LAR receptor tyrosine phosphatases and HSPGs guide peripheral sensory axons to the skin.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Peripheral axons of somatosensory neurons innervate the skin early in development to detect touch stimuli. Embryological experiments had suggested that the skin produces guidance cues that attract sensory axons, but neither the attractants nor their neuronal receptors had previously been identified.

Results

To investigate peripheral axon navigation to the skin, we combined live imaging of developing zebrafish Rohon-Beard (RB) neurons with molecular loss-of-function manipulations. Simultaneously knocking down two members of the leukocyte antigen-related (LAR) family of receptor tyrosine phosphatases expressed in RB neurons, or inhibiting their function with dominant-negative proteins, misrouted peripheral axons to internal tissues. Time-lapse imaging indicated that

SUBMITTER: Wang F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3298620 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature