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The Journal of Neuroscience, September 15, 2004, 24(37):8181-8191; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1345-04.2004

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 Previous Article

Development/Plasticity/Repair
1 Integrins in Muscle, But Not in Motor Neurons, Are Required for Skeletal Muscle Innervation

Martin Schwander,¹ Ryuichi Shirasaki,² Samuel L. Pfaff,² and Ulrich Müller¹

¹Department of Cell Biology and Institute for Childhood and Neglected Disease, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, and ²Gene Expression Laboratory, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92037

In vitro studies have provided evidence that1 integrins in motor neurons promote neurite outgrowth, whereas1 integrins in myotubes regulate acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering. Surprisingly, using genetic studies in mice, we show here that motor axon outgrowth and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) formation in large part are unaffected when the integrin 1 gene (Itgb1) is inactivated in motor neurons. In the absence of Itgb1 expression in skeletal muscle, interactions between motor neurons and muscle are defective, preventing normal presynaptic differentiation. Motor neurons fail to terminate their growth at the muscle midline, branch excessively, and develop abnormal nerve terminals. These defects resemble the phenotype of agrin-null mice, suggesting that signaling molecules such as agrin, which coordinate presynaptic and postsynaptic differentiation, are not presented properly to nerve terminals. We conclude that Itgb1 expression in muscle, but not in motor neurons, is critical for NMJ development.

Key words: integrin; axon outgrowth; motor neuron; synapse formation; agrin; muscle

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Received April 9, 2004; revised July 15, 2004; accepted July 27, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. Belvindrah, D. Graus-Porta, S. Goebbels, K.-A. Nave, and U. Muller 1 Integrins in Radial Glia But Not in Migrating Neurons Are Essential for the Formation of Cell Layers in the Cerebral Cortex J. Neurosci., December 12, 2007; 27(50): 13854 - 13865. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Z. Huang, K. Shimazu, N. H. Woo, K. Zang, U. Muller, B. Lu, and L. F. Reichardt Distinct Roles of the beta1-Class Integrins at the Developing and the Mature Hippocampal Excitatory Synapse J. Neurosci., October 25, 2006; 26(43): 11208 - 11219. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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