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Article
| Open Access
LRRK2 regulates retrograde synaptic compensation at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction
Mutations in the protein LRRK2 have been associated with Parkinson's disease but little is still known about the basic functions of the protein in the brain. Here the authors show that in fruit flies, LRRK2 regulates retrograde homeostatic synaptic compensation at the larval neuromuscular junction.
- Jay Penney
- , Kazuya Tsurudome
- & A. Pejmun Haghighi
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Article
| Open Access
ALS-associated mutant FUS induces selective motor neuron degeneration through toxic gain of function
The mechanism by which FUS mutations cause familial ALS remains unclear. Here, the authors use mouse transgenic models to show that a toxic gain-of-function underlies motor neuron degeneration, and that the toxicity of mutant FUS does not depend on a loss or excess of FUS activity.
- Aarti Sharma
- , Alexander K. Lyashchenko
- & Neil A. Shneider
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Activity-dependent facilitation of Synaptojanin and synaptic vesicle recycling by the Minibrain kinase
Dysregulation of the kinase Mnb is implicated in autism spectrum disorder and Down’s syndrome. Here the authors demonstrate that Mnb is required for correct synaptic morphology and synaptic vesicle endocytosis, which it achieves via phosphorylation of the synaptic endocytosis protein Synaptojanin.
- Chun-Kan Chen
- , Catherine Bregere
- & Karen T. Chang
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Morphological and functional remodelling of the neuromuscular junction by skeletal muscle PGC-1α
The peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ co-activator 1α (PGC-1α) is implicated in regulating the morphology and function of the neuromuscular junction. Here, Arnold et al.show that PGC-1α promotes the remodeling of pre- and postsynaptic neuromuscular junction sites, even in the absence of physical activity.
- Anne-Sophie Arnold
- , Jonathan Gill
- & Christoph Handschin
Efficient generation of a self-organizing neuromuscular junction model from human pluripotent stem cells