... exocytosis that commonly mediates peptide hormone release by endocrine cells, DCVs at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction release their contents via fusion pores formed by kiss-and-run exocytosis. Here, we used fluorogen-activating protein (FAP) imaging to reveal the permeability range of synaptic DCV...

... glutamatergic neuromuscular junction (NMJ) as a model synapse for understanding extracellular roles of the many heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) and lectin proteins that help determine synaptic architecture and neurotransmission strength. We particularly concentrate on the roles of extracellular HSPGs...

...Topaz Altman; Danielle Geller; Elisabeth Kleeblatt; Tal Gradus-Perry; Eran Perlson ABSTRACT The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is the largest, most-complex synapse in the human body. Motor neuron (MN) diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), specifically target MNs and the NMJs. However...

...Yanyang Bai; Daji Guo; Xiaoyu Sun; Genyun Tang; Tailin Liao; Yinghui Peng; Junyu Xu; Lei Shi ABSTRACT Rac1, an important Rho GTPase that regulates the actin cytoskeleton, has long been suggested to participate in acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering at the postsynaptic neuromuscular junction...

... (Timp). Here, we use the simplified Drosophila melanogaster matrix metalloproteome to test the consequences of eliminating all Timp regulatory control of Mmp activity at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Using in situ zymography, we find Timp limits Mmp activity at the NMJ terminal and shapes...

...Mohamed Aittaleb; Isabel Martinez-Pena y Valenzuela; Mohammed Akaaboune ABSTRACT A bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) approach was used to study the molecular interactions between different components of the postsynaptic protein complex at the neuromuscular junction of living mice. We...

... and membrane lipids, which in turn affects neuromuscular junction (NMJ) synapse development. Acsl mutant brains had a decreased abundance of C16:1 fatty acyls; restoration of Acsl expression abrogated NMJ overgrowth and the increase in BMP signaling. A lipidomic analysis revealed that Acsl suppressed...

...Jacinthe Gingras; Marta Gawor; Krzysztof M. Bernadzki; R. Mark Grady; Peter Hallock; David J. Glass; Joshua R. Sanes; Tomasz J. Proszynski ABSTRACT Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), the synapses made by motor neurons on muscle fibers, form during embryonic development but undergo substantial...

...Eitan Erez Zahavi; Ariel Ionescu; Shani Gluska; Tal Gradus; Keren Ben-Yaakov; Eran Perlson ABSTRACT Bidirectional molecular communication between the motoneuron and the muscle is vital for neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation and maintenance. The molecular mechanisms underlying such communication...

...Tomasz J. Proszynski; Joshua R. Sanes Summary Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in mammalian skeletal muscle undergo a postnatal topological transformation from a simple oval plaque to a complex branched structure. We previously showed that podosomes, actin-rich adhesive organelles, promote...

...Jon Staples; Kendal Broadie Summary Lethal Giant Larvae (LGL) is a cytosolic cell polarity scaffold whose loss dominantly enhances neuromuscular junction (NMJ) synaptic overgrowth caused by loss of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP). However, direct roles for LGL in NMJ morphological...

.... The functional role of the different protein interaction domains is not well understood. Here we show that Drosophila Dap160 lacking the dynamin-binding SH3 domains does not affect the development of the neuromuscular junction but plays a key role in synaptic vesicle recycling. dap160 mutants lacking dynamin...

... mRNA decay and translational repression via general and miRNA-mediated pathways. Here, we characterize functions for HPat/Pat1 (also known as Patr-1), a core component of P bodies, at the glutamatergic larval Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ). We show that hpat mutants exhibit a strong synaptic...

.... , Yancopoulos   G. D. , Lindsay   R. M. , Glass   D. J. , DiStefano   P. S. ( 1998 ). Localization and regulation of MuSK at the neuromuscular junction . Dev. Biol.   199 , 309 - 319 . Brenner   H. R. , Witzemann   V. , Sakmann   B. ( 1990 ). Imprinting of acetylcholine receptor...

... the initial stage of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation, nerve-derived agrin cooperates with muscle-autonomous mechanisms in the organization and stabilization of a plaque-like postsynaptic specialization at the site of nerve–muscle contact. Subsequent NMJ maturation to the characteristic pretzel-like...

... Limited 2009 2009 Neuronal calcium sensor 1 Presynaptic Drosophila Phosphoinositide 4-kinase Neuromuscular junction Synaptic boutons Calcium channels Quantal content Nerve growth Frequenin (Frq) and its homologue, neuronal calcium sensor 1 (NCS-1), are Ca 2+ -binding proteins...

...-to-autointegration factor (BAF) Cardiomyopathy Breast cancer Laminopathy Neuromuscular junction © The Company of Biologists Limited 2009 2009 3 8 2009 * Author for correspondence ( [email protected] ) Our results directly implicate both central (e.g. residues 59-95) and membrane...

... is responsive to the rate of Syntaxin-1A-dependent exocytosis. * Author for correspondence (e-mail: [email protected] ) 2 10 2008 © The Company of Biologists Limited 2009 2009 Syntaxin Shibire Synaptic vesicle Endosome Neuromuscular junction Garland cell Primary...

...Felipe A. Court; Thomas H. Gillingwater; Shona Melrose; Diane L. Sherman; Kay N. Greenshields; A. Jennifer Morton; John B. Harris; Hugh J. Willison; Richard R. Ribchester Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) are normally thought to comprise three major cell types: skeletal muscle fibres, motor neuron...

... properties because its loss leads to overproliferation of blood cells in larvae. Its loss also causes signalling defects at the neuromuscular junction, including upregulation of TGFβ/BMP signalling and excessive formation of synaptic terminals. Vps35 negatively regulates actin polymerisation, and genetic...