Wnt signaling promotes AChR aggregation at the neuromuscular synapse in collaboration with agrin.

ABSTRACT: Wnt proteins regulate the formation of central synapses by stimulating synaptic assembly, but their role at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is unclear. Wnt3 is expressed by lateral motoneurons of the spinal cord during the period of motoneuron-muscle innervation. Using gain- and loss-of-function studies in the chick wing, we demonstrate that Wnt signaling is necessary for the formation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters without affecting muscle growth. Similarly, diaphragms from Dishevelled-1 mutant mice with deficiency in Wnt signaling exhibit defects in cluster distribution. In cultured myotubes, Wnt3 increases the number and size of AChR clusters induced by agrin, a nerve-derived signal critical for NMJ development. Wnt3 does not signal through the canonical Wnt pathw

SUBMITTER: Henriquez JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2585041 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature