioral plasticity refers to the ability of an organism to alter its behavioral response to a stimulus based on experience or environmental variation.[1] In multicellular organisms, behavior lies in the architecture of neural circuits and changes in these circuits drive changes in behaviors.[1] The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an ideal model for investigating these changes, with a fully mapped connectome of its 302 neurons.[2, 3]. Tang et al. using the recently published connectome data and past studies found a connection between two pairs of sensory neurons (ASE>AWC) to be asymmetric in connectivity due to asymmetric insulin signaling.[4, 5] ASE neurons are a pair of chemosensory neurons that response to increases and decreases in NaCl concentration. ASEL specifically responses to acute increases in Na? and ASER primarily responds to acute decrease in Cl?.[6] He found that during associative learning, specifically recalling and seeking salt concentration at which they experienced food, the amount of synapses of the ASE>AWC connection flipped from a left-side bias to a right-side bias.[5] Tang et al. also found that it was insulin from an upstream pair of neurons caused this plasticity by asymmetrically signaling the ASE neurons.[5] However, the molecules that are effected by insulin downstream remain unknown. Candidate molecules for this question are cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) which are transmembrane glycoproteins that physically bridge the synapse while also acting as signal transducers.[7-9] Using the CeNGEN database, I collected all of the expressed CAM�s in the ASE neurons.[10] To see if they�re required for synapse formation I will knock them out and see if the asymmetry changes, using in vivo Biotin Labeling of intracellular Contacts (iBLINC) to visualize synapses between ASE and AWC.[5, 11] Genes that cause differences in the asymmetry will be further investigated using fluorescent reporters to assess expression level and localization during conditioning. 1. Zhang, Y., Y. Iino, and W.R. Schafer, Behavioral plasticity. Genetics, 2024. 228(1). 2. Altun, Z.F.H., D.H. Introduction. In WormAtlas. 2009. 3. Emmons, S.W., E. Yemini, and M. Zimmer, Methods for analyzing neuronal structure and activity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics, 2021. 218(4). 4. Cook, S.J., et al., Whole-animal connectomes of both Caenorhabditis elegans sexes. Nature, 2019. 571(7763): p. 63-71. 5. Tang, L.T.H., et al., Anatomical restructuring of a lateralized neural circuit during associative learning by asymmetric insulin signaling. Curr Biol, 2023. 33(18): p. 3835-3850 e6. 6. Pierce-Shimomura, J.T., et al., The homeobox gene lim-6 is required for distinct chemosensory representations in C. elegans. Nature, 2001. 410(6829): p. 694-8. 7. Sudhof, T.C., Towards an Understanding of Synapse Formation. Neuron, 2018. 100(2): p. 276-293. 8. Washbourne, P., et al., Cell adhesion molecules in synapse formation. J Neurosci, 2004. 24(42): p. 9244-9. 9. Leshchyns�ka, I. and V. Sytnyk, Synaptic Cell Adhesion Molecules in Alzheimer�s Disease. Neural Plasticity, 2016. 2016(1): p. 6427537. 10. Taylor, S.R., et al., Molecular topography of an entire nervous system. Cell, 2021. 184(16): p. 4329-4347 e23. 11. Desbois, M., et al., Directional Trans-Synaptic Labeling of Specific Neuronal Connections in Live Animals. Genetics, 2015. 200(3): p. 697-705.
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Date
1/1/2026
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Graduate Student
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Poster
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Biology
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College of Arts and Sciences
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Life Science