# TDP-43 Regulates Rab4 Levels to Support Synaptic Vesicle Recycling and Neuromuscular Connectivity in Drosophila and Human ALS Models

## TL;DR

This study shows that TDP-43 regulates Rab4 to support synaptic function in fruit flies and human ALS models, offering new insights into how TDP-43 loss causes neurological disease.

## Contribution

The paper identifies Rab4 as a conserved target of TDP-43 and defines a regulatory axis linking endosomal dynamics to synaptic function.

## Key findings

- Rab4 expression recovers synaptic vesicle recycling and neuromuscular junction growth in TDP-43-deficient motoneurons.
- Rab4 activity promotes the recruitment of futsch/MAP1B, supporting synaptic growth and vesicle turnover.
- The TDP-43/Rab4/futsch/MAP1B axis provides a framework for understanding synaptic vulnerability in ALS.

## Abstract

The pathological loss of nuclear TDP-43 is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), leading to extensive alterations in RNA metabolism and a broad number of neuronal transcripts. However, the key effectors linking TDP-43 dysfunction to synaptic defects remain unclear. In this study, using Drosophila and human iPSC-derived motoneurons, we identify Rab4 as a direct and conserved target of TDP-43, whose expression is necessary and sufficient to recover synaptic vesicle recycling, neuromuscular junction growth, and locomotor function in TDP-43-deficient motoneurons. Moreover, Rab4 activity promotes the presynaptic recruitment of futsch/MAP1B, a microtubule-associated protein also regulated by TDP-43, which autonomously supports synaptic growth and vesicle turnover. Together, these findings define a TDP-43/Rab4/futsch/MAP1B regulatory axis that couples endosomal dynamics to cytoskeletal assembly. Furthermore, this functionally coherent module provides a mechanistic basis for understanding how synaptic vulnerability is amplified in disease and offers a framework to identify key compensatory targets capable of sustaining neuronal function in the absence of TDP-43.