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Full-Text Articles in Developmental Neuroscience
A Novel Switch-Like Function Of Delta-Catenin In Dendrite Development, Ryan Baumert
A Novel Switch-Like Function Of Delta-Catenin In Dendrite Development, Ryan Baumert
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
The formation of neuronal networks in the brain is tightly regulated, and dependent on the morphology of dendrites, the branch-like signal-receiving structures extending from neurons. Disruptions in dendrite development, or dendritogenesis, can lead to the atypical neuronal connectivity associated with multiple neurodevelopmental diseases. My research addresses molecular processes that underlie dendritogenesis via analysis of a pair of novel interactions involving the protein delta-catenin.
In neurons, delta-catenin localizes to dendrites and synapses, where it functions in their development and maintenance. Structurally, delta-catenin possesses a central Armadillo domain and a C-terminal PDZ-binding motif. This motif associates with PDZ domain-containing proteins, and is …
Developmental And Molecular Functions Of Plakophilin-3, William A. Munoz
Developmental And Molecular Functions Of Plakophilin-3, William A. Munoz
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Plakophilin-3, the less studied member of the plakophilin-catenin subfamily, and the larger catenin family, binds directly to desmosomal cadherin cytoplasmic domains and enhances desmosome formation and stability. In mammals, plakophilin-3 is expressed at the highest levels in desmosome-enriched tissues such as epithelia, with the knock-out in mice producing corresponding reductions in ectodermal integrity. In tissue, cellular and intracellular contexts where plakophilin-3 is not at the desmosomal plaque, little is known about its functions in the cytoplasm or nucleus, where it also localizes.
My work employed embryos of the amphibian, Xenopus laevis, to examine plakophilin-3’s developmental roles. I first evaluated …