RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Poly(A) Binding Protein Nuclear 1 regulates the polyadenylation of key synaptic plasticity genes and plays a role in homeostatic plasticity JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 121194 DO 10.1101/121194 A1 Vlatkovic, Irena A1 Sambandan, Sivakumar A1 Tushev, Georgi A1 Wang, Mantian A1 Epstein, Irina A1 Glock, Caspar A1 Fuerst, Nicole A1 Cajigas, Iván A1 Schuman, Erin YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/27/121194.abstract AB Polyadenylation is a nuclear process that involves the endonucleolytic cleavage of RNA transcripts and the addition of poly(A) tails. The cleavage often takes place at different positions within the same RNA transcript, generating alternative 3’ends. Polyadenylation regulates mRNA localization, stability and translation and is likely to regulate complex processes such as synapse formation, synaptic plasticity and memory. Here we examined whether PolyA Binding Protein Nuclear 1 (Pabpn1), an RNA binding protein known to regulate alternative polyadenylation and polyA tail length in other systems, regulates neuronal mRNA function. Using immunocytochemistry we determined that Pabpn1 is present in both hippocampal slices and cultured hippocampal neurons. Applying shRNAs to knock-down Pabpn1 we discovered that Pabpn1 regulates the mRNA abundance and localization of key synaptic plasticity genes including Calcium/Calmodulin Dependent Protein Kinase II Alpha (Camk2a) and Glutamate Ionotropic Receptor AMPA Type Subunit 2 (Gria2). Furthermore, Pabpn1 knock-down prevented the homeostatic scaling of synaptic transmission elicited by bicuculline. These data demonstrate a link between Pabpn1, polyadenylation and neuronal plasticity.