PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chen, Yuewen
AU  - Ip, Fanny C.F.
AU  - Shi, Lei
AU  - Zhang, Zhe
AU  - Tang, Huibin
AU  - Ng, Yu Pong
AU  - Ye, Wen-Cai
AU  - Fu, Amy K.Y.
AU  - Ip, Nancy Y.
TI  - Coronin 6 Regulates Acetylcholine Receptor Clustering through Modulating Receptor Anchorage to Actin Cytoskeleton
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3226-13.2014
DP  - 2014 Feb 12
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 2413--2421
VI  - 34
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/7/2413.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/34/7/2413.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2014 Feb 12; 34
AB  - The maintenance of a high density of neurotransmitter receptors at the postsynaptic apparatus is critical for efficient neurotransmission. Acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) are neurotransmitter receptors densely packed on the postsynaptic muscle membrane at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) via anchoring onto the actin cytoskeletal network. However, how the receptor-associated actin is coordinately regulated is not fully understood. We report here that Coronin 6, a newly identified member of the coronin family, is highly enriched at adult NMJs and regulates AChR clustering through modulating the interaction between receptors and the actin cytoskeletal network. Experiments with cultured myotubes reveal that Coronin 6 is important for both agrin- and laminin-induced AChR clustering. Furthermore, Coronin 6 forms a complex with AChRs and actin in a manner dependent on its C-terminal region and a conserved Arg29 residue at the N terminus, both of which are critical for the cytoskeletal anchorage of AChRs. Importantly, in vivo knockdown of Coronin 6 in mouse skeletal muscle fibers leads to destabilization of AChR clusters. Together, these findings demonstrate that Coronin 6 is a critical regulator of AChR clustering at the postsynaptic region of the NMJs through modulating the receptor-anchored actin cytoskeleton.