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The Journal of Neuroscience, December 1, 2000, 20(23):8762-8770
The Agrin/MuSK Signaling Pathway Is Spatially Segregated from the
Neuregulin/ErbB Receptor Signaling Pathway at the Neuromuscular
Junction
Jonathan C.
Trinidad1,
Gerald D.
Fischbach2, and
Jonathan B.
Cohen1
1 Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School,
Boston, Massachusetts 02115, and 2 National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
The neuregulin/erbB receptor and agrin/MuSK pathways are critical
for communication between the nerve, muscle, and Schwann cell that
establishes the precise topological arrangement at the vertebrate
neuromuscular junction (NMJ). ErbB2, erbB3, and erbB4 as well as
neuregulin, agrin, and MuSK are known to be concentrated at the
NMJ. Here we have examined NMJs from gastrocnemius muscle of adult
rat using immunofluorescence confocal microscopy to characterize in
detail the distribution of these proteins relative to the distribution of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). We have determined that erbB2 and
erbB4 are enriched in the depths of the secondary junctional folds on
the postsynaptic muscle membrane. In contrast, erbB3 at the NMJ was
concentrated at presynaptic terminal Schwann cells. This distribution
strongly argues that erbB2/erbB4 heterodimers are the functional
postsynaptic neuregulin receptors of the NMJ. Neuregulin was
localized to the axon terminal, secondary folds, and terminal Schwann
cells, where it was in a position to signal through erbB receptors.
MuSK was concentrated in the postsynaptic primary gutter region where
it was codistributed with AChRs. Agrin was present at the axon terminal
and in the basal lamina associated with the primary gutter region, but
not in the secondary junctional folds. The differential distributions
of the neuregulin and agrin signaling pathways argue against neuregulin
and erbB receptors being localized to the NMJ via direct interactions
with either agrin or MuSK.
Key words:
neuregulin; erbB receptor; agrin; MuSK; neuromuscular
junction; immunohistochemistry
Copyright © 2000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/20238762-09$05.00/0
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