Examinando por Autor "Ojeda, Jorge"

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    Ítem
    ALS-linked protein disulfide isomerase variants cause motor dysfunction
    (EMBO Journal. Volume 35, Issue 8, Pages 845 - 865. 15 April 2016, 2016-04) Woehlbier, Ute; Colombo, Alicia; Saaranen, Mirva J; Pérez, Viviana; Ojeda, Jorge; Bustos, Fernando J.; Andreu, Catherine I.; Torres, Mauricio; Valenzuela, Vicente; Medinas, Danilo B; Rozas, Pablo; Vidal, Rene L.; Lopez-Gonzalez, Rodrigo; Salameh, Johnny; Fernandez-Collemann, Sara; Muñoz, Natalia; Matus, Soledad; Armisen, Ricardo; Sagredo, Alfredo; Palma, Karina; Irrazabal, Thergiory; Almeida, Sandra; Gonzalez-Perez, Paloma; Campero, Mario; Gao, Fen-Biao; Henny, Pablo; Van Zundert, Brigitte; Ruddock, Lloyd W; Concha, Miguel L; Henriquez, Juan P.; Brown, Robert H.; Hetz, Claudio
    Disturbance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis is a common feature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) are ER foldases identified as possible ALS biomarkers, as well as neuroprotective factors. However, no functional studies have addressed their impact on the disease process. Here, we functionally characterized four ALS-linked mutations recently identified in two major PDI genes, PDIA1 and PDIA3/ERp57. Phenotypic screening in zebrafish revealed that the expression of these PDI variants induce motor defects associated with a disruption of motoneuron connectivity. Similarly, the expression of mutant PDIs impaired dendritic outgrowth in motoneuron cell culture models. Cellular and biochemical studies identified distinct molecular defects underlying the pathogenicity of these PDI mutants. Finally, targeting ERp57 in the nervous system led to severe motor dysfunction in mice associated with a loss of neuromuscular synapses. This study identifies ER proteostasis imbalance as a risk factor for ALS, driving initial stages of the disease.
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    Ítem
    Frizzled-9 impairs acetylcholine receptor clustering in skeletal muscle cells
    (Frontiers Research Foundation, 2014-04) Avilés, Evelyn C.; Pinto, Cristina; Hanna, Patricia; Ojeda, Jorge; Pérez, Viviana; De Ferrari, Giancarlo V.; Zamorano, Pedro; Albistur, Miguel; Sandoval, Daniel; Henríquez, Juan P.
    Cumulative evidence indicates that Wnt pathways play crucial and diverse roles to assemble the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a peripheral synapse characterized by the clustering of acetylcholine receptors (AChR) on postsynaptic densities. The molecular determinants of Wnt effects at the NMJ are still to be fully elucidated. We report here that the Wnt receptor Frizzled-9 (Fzd9) is expressed in developing skeletal muscles during NMJ synaptogenesis. In cultured myotubes, gain- and loss-of-function experiments revealed that Fzd9-mediated signaling impairs the AChR-clustering activity of agrin, an organizer of postsynaptic differentiation. Overexpression of Fzd9 induced the cytosolic accumulation of β-catenin, a key regulator of Wnt signaling. Consistently, Fzd9 and β-catenin localize in the postsynaptic domain of embryonic NMJs in vivo. Our findings represent the first evidence pointing to a crucial role of a Fzd-mediated, β-catenin-dependent signaling on the assembly of the vertebrate NMJ.