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MSc Exit Seminar – Rebecca Woelfle (Lovejoy lab)
September 10, 2015 @ 10:00 am - 10:30 am
MSc Exit Seminar
Thursday September 10th, 10:10 am – Ramsay Wright Building, Rm. 432
Rebecca Woelfle (Lovejoy lab)
“Linking the teneurin-latrophilin interaction with glucose metabolism: role of the teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP)-1”
Abstract
A newly discovered neuropeptide called teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP) exists in four isoforms, and is functionally related to its proprotein ‘teneurin’. TCAP-1 is expressed as a separate mRNA distinct from teneurin-1 and its mature peptide binds to the latrophilin (LPHN) G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and associates with β-dystroglycan to activate a neurotrophic-like signal cascade, stimulating energy production and regulating cytoskeletal development. I found reduced levels of diacylglycerol (DAG), but not inositol triphosphate (IP3), in TCAP-1-treated hippocampal cells, indicating that TCAP-1 may downregulate the LPHN pathway. Immunocytochemical analyses show TCAP-1 co-localizes with LPHN-1 in hippocampal cells. I also confirm the endogenous mRNA expression of LPHN-1 and -3, and all four teneurins and TCAPs in mouse hippocampal and hypothalamic cells. An in vivo approach established that TCAP-1 significantly reduces serum glucose levels in diabetic rodents. Thus, the teneurin/TCAP-1-LPHN interaction may strengthen synapse formation and increase brain glucose utilization during stressful conditions.
Ramsay Wright is a wheelchair accessible building.