Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
16
pubmed:dateCreated
1997-8-28
pubmed:abstractText
Schwann cells (SCs) that cap neuromuscular junctions (nmjs) play roles in guiding nerve terminal growth in paralyzed and partially denervated muscles; however, the role of these cells in the day-to-day maintenance of this synapse is obscure. Neuregulins, alternatively spliced ligands for several erbB receptor tyrosine kinases, are thought to play important roles in cell-cell communication at the nmj, affecting synapse-specific gene expression in muscle fibers and the survival of terminal SCs during development. Here we show that application of a soluble neuregulin isoform, glial growth factor II (GGF2), to developing rat muscles alters terminal SCs, nerve terminals, and muscle fibers. SCs extend processes and migrate from the synapse. Nerve terminals retract from acetylcholine receptor-rich synaptic sites, and their axons grow, in association with SCs, to the ends of the muscle. These axons make effective synapses only after withdrawal of GGF2. These synaptic alterations appear to be induced by the actions of neuregulin on SCs, because SC transplants growing into contact with synaptic sites also caused withdrawal of nerve terminal branches. These results show that SCs can alter synaptic structure at the nmj and implicate these cells in the maintenance of this synapse.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0270-6474
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
17
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
6243-55
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Age Factors, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Antineoplastic Agents, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Axons, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Cell Movement, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Glia Maturation Factor, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Glycoproteins, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Motor Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Muscle, Skeletal, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Muscle Denervation, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Nerve Tissue Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Neuregulins, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Neuromuscular Junction, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Presynaptic Terminals, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Rats, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Rats, Wistar, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Receptors, Cholinergic, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Schwann Cells, pubmed-meshheading:9236235-Synapses
pubmed:year
1997
pubmed:articleTitle
Nerve terminal withdrawal from rat neuromuscular junctions induced by neuregulin and Schwann cells.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Zoology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't