| First Author | Lim ST | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | J Neurochem | Volume | 120 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 741-51 |
| PubMed ID | 22118475 | Mgi Jnum | J:182780 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5316570 | Doi | 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2011.07592.x |
| Citation | Lim ST, et al. (2012) Ectodomain shedding of nectin-1 regulates the maintenance of dendritic spine density. J Neurochem 120(5):741-51 |
| abstractText | Synaptic remodeling has been postulated as a mechanism underlying synaptic plasticity and cell adhesion molecules are thought to contribute to this process. We examined the role of nectin-1 ectodomain shedding on synaptogenesis in cultured rat hippocampal neurons. Nectins are Ca(2+) -independent immunoglobulin-like adhesion molecules, involved in cell-cell adherens junctions. Herein, we show that the processing of nectin-1 occurs by multiple endoproteolytic steps both in vivo and in vitro. We identified regions containing two distinct cleavage sites within the ectodomain of nectin-1. By alanine scanning mutagenesis, two point mutations that disrupt nectin-1 ectodomain cleavage events were identified. Expression of these mutants significantly alters the density of dendritic spines. These findings suggest that ectodomain shedding of nectin-1 regulates dendritic spine density and related synaptic functions. |
