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PKC-mediated RhoGDI interaction with p75NTR JUX domain

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Joint retreat of KI and NUS labs in Singapore

Fellows from the KI lab flew to Singapore for a 2 day retreat with the NUS group on 16th and 17th of January 2017. After 4 years of joint lab meetings over Skype, fellows of both groups enjoyed an opportunity to discuss common projects and ideas face to face. We were joined by the NUS and UCSD groups of Prof. Ed Koo and had joint plenary and also parallel sessions, as well as group building activities, as shown in the photo below.

 

New paper shows novel function of the GFRα1 receptor

In this new paper, we show how the GFRα1 receptor regulates Purkinje cell migration independently of GDNF or RET, by limiting the function of NCAM. The paper has just been published in Cell Reports.

During embryonic development of the cerebellum, Purkinje cells (PCs) migrate away from the ventricular zone to form the PC plate. The mechanisms that regulate PC migration are incompletely understood. Here, we report that the neurotrophic receptor GFRα1 is transiently expressed in developing PCs and loss of GFRα1 delays PC migration. Neither GDNF nor RET, the canonical GFRα1 ligand and co-receptor, respectively, contribute to this process. Instead, we found that the neural cell adhesion molecule NCAM is co-expressed and directly interacts with GFRα1 in embryonic PCs. Genetic reduction of NCAM expression enhances wild-type PC migration and restores migration in Gfra1 mutants, indicating that NCAM restricts PC migration in the embryonic cerebellum. In vitro experiments indicated that GFRα1 can function both in cis and trans to counteract NCAM and promote PC migration. Collectively, our studies show that GFRα1 contributes to PC migration by limiting NCAM function.

Read the full paper HERE.