PgmNr D232: Scribble Scaffolds a signalosome for active forgetting.

Authors:
I. Cervantes Sandoval; R. L. Davis


Institutes
The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter, FL.


Keyword: learning/memory

Abstract:

Forgetting, one part of brain's memory managment system, provides balance to the encoding and consolidation of new information by removing unused or unwanted memories or by suppresing their expression. Recent studies identified the Small G-protein, Rac1, as a key player of the mushroom bodies neurons (MBn), for active forgetting. We subsequently discovered that a few dopaminergic neurons (DAn) that innervate the MBn mediate forgetting. Here we show that Scribble, a scaffolding protein known primarly for its role as a cell polarity determinant, orchestrates the intracellular signaling for normal forgetting. Knocking down scribble expression in either MBn or DAn impairs normal memory loss. Scribble interacts physically and genetically with Rac1, Pak3 and Cofilin within the MBn, nucleating a forgetting signalosome that is downstream of dopaminergic inputs that regulates forgetting. These results bind disparate molecular players in active forgetting into a single signaling pathway: Dopamine→ Dopamine Receptor→ Scribble→ Rac→ Cofilin.