The psychiatric disease risk factors DISC1 and TNIK interact to regulate synapse composition and function

Mol Psychiatry. 2011 Oct;16(10):1006-23. doi: 10.1038/mp.2010.87. Epub 2010 Sep 14.

Abstract

Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), a genetic risk factor for multiple serious psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism, is a key regulator of multiple neuronal functions linked to both normal development and disease processes. As these diseases are thought to share a common deficit in synaptic function and architecture, we have analyzed the role of DISC1 using an approach that focuses on understanding the protein-protein interactions of DISC1 specifically at synapses. We identify the Traf2 and Nck-interacting kinase (TNIK), an emerging risk factor itself for disease, as a key synaptic partner for DISC1, and provide evidence that the DISC1-TNIK interaction regulates synaptic composition and activity by stabilizing the levels of key postsynaptic density proteins. Understanding the novel DISC1-TNIK interaction is likely to provide insights into the etiology and underlying synaptic deficits found in major psychiatric diseases.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cerebral Cortex / cytology
  • Cerebral Cortex / growth & development
  • Cerebral Cortex / metabolism
  • Hippocampus / cytology
  • Hippocampus / growth & development
  • Hippocampus / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism*
  • Neurons / cytology
  • Neurons / metabolism*
  • Post-Synaptic Density / metabolism*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Rats
  • Synapses / metabolism*

Substances

  • Disc1 protein, mouse
  • Disc1 protein, rat
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • TNIK protein, mouse
  • TNIK protein, rat