RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Visual Circuit Assembly Requires Fine Tuning of the Novel Ig Transmembrane Protein Borderless
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 17413
OP 17421
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1878-13.2013
VO 33
IS 44
A1 Scott Cameron
A1 Wen-Tzu Chang
A1 Yixu Chen
A1 Yating Zhou
A1 Shaurya Taran
A1 Yong Rao
YR 2013
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/44/17413.abstract
AB Establishment of synaptic connections in the neuropils of the developing nervous system requires the coordination of specific neurite–neurite interactions (i.e., axon–axon, dendrite–dendrite and axon–dendrite interactions). The molecular mechanisms underlying coordination of neurite–neurite interactions for circuit assembly are incompletely understood. In this report, we identify a novel Ig superfamily transmembrane protein that we named Borderless (Bdl), as a novel regulator of neurite–neurite interactions in Drosophila. Bdl induces homotypic cell–cell adhesion in vitro and mediates neurite–neurite interactions in the developing visual system. Bdl interacts physically and genetically with the Ig transmembrane protein Turtle, a key regulator of axonal tiling. Our results also show that the receptor tyrosine phosphatase leukocyte common antigen-related protein (LAR) negatively regulates Bdl to control synaptic-layer selection. We propose that precise regulation of Bdl action coordinates neurite–neurite interactions for circuit formation in Drosophila.