PUBLICATION
Wnt signals organize synaptic prepattern and axon guidance through the zebrafish unplugged/MuSK receptor
- Authors
- Jing, L., Lefebvre, J.L., Gordon, L.R., and Granato, M.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-090319-7
- Date
- 2009
- Source
- Neuron 61(5): 721-733 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Granato, Michael, Jing, Lili, Lefebvre, Julie
- Keywords
- MOLNEURO, DEVBIO
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Axons/physiology*
- Body Patterning/physiology
- Embryo, Nonmammalian
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/genetics
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental/physiology
- Homeodomain Proteins/genetics
- Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism*
- Hot Temperature
- Immunoprecipitation/methods
- RNA, Messenger/metabolism
- Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases/physiology*
- Signal Transduction/genetics*
- Synapses/physiology*
- Transfection/methods
- Wnt Proteins/genetics
- Wnt Proteins/metabolism*
- Zebrafish/genetics
- Zebrafish/metabolism
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
- Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
- Zebrafish Proteins/physiology*
- PubMed
- 19285469 Full text @ Neuron
Citation
Jing, L., Lefebvre, J.L., Gordon, L.R., and Granato, M. (2009) Wnt signals organize synaptic prepattern and axon guidance through the zebrafish unplugged/MuSK receptor. Neuron. 61(5):721-733.
Abstract
Early during neuromuscular development, acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) accumulate at the center of muscle fibers, precisely where motor growth cones navigate and synapses eventually form. Here, we show that Wnt11r binds to the zebrafish unplugged/MuSK ectodomain to organize this central muscle zone. In the absence of such a zone, prepatterned AChRs fail to aggregate and, as visualized by live-cell imaging, growth cones stray from their central path. Using inducible unplugged/MuSK transgenes, we show that organization of the central muscle zone is dispensable for the formation of neural synapses, but essential for AChR prepattern and motor growth cone guidance. Finally, we show that blocking noncanonical dishevelled signaling in muscle fibers disrupts AChR prepatterning and growth cone guidance. We propose that Wnt ligands activate unplugged/MuSK signaling in muscle fibers to restrict growth cone guidance and AChR prepatterns to the muscle center through a mechanism reminiscent of the planar cell polarity pathway.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping