Novel Molecular Basis for Synapse Formation: Small Non-coding Vault RNA Functions as a Riboregulator of MEK1 to Modulate Synaptogenesis

Shuji Wakatsuki; Toshiyuki Araki

doi:10.3389/fnmol.2021.748721

Novel Molecular Basis for Synapse Formation: Small Non-coding Vault RNA Functions as a Riboregulator of MEK1 to Modulate Synaptogenesis

Front Mol Neurosci. 2021 Sep 24:14:748721. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.748721. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Shuji Wakatsuki¹, Toshiyuki Araki¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Peripheral Nervous System Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Small non-coding vault RNAs (vtRNAs) have been described as a component of the vault complex, a hollow-and-barrel-shaped ribonucleoprotein complex found in most eukaryotes. It has been suggested that the function of vtRNAs might not be limited to simply maintaining the structure of the vault complex. Despite the increasing research on vtRNAs, little is known about their physiological functions. Recently, we have shown that murine vtRNA (mvtRNA) up-regulates synaptogenesis by activating the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. mvtRNA binds to and activates mitogen activated protein kinase 1 (MEK1), and thereby enhances MEK1-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation. Here, we introduce the regulatory mechanism of MAPK signaling in synaptogenesis by vtRNAs and discuss the possibility as a novel molecular basis for synapse formation.

Keywords: MAP kinase pathway; MVP (major vault protein); local translation; synaptogenesis; vault complex.