Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Aberrant differentiation of neuromuscular junctions in mice lacking s-laminin/laminin β2

Abstract

SYNAPSE formation requires a complex interchange of information between the pre- and postsynaptic partners. At the skeletal neuro-muscular junction, some of this information is contained in the basal lamina (BL), which runs through the synaptic cleft between the motor nerve terminal and the muscle fibre. During regeneration following injury, components of synaptic BL can trigger several features of postsynaptic differentiation in the absence of the nerve terminal, and of presynaptic differentiation in the absence of the muscle fibre1–3. One nerve-derived component of synaptic BL, agrin, is known to affect postsynaptic differentiation3, but no muscle-derived components have yet been shown to influence motor nerve terminals. A candidate for such a role is s-laminin (also called laminin β2), a homologue of the Bl (β1) chain of the widely distributed BL glycoprotein, laminin30. s-laminin is synthesized by muscle cells5 and concentrated in synaptic BL4. In vitro, recombinant s-laminin fragments are selectively adhesive for motor neuron-like cells, inhibit neurite outgrowth promoted by other matrix molecules, and act as a 'stop signal' for growing neurites6,7. By generating and characterizing mice with a targeted mutation of the S-laminin gene, we show here that s-laminin regulates formation of motor nerve terminals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Sanes, J. R., Marshall, L. M. & McMahan, U. J. J. Cell Biol. 78, 176–198 (1978).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Burden, S. J., Sargent, P. B. & McMahan, U. J. J. Cell Biol. 82, 412–425 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hall, Z. W. & Sanes, J. R. Cell 72/Neuron 10 (suppl.) 99–121 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sanes, J. R., Engvall, E., Butkowski, R. & Hunter, D. D. J. Cell Biol. 111, 1685–1699 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Green, T. L., Hunter, D. D., Chan, W., Merlie, J. P. & Sanes, J. R. J. biol. Chem. 267, 2014–2022 (1992).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Hunter, D. D. et al. Cell 59, 905–913 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Porter, B. E., Weis, J. & Sanes, J. R. Neuron (in the press).

  8. Merlie, J. P. & Sanes, J. R. Nature 317, 66–68 (1985).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Karnovsky, M. J. J. Cell Biol. 23, 217–232 (1964).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Gurney, M. E., Yamamoto, H. & Kwon, Y. J. Neurosci. 12, 3241–3247 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bailce-Gordon, R. J. & Lichtman, J. W. J. Neurosci. 13, 834–855 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Balice-Gordon, R. J., Chua, C. K., Nelson, C. C. & Lichtman, J. W. Neuron 11, 801–815 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Gu, Y. & Hall, Z. W. Neuron 1, 117–125 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Covault, J. & Sanes, J. R. J. Cell Biol. 102, 716–730 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Greengard, P., Valtorta, F., Czernik, A. J. & Benfenati, F. Science 259, 708–784 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hirokawa, N., Sobue, K., Kanda, K., Harada, A. & Yorifuji, H. J. Cell Biol. 108, 111–126 (1989).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Rosahl, T. W. et al. Cell 75, 661–670 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Hutchinson, D. O. et al. Brain 116, 633–653 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Jirmanová, I. J. Neurocyt. 4, 141–155 (1975).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Inoue, A., Obata, K. & Akagawa, K. J. biol. Chem. 267, 10613–10619 (1992).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Buckley, K. & Kelly, R. B. J. Cell Biol. 100, 1284–1294 (1985).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Südhof, T. C., Lottspeich, F., Greengard, P., Ehrenfried, M. & Jahn, R. Science 238, 1142–1144 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Matthew, W. D., Tsavaler, L. & Reichardt, L. F. J. Cell Biol. 91, 257–269 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Scott, L. J. C., Bacou, F. & Sanes, J. R. J. Neurosci. 8, 932–944 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Miner, J. H. & Sanes, J. R. J. Cell Biol. 127, 879–891 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Phillips, W. D., Maimone, M. M. & Merlie, J. P. J. Cell Biol. 115, 1713–1723 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Ervasti, J. M. & Campbell, K. P. Cell 66, 1121–1131 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. McMahan, A. P. & Bradley, A. Cell. 62, 1073–1085 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Nagy, A., Rossant, J., Nagy, T., Abramow-Newerly, W. & Roder, J. C. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 8424–8428 (1993).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. Hunter, D. D., Shah, V., Merlie, J. P. & Sanes, J. R. Nature 338, 229–234 (1989).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Noakes, P., Gautam, M., Mudd, J. et al. Aberrant differentiation of neuromuscular junctions in mice lacking s-laminin/laminin β2. Nature 374, 258–262 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/374258a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/374258a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing