PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Wallace, BG TI - Inhibition of agrin-induced acetylcholine-receptor aggregation by heparin, heparan sulfate, and other polyanions AID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.10-11-03576.1990 DP - 1990 Nov 01 TA - The Journal of Neuroscience PG - 3576--3582 VI - 10 IP - 11 4099 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/10/11/3576.short 4100 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/10/11/3576.full SO - J. Neurosci.1990 Nov 01; 10 AB - Heparin and heparan sulfate have been shown to block nerve-induced acetylcholine-receptor (AChR) aggregation at developing neuromuscular junctions. We found that heparin, heparan sulfate, and a wide variety of other polyanions also inhibited agrin-induced AChR aggregation. The more highly charged the polyanion, the more potent it was as an inhibitor. Inhibition of agrin-induced AChR aggregation was due, at least in part, to the formation of a complex between the polyanion and agrin that was inactive. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that nerve-induced aggregation of AChRs is mediated by the release of agrin, or a closely related protein, from axon terminals and suggest that a polyanion, such as a sulfated proteoglycan, may be involved in the interaction of agrin with its receptor on the myotube surface.