Rac GEF Dock4 interacts with cortactin to regulate dendritic spine formation.

ABSTRACT: In neuronal development, dendritic spine formation is important for the establishment of excitatory synaptic connectivity and functional neural circuits. Developmental deficiency in spine formation results in multiple neuropsychiatric disorders. Dock4, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rac, has been reported as a candidate genetic risk factor for autism, dyslexia, and schizophrenia. We previously showed that Dock4 is expressed in hippocampal neurons. However, the functions of Dock4 in hippocampal neurons and the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we show that Dock4 is highly concentrated in dendritic spines and implicated in spine formation via interaction with the actin-binding protein cortactin. In cultured neurons, short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated

SUBMITTER: Ueda S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3655820 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature