Neuronal and non-neuronal functions of the synaptic cell adhesion molecule neurexin in Nematostella vectensis.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary transition from diffusion-mediated cell-cell communication to faster, targeted synaptic signaling in animal nervous systems is still unclear. Genome sequencing analyses have revealed a widespread distribution of synapse-related genes among early-diverging metazoans, but how synaptic machinery evolved remains largely unknown. Here, we examine the function of neurexins (Nrxns), a family of presynaptic cell adhesion molecules with critical roles in bilaterian chemical synapses, using the cnidarian model, Nematostella vectensis. Delta-Nrxns are expressed mainly in neuronal cell clusters that exhibit both peptidergic and classical neurotransmitter signaling. Knockdown of δ-Nrxn reduces spontaneous peristalsis of N. vectensis polyps. Interestingly, gene knockdown and pharmacolog

SUBMITTER: Guzman C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11294457 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature