The contactin-related protein FAR-2 defines Purkinje cell clusters and labels subpopulations of climbing fibers in the developing cerebellum

Item Type:	Article
Title:	The contactin-related protein FAR-2 defines Purkinje cell clusters and labels subpopulations of climbing fibers in the developing cerebellum
Creators Name:	Plagge, A. and Sendtner-Voelderndorff, L. and Sirim, P. and Freigang, J. and Rader, C. and Sonderegger, P. and Bruemmendorf, T.
Abstract:	FAR-2 is a novel neural member of the Ig superfamily, which is related to F11/F3/contactin and axonin-1/TAG-1. This protein is expressed by subpopulations of Purkinje cells in the chicken cerebellum and FAR-2-positive clusters of these neurons alternate with FAR-2-negative clusters in both tangential dimensions of the cerebellar cortex. Furthermore, FAR-2 is also expressed by one type of Purkinje cell afferents, namely, the climbing fibers, and different subpopulations of these axons show distinct levels of FAR-2 expression. Homology modeling using axonih-1 as a template reveals that the four aminoterminal Ig domains of FAR-2 form a compact U-shaped structure, which is likely to contain functionally important ligand-binding sites. FAR-2 is binding to the Ig superfamily protein NgCAM/L1, but not to the related receptor NrCAM, and it is also interacting with the modular ECM protein tenascin-R. These results suggest that FAR-2 may contribute to the formation of somatotopic maps of cerebellar afferents during the development of the nervous system.
Keywords:	Amino Acid Sequence, Cell Movement, Cerebellum, Chick Embryo, COS Cells, Developmental Gene Expression Regulation, Extracellular Matrix, Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex, Ligands, Membrane Glycoproteins, Molecular Sequence Data, Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neurites, Purkinje Cells, Tenascin, Tertiary Protein Structure, Transfection, Animals, Chickens
Source:	Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience
ISSN:	1044-7431
Publisher:	Academic Press
Volume:	18
Number:	1
Page Range:	91-107
Date:	1 January 2001
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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