Calpain-cleaved collapsin response mediator protein-3 induces neuronal death after glutamate toxicity and cerebral ischemia

Collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs) mediate growth cone collapse during development, but their roles in adult brains are not clear. Here we report the findings that the full-length CRMP-3 (p63) is a direct target of calpain that cleaves CRMP-3 at the N terminus ( + 76 amino acid). Interestingly, activated calpain in response to excitotoxicity in vitro and cerebral ischemia in vivo also cleaved CRMP-3, and the cleavage product of CRMP-3 (p54) underwent nuclear translocation during neuronal death. The expression of p54 was colocalized with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated biotinylated UTP nick end labeling-positive nuclei in glutamate-treated cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) and in ischemic neurons located in the infarct core after focal cerebral ischemia, suggesting that p54 might be involved in neuronal death. Overexpression studies showed that p54, but not p63, caused death of human embryonic kidney cells and CGNs, whereas knock-down CRMP-3 expression by selective small interfering RNA protected neurons against glutamate toxicity. Collectively, these results reveal a novel role of CRMP-3 in that calpain cleavage of CRMP-3 and the subsequent nuclear translocation of the truncated CRMP-3 evokes neuronal death in response to excitotoxicity and cerebral ischemia. Our findings also establish a novel route of how calpain signals neuron death.