QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online 30 June 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01228

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: dev.01228v1 131/15/3705    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Miyashita, T. Articles by Okamoto, H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Miyashita, T. Articles by Okamoto, H. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

PlexinA4 is necessary as a downstream target of Islet2 to mediate Slit signaling for promotion of sensory axon branching

Toshio Miyashita^1,*, Sang-Yeob Yeo^1,, Yoshikazu Hirate¹, Hiroshi Segawa¹, Hironori Wada¹, Melissa H. Little², Toshiya Yamada^2,, Naoki Takahashi⁴ and Hitoshi Okamoto^1,3,

¹ Laboratory for Developmental Gene Regulation, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 2-1, Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
² Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
³ Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST), 3-4-5 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027, Japan
⁴ Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5 Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0101, Japan

Author for correspondence (e-mail: hitoshi{at}brain.riken.go.jp)

Accepted 2 April 2004

Slit is a secreted protein known to repulse the growth cones of commissural neurons. By contrast, Slit also promotes elongation and branching of axons of sensory neurons. The reason why different neurons respond to Slit in different ways is largely unknown. Islet2 is a LIM/homeodomain-type transcription factor that specifically regulates elongation and branching of the peripheral axons of the primary sensory neurons in zebrafish embryos. We found that PlexinA4, a transmembrane protein known to be a co-receptor for class III semaphorins, acts downstream of Islet2 to promote branching of the peripheral axons of the primary sensory neurons. Intriguingly, repression of PlexinA4 function by injection of the antisense morpholino oligonucleotide specific to PlexinA4 or by overexpression of the dominant-negative variant of PlexinA4 counteracted the effects of overexpression of Slit2 to induce branching of the peripheral axons of the primary sensory neurons in zebrafish embryos, suggesting involvement of PlexinA4 in the Slit signaling cascades for promotion of axonal branching of the sensory neurons. Colocalized expression of Robo, a receptor for Slit2, and PlexinA4 is observed not only in the primary sensory neurons of zebrafish embryos but also in the dendrites of the pyramidal neurons of the cortex of the mammals, and may be important for promoting the branching of either axons or dendrites in response to Slit, as opposed to the growth cone collapse.

Key words: Zebrafish, PlexinA4, Slit, Islet2, LIM/homeodomain protein, Axon branching, Zebrafish

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M.-P. Furrer, I. Vasenkova, D. Kamiyama, Y. Rosado, and A. Chiba Slit and Robo control the development of dendrites in Drosophila CNS Development, November 1, 2007; 134(21): 3795 - 3804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Tanaka, R. Maeda, W. Shoji, H. Wada, I. Masai, T. Shiraki, M. Kobayashi, R. Nakayama, and H. Okamoto Novel mutations affecting axon guidance in zebrafish and a role for plexin signalling in the guidance of trigeminal and facial nerve axons Development, September 15, 2007; 134(18): 3259 - 3269. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Wolman, A. M. Regnery, T. Becker, C. G. Becker, and M. C. Halloran Semaphorin3D Regulates Axon Axon Interactions by Modulating Levels of L1 Cell Adhesion Molecule J. Neurosci., September 5, 2007; 27(36): 9653 - 9663. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Feldner, M. M. Reimer, J. Schweitzer, B. Wendik, D. Meyer, T. Becker, and C. G. Becker PlexinA3 Restricts Spinal Exit Points and Branching of Trunk Motor Nerves in Embryonic Zebrafish J. Neurosci., May 2, 2007; 27(18): 4978 - 4983. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Liu and M. C. Halloran Central and Peripheral Axon Branches from One Neuron Are Guided Differentially by Semaphorin3D and Transient Axonal Glycoprotein-1 J. Neurosci., November 9, 2005; 25(45): 10556 - 10563. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Ellingsen, M. A. Laplante, M. Konig, H. Kikuta, T. Furmanek, E. A. Hoivik, and T. S. Becker Large-scale enhancer detection in the zebrafish genome Development, September 1, 2005; 132(17): 3799 - 3811. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Suto, K. Ito, M. Uemura, M. Shimizu, Y. Shinkawa, M. Sanbo, T. Shinoda, M. Tsuboi, S. Takashima, T. Yagi, et al. Plexin-A4 Mediates Axon-Repulsive Activities of Both Secreted and Transmembrane Semaphorins and Plays Roles in Nerve Fiber Guidance J. Neurosci., April 6, 2005; 25(14): 3628 - 3637. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]