Abstract
The gene for Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) is amongst the most significant risk genes for schizophrenia. The DISC1 protein is an intracellular scaffolding molecule thought to act an important hub for protein interactions involved in signalling for neural cell differentiation and function. Tensin2 is an intracellular actin-binding protein that bridges the intracellular portion of transmembrane receptors to the cytoskeleton, thereby regulating signalling for cell shape and motility. In this study, we probed in molecular detail a novel interaction between DISC1 and Tensin2. Western blot and confocal microscopic analyses revealed widespread expression of both DISC1 and Tensin2 proteins throughout the mouse brain. Furthermore, we have developed novel anti-DISC1 antibodies that verified the predominant expression of a 105-kDa isoform of DISC1 in the rodent brain as well as in human cells. In the mouse brain, both proteins showed region-specific expression patterns, including strong expression in the pyramidal cell layer of the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. DISC1-Tensin2 colocalisation was most clearly observed in the Purkinje cells of the mouse cerebellum. Biochemical coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed an interaction between endogenous DISC1 and Tensin2 proteins in the mouse brain. Further pulldown studies in human cells using Myc-tagged Tensin2 constructs revealed that DISC1 specifically interacts with the C-terminal PTB domain of Tensin2 in a phosphorylation-independent manner. This new knowledge on the DISC1-Tensin2 interaction, as part of the wider DISC1 interactome, should further elucidate the signalling pathways that are perturbed in schizophrenia and other mental disorders.