Motor neuron position and topographic order imposed by β- and γ-catenin activities

Item Type:	Article
Title:	Motor neuron position and topographic order imposed by β- and γ-catenin activities
Creators Name:	Demireva, E.Y. and Shapiro, L.S. and Jessell, T.M. and Zampieri, N.
Abstract:	Neurons typically settle at positions that match the location of their synaptic targets, creating topographic maps. In the spinal cord, the organization of motor neurons into discrete clusters is linked to the location of their muscle targets, establishing a topographic map of punctate design. To define the significance of motor pool organization for neuromuscular map formation, we assessed the role of cadherin-catenin signaling in motor neuron positioning and limb muscle innervation. We find that joint inactivation of {beta}- and {gamma}-catenin scrambles motor neuron settling position in the spinal cord but fails to erode the predictive link between motor neuron transcriptional identity and muscle target. Inactivation of N-cadherin perturbs pool positioning in similar ways, albeit with reduced penetrance. These findings reveal that cadherin-catenin signaling directs motor pool patterning and imposes topographic order on an underlying identity-based neural map.
Keywords:	beta Catenin, Biological Evolution, Body Patterning, Cadherins, gamma Catenin, Mammalian Embryo, Motor Neurons, Mutation, Signal Transduction, Spinal Cord, Wnt Signaling Pathway, Animals, Mice
Source:	Cell
ISSN:	0092-8674
Publisher:	Cell Press
Volume:	147
Number:	3
Page Range:	641-652
Date:	28 October 2011
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2011.09.037
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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