Dysregulated Dscam levels act through Abelson tyrosine kinase to enlarge presynaptic arbors

Dysregulated Dscam levels act through Abelson tyrosine kinase to enlarge presynaptic

Dscam Expression Levels Determine Presynaptic Arbor Sizes in Drosophila Sensory Neurons

Expression of the Down syndrome cell-adhesion molecule (Dscam) is increased in the brains of patients with several neurological disorders. Although Dscam is critically involved in many aspects of neuronal development, little is known about either the mechanism that regulates its expression or the functional consequences of dysregulated Dscam expression. Here, we show that Dscam expression level...

Mol #71308 Mol #71308 2 Running Title: Abl Kinases Regulate Nicotinic Signaling in Autonomic Neurons Mol #71308 3

1 Title: Abelson family tyrosine kinases regulate the function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and nicotinic synapses on autonomic neurons. Abbreviations: Abelson family tyrosine kinase (AFK), Abelson family tyrosine kinase 1 (Abl1, c-Abl), Abelson family tyrosine kinase 2 (Abl2, Arg), non receptor tyrosine kinase (NRTK), Src family tyrosine kinase (SFK), postsynaptic density (PSD), nicoti...

Abelson family tyrosine kinases regulate the function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and nicotinic synapses on autonomic neurons.

Abelson family kinases (AFKs; Abl1, Abl2) are non-receptor tyrosine kinases (NRTKs) implicated in cancer, but they also have important physiological roles that include regulating synaptic structure and function. Recent studies using Abl-deficient mice and the antileukemia drug STI571 [imatinib mesylate (Gleevec); Novartis], which potently and selectively blocks Abl kinase activity, implicate AF...

Restoration of synapse formation in Musk mutant mice expressing a Musk/Trk chimeric receptor.

Mice lacking Musk, a muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase that is activated by agrin, fail to form neuromuscular synapses and consequently die at birth because of their failure to move or breathe. We produced mice that express a chimeric receptor, containing the juxtamembrane region of Musk and the kinase domain of TrkA, selectively in muscle, and we crossed this transgene into Musk mutant ...