Abstract
Cytoplasmic Ca(2+) actively engages in diverse intracellular processes from protein synthesis, folding and trafficking to cell survival and death. Dysregulation of intracellular Ca(2+) levels is observed in various neuropathological states including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptors (IP3Rs), the main Ca(2+) release channels located in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, are known to direct various cellular events such as autophagy and apoptosis. Here we investigated the intracellular Ca(2+)-mediated regulation of survival and death of adult hippocampal neural stem (HCN) cells utilizing an insulin withdrawal model of autophagic cell death (ACD). Despite comparable expression levels of RyR and IP3R transcripts in HCN cells at normal state, the expression levels of RyRs-especially RyR3-were markedly upregulated upon insulin withdrawal. While treatment with the RyR agonist caffeine significantly promoted the autophagic death of insulin-deficient HCN cells, treatment with its inhibitor dantrolene prevented the induction of autophagy following insulin withdrawal. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of the RyR3 gene abolished ACD of HCN cells. This study delineates a distinct, RyR3-mediated ER Ca(2+) regulation of autophagy and programmed cell death in neural stem cells. Our findings provide novel insights into the critical, yet understudied mechanisms underlying the regulatory function of ER Ca(2+) in neural stem cell biology.