TY - JOUR T1 - SULTA4A1 modulates synaptic development and function by promoting the formation of PSD-95/NMDAR complex JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/583419 SP - 583419 AU - Lorenza Culotta AU - Benedetta Terragni AU - Ersilia Vinci AU - Alessandro Sessa AU - Vania Broccoli AU - Massimo Mantegazza AU - Chiara Verpelli Y1 - 2019/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/03/21/583419.abstract N2 - Sulfotransferase 4A1 (SULT4A1) is a cytosolic sulfotransferase, that is highly conserved across species and extensively expressed in the brain. However, the biological function of SULT4A1 is unclear. SULT4A1 has been implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Phelan-McDermid Syndrome and schizophrenia. Here, we investigate the role of SULT4A1 within neuron development and function. Our data demonstrate that SULT4A1 modulates neuronal branching complexity and dendritic spines formation. Moreover, we show that SULT4A1, by negatively regulating the catalytic activity of Pin1 towards PSD-95, facilitates NMDAR synaptic expression and function. Finally, we demonstrate that the pharmacological inhibition of Pin1 reverses the pathological phenotypes of SULT4A1 knockdown neurons by specifically restoring dendritic spine density and rescuing NMDAR-mediated synaptic transmission. Together, these findings identify SULT4A1 as a novel player in neuron development and function by modulating dendritic morphology and synaptic activity. ER -