FMRP regulates mRNAs encoding distinct functions in the cell body and dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons

Neurons rely on translation of synaptic mRNAs in order to generate activity-dependent changes in plasticity. Here, we develop a strategy combining compartment-specific crosslinking immunoprecipitation (CLIP) and translating ribosome affinity purification (TRAP) in conditionally tagged mice to precisely define the ribosome-bound dendritic transcriptome of CA1 pyramidal neurons. We identify CA1 dendritic transcripts with differentially localized mRNA isoforms generated by alternative polyadenylation and alternative splicing, including many that have altered protein-coding capacity. Among dendritic mRNAs, FMRP targets were found to be overrepresented. Cell-type-specific FMRP-CLIP and TRAP in microdissected CA1 neuropil revealed 383 dendritic FMRP targets and suggests that FMRP differentially regulates functionally distinct modules in CA1 dendrites and cell bodies. FMRP regulates similar to 15-20% of mRNAs encoding synaptic functions and 10% of chromatin modulators, in the dendrite and cell body, respectively. In the absence of FMRP, dendritic FMRP targets had increased ribosome association, consistent with a function for FMRP in synaptic translational repression. Conversely, downregulation of FMRP targets involved in chromatin regulation in cell bodies suggests a role for FMRP in stabilizing mRNAs containing stalled ribosomes in this compartment. Together, the data support a model in which FMRP regulates the translation and expression of synaptic and nuclear proteins within different compartments of a single neuronal cell type.

Automated summary

By combining CLIP and TRAP techniques, researchers identified the ribosome-bound dendritic transcriptome of CA1 pyramidal neurons, revealing differentially localized mRNA isoforms and the differential regulatory role of FMRP in synaptic and nuclear functions.