Interaction of PTPσ with Nrxn1 is regulated by alternative splicing in the Ig domain of PTPσ and PTPσ complexes with Nrxn1α in vivo.
A, Representative images of cell-surface binding assays. HEK293T cells expressing HA-tagged Nlgn1 or the indicated PTPσ splice variants were incubated with 10 μg/ml of control IgC, or the indicated Ig-Nrxn1 fusion proteins, and then analyzed by double-immunofluorescence imaging of Ig-fusion proteins (red) and HA antibodies (green). Scale bar, 10 μm. B, Quantification of the average red intensities of transfected HEK293T cells in A. n indicates the number of cells as follows: Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4/Nlgn1, n = 37; Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4/PTPσA+B+, n = 29; Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4/PTPσA+B–, n = 26; Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4/PTPσA–B+, n = 27; Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4/PTPσA–B–, n = 35; Ig-Nrxn1α+SS4/Nlgn1, n = 31; Ig-Nrxn1α+SS4/PTPσA+B+, n = 27; Ig-Nrxn1α+SS4/PTPσA+B–, n = 25; Ig-Nrxn1α+SS4/PTPσA–B+, n = 27; Ig-Nrxn1α+SS4/PTPσA–B–, n = 24; Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4/Nlgn1, n = 31; Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4/PTPσA+B+, n = 26; Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4/PTPσA+B–, n = 27; Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4/PTPσA–B+, n = 28; Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4/PTPσA+B–, n = 33; Ig-Nrxn1β+SS4/Nlgn1, n = 22; Ig-Nrxn1β+SS4/PTPσA+B+, n = 23; Ig-Nrxn1β+SS4/PTPσA+B–, n = 26; Ig-Nrxn1β+SS4/PTPσA–B+, n = 28; Ig-Nrxn1β+SS4/PTPσA–B–, n = 25; IgC/Nlgn1, n = 16; IgC/PTPσA+B+, n = 15; IgC/PTPσA+B–, n = 17; IgC/PTPσA–B+, n = 19; and IgC/PTPσA–B–, n = 16. C, In vivo pulldown assays. Recombinant Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4 or Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4 proteins were immobilized using protein A-Sepharose and incubated with rat synaptosomal lysates. Immunoblotting was performed using antibodies against PTPσ, PTPδ, TrkC, and Nlgn2. D, Purified recombinant HA-PTPσ Ig1-3 proteins were incubated with purified Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4 proteins, as indicated. Precipitates obtained using protein A-Sepharose were analyzed by immunoblotting with HA antibodies. *Positions of Fc fusion proteins used for binding assays, as revealed in parallel Ponceau S-stained membranes (right). Input, 2%. E, Coimmunoprecipitation experiment in mouse brains demonstrating that PTPσ forms complexes with Nrxn1α. Crude synaptosomal fractions of adult mouse brains were immunoprecipitated with anti-Nrxn1α antibody and immunoblotted with anti-PTPσ. An equal amount of rabbit IgG was used as a negative control. Input, 2%. F, G, Saturation binding of Ig-Nrxn1α-SS4 (F) or Ig-Nrxn1β-SS4 (G) to PTPσ expressed in HEK293T cells. Inset, Scatchard plot generated by linear regression of the data, with the Kd calculated from three or four independent experiments. Data are mean ± SEM.