PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Hanna Hörnberg AU - Francis Wollerton-van Horck AU - Daniel Maurus AU - Maarten Zwart AU - Hanno Svoboda AU - William A. Harris AU - Christine E. Holt TI - RNA-Binding Protein Hermes/RBPMS Inversely Affects Synapse Density and Axon Arbor Formation in Retinal Ganglion Cells <em>In Vivo</em> AID - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5858-12.2013 DP - 2013 Jun 19 TA - The Journal of Neuroscience PG - 10384--10395 VI - 33 IP - 25 4099 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/25/10384.short 4100 - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/25/10384.full SO - J. Neurosci.2013 Jun 19; 33 AB - The RNA-binding protein Hermes [RNA-binding protein with multiple splicing (RBPMS)] is expressed exclusively in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the CNS, but its function in these cells is not known. Here we show that Hermes protein translocates in granules from RGC bodies down the growing axons. Hermes loss of function in both Xenopus laevis and zebrafish embryos leads to a significant reduction in retinal axon arbor complexity in the optic tectum, and expression of a dominant acting mutant Hermes protein, defective in RNA-granule localization, causes similar defects in arborization. Time-lapse analysis of branch dynamics reveals that the decrease in arbor complexity is caused by a reduction in new branches rather than a decrease in branch stability. Surprisingly, Hermes depletion also leads to enhanced early visual behavior and an increase in the density of presynaptic puncta, suggesting that reduced arborization is accompanied by increased synaptogenesis to maintain synapse number.