The Mechanism of Agrin-Induced Acetylcholine Receptor Aggregation

Agrin, a protein isolated from the synapse-rich electric organ of Torpedo californica, induces the formation of specializations on myotubes in culture which resemble the post-synaptic apparatus at the vertebrate skeletal neuromuscular junction. For example, the specializations contain aggregates of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 1991-03, Vol.331 (1261), p.273-280
Main Author: Wallace, Bruce G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregation
Agrin
Animals
Antibodies
Basement membrane
Basement Membrane - metabolism
Cell aggregates
Models, Neurological
Molecules
Motor neurons
Motor Neurons - metabolism
Muscle fibers
Muscles - metabolism
Nerve Tissue Proteins - antagonists & inhibitors
Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism
Nerve Tissue Proteins - pharmacology
Phosphorylation
Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - metabolism
Receptors
Receptors, Cholinergic - drug effects
Receptors, Cholinergic - metabolism
Synapses
Synapses - metabolism
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Summary:Agrin, a protein isolated from the synapse-rich electric organ of Torpedo californica, induces the formation of specializations on myotubes in culture which resemble the post-synaptic apparatus at the vertebrate skeletal neuromuscular junction. For example, the specializations contain aggregates of acetylcholine receptors and acetylcholinesterase. This report summarizes the evidence that the formation of the post-synaptic apparatus at developing and regenerating neuromuscular junctions is triggered by the release of agrin from motor axon terminals and describes results of recent experiments which suggest that agrininduced tyrosine phosphorylation of the $\beta $ subunit of the acetylcholine receptor may play a role in receptor aggregation.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.1991.0016