RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Inhibition of agrin-induced acetylcholine-receptor aggregation by heparin, heparan sulfate, and other polyanions
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 3576
OP 3582
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.10-11-03576.1990
VO 10
IS 11
A1 BG Wallace
YR 1990
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/10/11/3576.abstract
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.