Big brain evolution: prune or not to prune (Evolution)

by David Turell , Wednesday, October 10, 2018, 21:13 (2234 days ago) @ David Turell

Control of synapse connectivity is a major part of plasticity. the controls over pruning or not pruning is found:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-10-synapse-refine-brain-circuits.html

"The developing brain is constantly forming new connections, or synapses, between nerve cells. Many connections are eventually lost, while others are strengthened. In 2012, Beth Stevens, Ph.D. and her lab at Boston Children's Hospital showed that microglia, immune cells that live in the brain, prune back unwanted synapses by engulfing or "eating" them. They also identified a set of "eat me" signals required to promote this process: complement proteins, best known for helping the immune system combat infection.

"In new work published in Neuron, Stevens and colleagues reveal the flip side: a "don't eat me" signal that prevents microglia from pruning useful connections away. The signal, a protein called CD47, communicates with a receptor on microglia called SIRP alpha.
"We think this is first evidence of a protective cue that microglia can read out that tells them not to prune," says Stevens. "Our findings demonstrate that synaptic protection is necessary to ensure normal brain development."

"Like complement, CD47 also plays a role in the immune system, where it is part of a group of "don't eat me" signals that prevent damage or removal of healthy cells in situations of infection or challenge by pathogens. (In fact, some cancer immunotherapies work by inhibiting CD47, encouraging the immune system to attack cancer cells.)

"'We asked, are any of these molecules expressed in the brain?" says Stevens. "Sure enough, CD47 is expressed very highly and is found throughout the brain. We think that, as seen following an immune challenge, the brain is using it as a protective cue, telling microglia not to prune specific synapse. The brain and the immune system are sharing signals in a way that we're only beginning to appreciate."

***

"The findings add fuel to the idea that the brain has a balance of opposing factors that help fine-tune its connections—a yin/yang of sorts.

"'The study is exciting because it suggests a possible cooperative interaction between 'eat me' and 'don't eat me' signals that instruct microglia what to do when they see a synapse," says Stevens. "As we start to delve deeper and identify new molecules and mechanisms by which microglia are pruning, it's important to think how all these things fit together. It's not one pathway, but a coordinated effort."

***

"Previous work in the Stevens lab showed that microglia, when given the choice, preferentially eat synapses from less active neurons compared to more active neurons. However, how microglia can tell these synapses apart remained unknown. The new study finds that in response to changes in neuronal activity, CD47 localization changes—with CD47 preferentially localized to synapses from the more active neurons. In the absence of CD47, microglia appear unable to distinguish different activity levels, as they no longer prefer to eat synapses from less active neurons.

"'We think this is the first example of a molecule regulated by neuronal activity that can put the brakes on microglial engulfment," says Stevens."

Comment: Basically this study has picked apart a major portion of a feedback loop mechanism ht controls how synapses are managed during plasticity changes as brain use changes. Feedback loops require exact relationships between molecules to complete a control loop. There is no way t his could b e worked out by chance. Only design fits.