Overexpression of muscle specific kinase increases the transcription and aggregation of acetylcholine receptors in Xenopus embryos
| Autor: | Fanny C.F. Ip, F.D. Smith, Janet Cheung, Amy K.Y. Fu, Nancy Y. Ip |
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| Rok vydání: | 2001 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Transcriptional Activation Embryo Nonmammalian animal structures Green Fluorescent Proteins Neuromuscular Junction Xenopus Transfection Gene Expression Regulation Enzymologic Receptor tyrosine kinase Neuromuscular junction Xenopus laevis Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience Transcription (biology) medicine Animals Receptors Cholinergic Phosphorylation Molecular Biology Acetylcholine receptor Agrin biology Kinase fungi Gene Expression Regulation Developmental Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases musculoskeletal system biology.organism_classification Molecular biology Luminescent Proteins medicine.anatomical_structure nervous system Mutagenesis Synapses biology.protein Tyrosine Neuregulin Female Indicators and Reagents Gene Deletion |
| Zdroj: | Molecular Brain Research. 96:21-29 |
| ISSN: | 0169-328X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/s0169-328x(01)00253-4 |
| Popis: | Muscle specific kinase (MuSK) mediates agrin-induced acetylcholine receptor (AChR) aggregation on muscle membrane at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). To examine whether MuSK enhances NMJ formation during embryonic development in vivo, the level of expression of MuSK was manipulated in Xenopus embryos and the functional consequence at the NMJ was assessed. We found that overexpression of MuSK enhanced the formation of NMJ by increasing the aggregation of AChRs at innervated regions in developing embryos. The area of AChR aggregation increased by approximately 2-fold in MuSK injected embryos during the critical stages of NMJ formation. Interestingly, overexpression of MuSK in Xenopus embryos was found to induce the level of AChR transcript. Deletion of the Kringle domain in the MuSK construct did not attenuate the observed induction of AChR transcription and aggregation. Taken together, our findings provide the first demonstration that increased level of MuSK expression in vivo significantly elevate the aggregation and transcription of AChR at the NMJ in developing Xenopus embryos. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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