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First published online November 21, 2008

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Neurons escape death with -protocadherins

During central nervous system development, excessive numbers of neurons are initially generated, before approximately half of them undergo programmed cell death (PCD), often during synapse formation. The factors that regulate central neuron survival and synaptic specificity remain largely unknown, but now, Joshua Sanes and colleagues (see p. 4141) report that the protocadherin- (Pcdh-) gene cluster, which encodes a family of 22 adhesion molecules, is important for the survival of developing neurons, but not for the specificity of their synaptic connections. By selectively inactivating the Pcdh- cluster in the mouse retina, the authors demonstrate that the PCD of certain retinal cell types is accentuated by the loss of -Pcdhs, whereas the formation of appropriate synapses and of complex functional circuits remains unaffected. Importantly, these findings suggest that -Pcdh-mediated regulation of neuronal survival is independent of synaptic connectivity. These results are complemented by a study on p. 4153 by Joshua Weiner and co-workers, who report that -Pcdhs promote the survival of mouse spinal interneurons in a non-cell-autonomous fashion.

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Related articles in Development:

-Protocadherins regulate neuronal survival but are dispensable for circuit formation in retina

Julie L. Lefebvre, Yifeng Zhang, Markus Meister, Xiaozhong Wang, and Joshua R. Sanes
Development 2008 135: 4141-4151. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

A differential developmental pattern of spinal interneuron apoptosis during synaptogenesis: insights from genetic analyses of the protocadherin- gene cluster

Tuhina Prasad, Xiaozhong Wang, Paul A. Gray, and Joshua A. Weiner
Development 2008 135: 4153-4164. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?