PTEN regulates starburst amacrine cell dendrite morphology during development.

ABSTRACT: Neurons are subject to extensive developmental regulation to ensure precise subtype-specific morphologies that are intimately tied to their function. Starburst amacrine cells (SACs) in the mammalian retina have a highly stereotyped, radially symmetric dendritic arbor that is essential for their role in direction-selective circuits in the retina. We show that PTEN, the primary negative regulator of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway that is highly implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders, regulates SAC morphology in a cell-autonomous manner. Pten-deficient SACs show a nearly twofold increase in the number of dendritic branches, while other morphological properties remain largely unchanged. These morphological changes arise late in SAC development after dendrite development is largely comple

SUBMITTER: Bracha TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12248082 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature