Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-5-21
pubmed:abstractText
Activins are members of the TGF-ss superfamily of secreted growth factors that control a diverse array of processes in vertebrates including endocrine function, cell proliferation, differentiation, immune response and wound repair. In Drosophila, the Activin ligand Dawdle (Daw) has been shown to regulate several aspects of neuronal development such as embryonic axonal pathfinding, neuroblast proliferation in the larval brain and growth cone motility in the visual system. Here we identify a novel role for Activin signaling in regulating synaptic growth at the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Mutants for Daw, the Activin type I receptor Baboon (Babo), and the signal transducer dSmad2, display reduced NMJ size suggesting that Daw utilizes a canonical Activin signal-transduction pathway in this context. Additionally, loss of Daw/Babo activity affects microtubule stability, axonal transport and distribution of Futsch, the Drosophila microtubule associated protein 1B (MAP1B) homolog. We find that Babo signaling is required postsynaptically in the muscle, in contrast to the well-characterized retrograde BMP/Gbb signal that is required for synaptic growth and function in presynaptic cells. Finally, we show that the Daw/Babo pathway acts upstream of gbb, and is involved in maintenance of muscle gbb expression, suggesting that Activins regulate NMJ growth by modulating BMP activity through transcriptional regulation of ligand expression.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1095-564X
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
342
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
121-33
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Activin signaling functions upstream of Gbb to regulate synaptic growth at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural