Journal
CELL
Volume 111, Issue 3, Pages 319-330Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/S0092-8674(02)01047-4
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Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [HD 36000, R01 HD036000] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMH NIH HHS [R01 MH070000] Funding Source: Medline
- NINDS NIH HHS [R01 NS 42629, R01 NS 3700, R01 NS 37061] Funding Source: Medline
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At vertebrate neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), Agrin plays pivotal roles in synapse development, but molecules that activate synapse formation at central synapses are largely unknown. Members of the Wnt family are well established as morphogens, yet recently they have also been implicated in synapse maturation. Here we demonstrate that the Drosophila Wnt, Wingless (Wg), is essential for synapse development. We show that Wg and its receptor are expressed at glutamatergic NMJs, and that Wg is secreted by synaptic boutons. Loss of Wg leads to dramatic reductions in target-dependent synapse formation, and new boutons either fail to develop active zones and postsynaptic specializations or these are strikingly aberrant. We suggest that Wg signals the coordinated development of pre- and postsynaptic compartments.
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