Crystal and solution structure, stability and post-translational modifications of collapsin response mediator protein 2

The collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) is a central molecule regulating axonal growth cone guidance. It interacts with the cytoskeleton and mediates signals related to myelin-induced axonal growth inhibition. CRMP-2 has also been characterized as a constituent of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease. CD spectroscopy and thermal stability assays using the Thermofluor method indicated that Ca2+ and Mg2+ affect the stability of CRMP-2 and prevent the formation of beta-aggregates upon heating. Gel filtration showed that the presence of Ca2+ or Mg2+ promoted the formation of CRMP-2 homotetramers, and this was further proven by small-angle X-ray scattering experiments, where a 3D solution structure for CRMP-2 was obtained. Previously, we described a crystal structure of human CRMP-2 complexed with calcium. In the present study, we determined the structure of CRMP-2 in the absence of calcium at 1.9 A resolution. When Ca2+ was omitted, crystals could only be grown in the presence of Mg2+ ions. By a proteomic approach, we further identified a number of post-translational modifications in CRMP-2 from rat brain hippocampus and mapped them onto the crystal structure.     

Genomic organization and localization of the human CRMP-1 gene.

The Collapsin Response Mediator Protein-1 (CRMP-1) is a brain specific protein considered to be involved in the collapsin-induced growth cone collapse during neural development. CRMP-1 belongs to the Unc-33 gene family. Here we report the genomic structure and the localization of the human CRMP-1 gene to chromosome 4p16.1. Sequence analysis revealed that the human CRMP-1 gene consists of 14 exons. We have also established sequencing assays for all its coding exons. This should permit the rapid screening for mutations to assess CRMP-1 role in genetic disorders mapped in the 4p16.1 region.     

CRMP-2 regulates polarized Numb-mediated endocytosis for axon growth

Axon growth during neural development is highly dependent on both cytoskeletal re-organization and polarized membrane trafficking. Previously, we demonstrated that collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) is critical for specifying axon/dendrite fate and axon growth in cultured hippocampal neurons, possibly by interacting with tubulin heterodimers and promoting microtubule assembly. Here, we identify Numb as a CRMP-2-interacting protein. Numb has been shown to interact with alpha-adaptin and to be involved in endocytosis. We found that Numb was associated with L1, a neuronal cell adhesion molecule that is endocytosed and recycled at the growth cone, where CRMP-2 and Numb were colocalized. Furthermore, expression of dominant-negative CRMP-2 mutants or knockdown of CRMP-2 message with small-interfering (si) RNA inhibited endocytosis of L1 at axonal growth cones and suppressed axon growth. These results suggest that in addition to regulating microtubule assembly, CRMP-2 is involved in polarized Numb-mediated endocytosis of proteins such as L1.     

CRMP-2 is involved in kinesin-1-dependent transport of the Sra-1/WAVE1 complex and axon formation

A neuron has two types of highly polarized cell processes, the single axon and multiple dendrites. One of the fundamental questions of neurobiology is how neurons acquire such specific and polarized morphologies. During neuronal development, various actin-binding proteins regulate dynamics of actin cytoskeleton in the growth cones of developing axons. The regulation of actin cytoskeleton in the growth cones is thought to be involved in axon outgrowth and axon-dendrite specification. However, it is largely unknown which actin-binding proteins are involved in axon-dendrite specification and how they are transported into the developing axons. We have previously reported that collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) plays a critical role in axon outgrowth and axon-dendrite specification (N. Inagaki, K. Chihara, N. Arimura, C. Menager, Y. Kawano, N. Matsuo, T. Nishimura, M. Amano, and K. Kaibuchi, Nat. Neurosci. 4:781-782, 2001). Here, we found that CRMP-2 interacted with the specifically Rac1-associated protein 1 (Sra-1)/WASP family verprolin-homologous protein 1 (WAVE1) complex, which is a regulator of actin cytoskeleton. The knockdown of Sra-1 and WAVE1 by RNA interference canceled CRMP-2-induced axon outgrowth and multiple-axon formation in cultured hippocampal neurons. We also found that CRMP-2 interacted with the light chain of kinesin-1 and linked kinesin-1 to the Sra-1/WAVE1 complex. The knockdown of CRMP-2 and kinesin-1 delocalized Sra-1 and WAVE1 from the growth cones of axons. These results suggest that CRMP-2 transports the Sra-1/WAVE1 complex to axons in a kinesin-1-dependent manner and thereby regulates axon outgrowth and formation.     

Phosphorylation of collapsin response mediator protein-2 by Rho-kinase. Evidence for two separate signaling pathways for growth cone collapse

We previously identified Rho-associated protein kinase (Rho-kinase) as a specific effector of Rho. In this study, we identified collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2), as a novel Rho-kinase substrate in the brain. CRMP-2 is a neuronal protein whose expression is up-regulated during development. Rho-kinase phosphorylated CRMP-2 at Thr-555 in vitro. We produced an antibody that specifically recognizes CRMP-2 phosphorylated at Thr-555. Using this antibody, we found that Rho-kinase phosphorylated CRMP-2 downstream of Rho in COS7 cells. Phosphorylation of CRMP-2 was observed in chick dorsal root ganglion neurons during lysophosphatidic acid (LPA)-induced growth cone collapse, whereas the phosphorylation was not detected during semaphorin-3A-induced growth cone collapse. Both LPA-induced CRMP-2 phosphorylation and LPA-induced growth cone collapse were inhibited by Rho-kinase inhibitor HA1077 or Y-32885. LPA-induced growth cone collapse was also blocked by a dominant negative form of Rho-kinase. On the other hand, semaphorin-3A-induced growth cone collapse was not inhibited by a dominant negative form of Rho-kinase. Furthermore, overexpression of a mutant CRMP-2 in which Thr-555 was replaced by Ala significantly inhibited LPA-induced growth cone collapse. These results demonstrate the existence of Rho-kinase-dependent and -independent pathways for growth cone collapse and suggest that CRMP-2 phosphorylation by Rho-kinase is involved in the former pathway.     

Phosphorylation by Rho kinase regulates CRMP-2 activity in growth cones

Collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) enhances the advance of growth cones by regulating microtubule assembly and Numb-mediated endocytosis. We previously showed that Rho kinase phosphorylates CRMP-2 during growth cone collapse; however, the roles of phosphorylated CRMP-2 in growth cone collapse remain to be clarified. Here, we report that CRMP-2 phosphorylation by Rho kinase cancels the binding activity to the tubulin dimer, microtubules, or Numb. CRMP-2 binds to actin, but its binding is not affected by phosphorylation. Electron microscopy revealed that CRMP-2 localizes on microtubules, clathrin-coated pits, and actin filaments in dorsal root ganglion neuron growth cones, while phosphorylated CRMP-2 localizes only on actin filaments. The phosphomimic mutant of CRMP-2 has a weakened ability to enhance neurite elongation. Furthermore, ephrin-A5 induces phosphorylation of CRMP-2 via Rho kinase during growth cone collapse. Taken together, these results suggest that Rho kinase phosphorylates CRMP-2, and inactivates the ability of CRMP-2 to promote microtubule assembly and Numb-mediated endocytosis, during growth cone collapse.     

CRMP-2 directly binds to cytoplasmic dynein and interferes with its activity

The active transport of proteins and organelles is critical for cellular organization and function in eukaryotic cells. A substantial portion of long-distance transport depends on the opposite polarity of the kinesin and dynein family molecular motors to move cargo along microtubules. It is increasingly clear that many cargo molecules are moved bi-directionally by both sets of motors; however, the regulatory mechanism that determines the directionality of transport remains unclear. We previously reported that collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) played key roles in axon elongation and neuronal polarization. CRMP-2 was also found to associate with the anterograde motor protein Kinesin-1 and was transported with other cargoes toward the axon terminal. In this study, we investigated the association of CRMP-2 with a retrograde motor protein, cytoplasmic dynein. Immunoprecipitation assays showed that CRMP-2 interacted with cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain. Dynein heavy chain directly bound to the N-terminus of CRMP-2, which is the distinct side of CRMP-2's kinesin light chain-binding region. Furthermore, over-expression of the dynein-binding fragments of CRMP-2 prevented dynein-driven microtubule transport in COS-7 cells. Given that CRMP-2 is a key regulator of axon elongation, this interference with cytoplasmic dynein function by CRMP-2 might have an important role in axon formation, and neuronal development.     

Tubulin and CRMP-2 complex is transported via Kinesin-1

The transport of tubulin and microtubules in a growing axon is essential for axonal growth and maintenance. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the linkage of tubulin and microtubules to motor proteins is not yet clear. Collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) is enriched at the distal part of growing axons in primary hippocampal neurons and plays a critical role in axon differentiation through its interaction with tubulin dimer and Numb. In this study, we show that CRMP-2 regulates tubulin transport by linking tubulin and Kinesin-1. The C-terminal region of CRMP-2 directly binds to the tetratricopeptide repeat domain of kinesin light chain 1 (KLC1). Soluble tubulin binds to the middle of CRMP-2 and forms a trimeric complex with CRMP-2/KLC1. Furthermore, the movement of GFP-tubulin in the photobleached area is weakened by knockdown of KLCs or CRMP-2. These results indicate that the CRMP-2/Kinesin-1 complex regulates soluble tubulin transport to the distal part of the growing axon.     

CRMP-2 binds to tubulin heterodimers to promote microtubule assembly

Regulated increase in the formation of microtubule arrays is thought to be important for axonal growth. Collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) is a mammalian homologue of UNC-33, mutations in which result in abnormal axon termination. We recently demonstrated that CRMP-2 is critical for axonal differentiation. Here, we identify two activities of CRMP-2: tubulin-heterodimer binding and the promotion of microtubule assembly. CRMP-2 bound tubulin dimers with higher affinity than it bound microtubules. Association of CRMP-2 with microtubules was enhanced by tubulin polymerization in the presence of CRMP-2. The binding property of CRMP-2 with tubulin was apparently distinct from that of Tau, which preferentially bound microtubules. In neurons, overexpression of CRMP-2 promoted axonal growth and branching. A mutant of CRMP-2, lacking the region responsible for microtubule assembly, inhibited axonal growth and branching in a dominant-negative manner. Taken together, our results suggest that CRMP-2 regulates axonal growth and branching as a partner of the tubulin heterodimer, in a different fashion from traditional MAPs.     

Down-Regulation of CRMP-1 in Patients with Epilepsy and a Rat Model

The Collapsin Response Mediator Protein-1 (CRMP-1) is a brain specific protein identified as a signaling molecule of Semaphorin-3A and act as axon repellent guidance factor in nervous system. Recent studies indicated that axon guidance molecules may play a role in synaptic reorganization in the adult brain and thereby promote epileptogenesis. This study aimed to investigate expression pattern of CRMP-1 in epileptogenesis. Using double immunofluorescence labeling, immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis, we looked into the CRMP-1 expression in temporal neocortex from patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and histological normal temporal neocortex from the controls. We also studied the expression pattern of CRMP-1 in hippocampus and adjacent cortex of a TLE rat model on 6, 24, 72 h, 1, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months post-seizure, and from control rats. CRMP-1 was mainly expressed in the neuronal cytoplasm in the temporal lobe of intractable TLE patients, which was co-expressed with -2. CRMP-1 expression was downregulated in temporal neocortical of TLE patients. In addition, in pilocarpine-induced animal model of epilepsy, CRMP-1 dynamically decreased in a range of 2 months. Thus, our results indicate that CRMP-1 may be involved in the development of TLE.     

Phosphorylation and mRNA Splicing of Collapsin Response Mediator Protein-2 Determine Inhibition of Rho-associated Protein Kinase (ROCK) II Function in Carcinoma Cell Migration and Invasion

The Rho-associated protein kinases (ROCK I and II) are central regulators of important cellular processes such as migration and invasion downstream of the GTP-Rho. Recently, we reported collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP)-2 as an endogenous ROCK II inhibitor. To reveal how the CRMP-2-ROCK II interaction is controlled, we further mapped the ROCK II interaction site of CRMP-2 and examined whether phosphorylation states of CRMP-2 affected the interaction. Here, we show that an N-terminal fragment of the long CRMP-2 splice variant (CRMP-2L) alone binds ROCK II and inhibits colon carcinoma cell migration and invasion. Furthermore, the interaction of CRMP-2 and ROCK II is partially regulated by glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 phosphorylation of CRMP-2, downstream of PI3K. Inhibition of PI3K reduced interaction of CRMP-2 with ROCK II, an effect rescued by simultaneous inhibition of GSK3. Inhibition of PI3K also reduced colocalization of ROCK II and CRMP-2 at the cell periphery in human breast carcinoma cells. Mimicking GSK3 phosphorylation of CRMP-2 significantly reduced CRMP-2 binding of recombinant full-length and catalytic domain of ROCK II. These data implicate GSK3 in the regulation of ROCK II-CRMP-2 interactions. Using phosphorylation-mimetic and -resistant CRMP-2L constructs, it was revealed that phosphorylation of CRMP-2L negatively regulates its inhibitory function in ROCK-dependent haptotactic cell migration, as well as invasion of human colon carcinoma cells. Collectively, the presented data show that CRMP-2-dependent regulation of ROCK II activity is mediated through interaction of the CRMP-2L N terminus with the ROCK II catalytic domain as well as by GSK3-dependent phosphorylation of CRMP-2.     

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) tumor suppressor, neurofibromin, regulates the neuronal differentiation of PC12 cells via its associating protein, CRMP-2

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) tumor suppressor gene product, neurofibromin, functions in part as a Ras-GAP, a negative regulator of Ras. Neurofibromin is implicated in the neuronal abnormality of NF1 patients; however, the precise cellular function of neurofibromin has yet to be clarified. Using proteomic strategies, we identified a set of neurofibromin-associating cellular proteins, including axon regulator CRMP-2 (Collapsin response mediator protein-2). CRMP-2 directly bound to the C-terminal domain of neurofibromin, and this association was regulated by the manner of CRMP-2 phosphorylation. In nerve growth factor-stimulated PC12 cells, neurofibromin and CRMP-2 co-localized particularly on the distal tips and branches of extended neurites. Suppression of neurofibromin using NF1 small interfering RNA significantly inhibited this neurite outgrowth and up-regulated a series of CRMP-2 phosphorylations by kinases identified as CDK5, GSK-3b, and Rho kinase. Overexpression of the NF1-RAS-GAP-related domain rescued these NF1 small interfering RNA-induced events. Our results suggest that neurofibromin regulates neuronal differentiation by performing one or more complementary roles. First, neurofibromin directly regulates CRMP-2 phosphorylation accessibility through the complex formation. Also, neurofibromin appears to indirectly regulate CRMP-2 activity by suppressing CRMP-2-phosphorylating kinase cascades via its Ras-GAP function. Our study demonstrates that the functional association of neurofibromin and CRMP-2 is essential for neuronal cell differentiation and that lack of expression or abnormal regulation of neurofibromin can result in impaired function of neuronal cells, which is likely a factor in NF1-related pathogenesis.     

Collapsin response mediator protein-2 accelerates axon regeneration of nerve-injured motor neurons of rat

The rat collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) is a member of CRMP family (CRMP-1-5). The functional consequence of CRMP-2 during embryonic development, particularly in neurite elongation, is relatively understood; however, the role in nerve regeneration is unclear. Here we examined the role of CRMP-2 during nerve regeneration using rat hypoglossal nerve injury model. Among the members, CRMP-1, CRMP-2, CRMP-5 mRNA expressions increased after nerve injury, whereas CRMP-3 and CRMP-4 mRNA did not show any significant change. In the N1E-115 cells, CRMP-2 has the most potent neurite elongation activity among the CRMP family members. In dorsal root ganglion (DRG) organ culture, CRMP-2 overexpression by adenoviral vector demonstrated substantial neurite elongation. On the other hand, CRMP-2 (DeltaC381), which acts as a dominant negative form of CRMP-2, inhibited neurite formation. Collectively, it would be plausible that CRMP-2 has potent nerve regeneration activity after nerve injury. We therefore examined whether CRMP-2 overexpression in the injured hypoglossal motor neurons accelerates nerve regeneration. A retrograde-tracer, Fluoro-Gold (FG), was used to evaluate the number of reprojecting motor neurons after nerve injury. CRMP-2-overexpressing motor neurons demonstrated the accelerated reprojection. The present study suggests that CRMP-2 has potent neurite elongation activity in nerve regeneration in vivo.     

An Atypical Role for Collapsin Response Mediator Protein 2 (CRMP-2) in Neurotransmitter Release via Interaction with Presynaptic Voltage-gated Calcium Channels

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) specify axon/dendrite fate and axonal growth of neurons through protein-protein interactions. Their functions in presynaptic biology remain unknown. Here, we identify the presynaptic N-type Ca²⁺ channel (CaV2.2) as a CRMP-2-interacting protein. CRMP-2 binds directly to CaV2.2 in two regions: the channel domain I-II intracellular loop and the distal C terminus. Both proteins co-localize within presynaptic sites in hippocampal neurons. Overexpression in hippocampal neurons of a CRMP-2 protein fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein caused a significant increase in Ca²⁺ channel current density, whereas lentivirus-mediated CRMP-2 knockdown abolished this effect. Interestingly, the increase in Ca²⁺ current density was not due to a change in channel gating. Rather, cell surface biotinylation studies showed an increased number of CaV2.2 at the cell surface in CRMP-2-overexpressing neurons. These neurons also exhibited a significant increase in vesicular release in response to a depolarizing stimulus. Depolarization of CRMP-2-enhanced green fluorescent protein-overexpressing neurons elicited a significant increase in release of glutamate compared with control neurons. Toxin block of Ca²⁺ entry via CaV2.2 abolished this stimulated release. Thus, the CRMP-2-Ca²⁺ channel interaction represents a novel mechanism for modulation of Ca²⁺ influx into nerve terminals and, hence, of synaptic strength.     

Cytosolic O-glycosylation is abundant in nerve terminals

Phosphorylation plays a key role in regulating growth cone migration and protein trafficking in nerve terminals. Here we show that nerve terminal proteins contain another abundant post-translational modification: beta-N-acetylglucosamine linked to hydroxyls of serines or threonines (O-GlcNAc(1)). O-GlcNAc modifications are essential for embryogenesis and mounting evidence suggests that O-GlcNAc is a regulatory modification that affects many phosphorylated proteins. We show that the activity and expression of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (O-GlcNAcase), the two enzymes regulating O-GlcNAc modifications, are present in nerve terminal structures (synaptosomes) and are particularily abundant in the cytosol of synaptosomes. Numerous synaptosome proteins are highly modified with O-GlcNAc. Although most of these proteins are present in low abundance, we identified by proteomic analysis three neuron-specific O-GlcNAc modified proteins: collapsin response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2), ubiquitin carboxyl hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) and beta-synuclein. CRMP-2, which is involved in growth cone collapse, is a major O-GlcNAc modified protein in synaptosomes. All three proteins are implicated in regulatory cascades that mediate intracellular signaling or neurodegenerative diseases. We propose that O-GlcNAc modifications in the nerve terminal help regulate the functions of these and other synaptosome proteins, and that O-GlcNAc may play a role in neurodegenerative disease.     

A collapsin response mediator protein 2 isoform controls myosin II-mediated cell migration and matrix assembly by trapping ROCK II

Collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) is known as a regulator of neuronal polarity and differentiation through microtubule assembly and trafficking. Here, we show that CRMP-2 is ubiquitously expressed and a splice variant (CRMP-2L), which is expressed mainly in epithelial cells among nonneuronal cells, regulates myosin II-mediated cellular functions, including cell migration. While the CRMP-2 short form (CRMP-2S) is recognized as a substrate of the Rho-GTP downstream kinase ROCK in neuronal cells, a CRMP-2 complex containing 2L not only bound the catalytic domain of ROCK II through two binding domains but also trapped and inhibited the kinase. CRMP-2L protein levels profoundly affected haptotactic migration and the actin-myosin cytoskeleton of carcinoma cells as well as nontransformed epithelial cell migration in a ROCK activity-dependent manner. Moreover, the ectopic expression of CRMP-2L but not -2S inhibited fibronectin matrix assembly in fibroblasts. Underlying these responses, CRMP-2L regulated the kinase activity of ROCK II but not ROCK I, independent of GTP-RhoA levels. This study provides a new insight into CRMP-2 as a controller of myosin II-mediated cellular functions through the inhibition of ROCK II in nonneuronal cells.     

Subcellular localization of collapsin response mediator proteins to lipid rafts

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) are involved in signal transduction after exposure of neural cells to the axon guidance molecule Semaphorin 3A/collapsin. All five known CRMPs are expressed in the developing cerebral cortex and neocortical neurons are responsive to Semaphorin 3A. Here, we examine the expression and subcellular localization of CRMPs in neocortical neurons and in neonatal rat brain. In neocortical neurons CRMP-4 was detected in the perikaryon with a diffuse cytosolic distribution. In neurites and at growth cones punctate staining patterns were observed. Extraction of neuron cultures with methyl-beta-cyclodextrin to deplete cholesterol caused rapid redistribution of the punctate CRMP-4 staining into larger patches and abundant growth cone collapse. Western blotting of brain extracts demonstrated for all CRMPs the existence of soluble, detergent-extractable, and Triton X-100-resistant forms. Furthermore, sucrose density gradient centrifugation after solubilization of brain membranes with Triton X-100 revealed that CRMP-1, -3, -5, and to a lower extent CRMP-4 are associated with a detergent-resistant fraction with low buoyant density, but CRMP-2 was not detectable in this fraction. Thus, we propose that lipid rafts form sites for the compartmentalization of signaling events involving specific CRMPs and that the integrity of these membrane microdomains is essential for the maintenance of growth cones.     

Disruption of NMDAR–CRMP-2 signaling protects against focal cerebral ischemic damage in the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model

Collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2), traditionally viewed as an axon/dendrite specification and axonal growth protein, has emerged as nidus in regulation of both pre- and post-synaptic Ca²⁺ channels. Building on our discovery of the interaction and regulation of Ca²⁺ channels by CRMP-2, we recently identified a short sequence in CRMP-2 which, when appended to the transduction domain of HIV TAT protein, suppressed acute, inflammatory and neuropathic pain in vivo by functionally uncoupling CRMP-2 from the Ca²⁺ channel. Remarkably, we also found that this region attenuated Ca²⁺ influx via N-methylD-Aspartate receptors (NMDARs) and reduced neuronal death in a moderate controlled cortical impact model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Here, we sought to extend these findings by examining additional neuroprotective effects of this peptide (TAT-CBD3) and exploring the biochemical mechanisms by which TAT-CBD3 targets NMDARs. We observed that an intraperitoneal injection of TAT-CBD3 peptide significantly reduced infarct volume in an animal model of focal cerebral ischemia. Neuroprotection was observed when TAT-CBD3 peptide was given either prior to or after occlusion but just prior to reperfusion. Surprisingly, a direct biochemical complex was not resolvable between the NMDAR subunit NR2B and CRMP-2. Intracellular application of TAT-CBD3 failed to inhibit NMDAR current. NR2B interactions with the post synaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) remained intact and were not disrupted by TAT-CBD3. Peptide tiling of intracellular regions of NR2B revealed two 15-mer sequences, in the carboxyl-terminus of NR2B, that may confer binding between NR2B and CRMP-2 which supports CRMP-2's role in excitotoxicity and neuroprotection.