QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, March 3, 2004, 24(9):2191-2201; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5462-03.2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) HTML Page - index.htslp Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (24) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Loria, P. M. Articles by Hobert, O. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Loria, P. M. Articles by Hobert, O. Pubmed/NCBI databases Gene GEO Profiles Nucleotide Protein UniGene

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Cellular/Molecular
A Conserved Postsynaptic Transmembrane Protein Affecting Neuromuscular Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Paula M. Loria,¹ Jonathan Hodgkin,² and Oliver Hobert¹

¹Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, and ²Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom

For a motor unit to function, neurons and muscle cells need to adopt their correct cell fate, form appropriate cellular contacts, and assemble a specific repertoire of signaling proteins into presynaptic and postsynaptic structures. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a disruption of any of these steps causes uncoordinated locomotory behavior (unc phenotype). We report here the positional cloning of a new unc gene, unc-122, which we show by mosaic analysis and tissue-specific rescue experiments to act in muscle to affect locomotory behavior. unc-122 codes for a phylogenetically conserved type II transmembrane protein with collagen repeats and a cysteine-rich olfactomedin domain. Together with uncharacterized proteins in C. elegans, Drosophila, and vertebrates, UNC-122 defines a novel family of proteins that we term "Colmedins." UNC-122 protein is expressed exclusively in muscle and coelomocytes and localizes to the postsynaptic surface of GABAergic and cholinergic neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Presynaptic and postsynaptic structures are present and properly aligned in unc-122 mutant animals, yet the animals display neurotransmission defects characterized by an altered sensitivity toward drugs that interfere with cholinergic signaling. Moreover, unc-122 mutant animals display anatomical defects in motor axons that are likely a secondary consequence of neurotransmission defects. Both the neuroanatomical and locomotory defects worsen progressively during the life of an animal, consistent with a role of unc-122 in acute signaling at the NMJ. On the basis of motifs in the UNC-122 protein sequence that are characteristic of extracellular matrix proteins, we propose that UNC-122 is involved in maintaining a structural microenvironment that allows efficient neuromuscular signaling.

Key words: motor axon; neurotransmission; neuromuscular junction; genetics; transmembrane protein; C. elegans

---

Received Dec 11, 2003; revised January 8, 2004; accepted January 13, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. K. Chun, J. M. McEwen, M. Burbea, and J. M. Kaplan UNC-108/Rab2 Regulates Postendocytic Trafficking in Caenorhabditis elegans Mol. Biol. Cell, July 1, 2008; 19(7): 2682 - 2695. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Snellman, A. Tuomisto, A. Koski, A. Latvanlehto, and T. Pihlajaniemi The Role of Disulfide Bonds and {alpha}-Helical Coiled-coils in the Biosynthesis of Type XIII Collagen and Other Collagenous Transmembrane Proteins J. Biol. Chem., May 18, 2007; 282(20): 14898 - 14905. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Eshed, K. Feinberg, D. J. Carey, and E. Peles Secreted gliomedin is a perinodal matrix component of peripheral nerves J. Cell Biol., May 7, 2007; 177(3): 551 - 562. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Maertens, D. Hopkins, C.-W. Franzke, D. R. Keene, L. Bruckner-Tuderman, D. S. Greenspan, and M. Koch Cleavage and Oligomerization of Gliomedin, a Transmembrane Collagen Required for Node of Ranvier Formation J. Biol. Chem., April 6, 2007; 282(14): 10647 - 10659. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. O. Ortiz, J. F. Etchberger, S. L. Posy, C. Frokjaer-Jensen, S. Lockery, B. Honig, and O. Hobert Searching for Neuronal Left/Right Asymmetry: Genomewide Analysis of Nematode Receptor-Type Guanylyl Cyclases Genetics, May 1, 2006; 173(1): 131 - 149. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. Malyukova, H.-S. Lee, R. N. Fariss, and S. I. Tomarev Mutated Mouse and Human Myocilins Have Similar Properties and Do Not Block General Secretory Pathway Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., January 1, 2006; 47(1): 206 - 212. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. E. Winkelbauer, J. C. Schafer, C. J. Haycraft, P. Swoboda, and B. K. Yoder The C. elegans homologs of nephrocystin-1 and nephrocystin-4 are cilia transition zone proteins involved in chemosensory perception J. Cell Sci., December 1, 2005; 118(23): 5575 - 5587. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. S. Yoo and I. Greenwald LIN-12/Notch Activation Leads to MicroRNA-Mediated Down-Regulation of Vav in C. elegans Science, November 25, 2005; 310(5752): 1330 - 1333. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C.-W. Franzke, P. Bruckner, and L. Bruckner-Tuderman Collagenous Transmembrane Proteins: Recent Insights into Biology and Pathology J. Biol. Chem., February 11, 2005; 280(6): 4005 - 4008. [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help