RNA-binding protein Hermes/RBPMS inversely affects synapse density and axon arbor formation in retinal ganglion cells in vivo.

ABSTRACT: The RNA-binding protein Hermes [RNA-binding protein with multiple splicing (RBPMS)] is expressed exclusively in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the CNS, but its function in these cells is not known. Here we show that Hermes protein translocates in granules from RGC bodies down the growing axons. Hermes loss of function in both Xenopus laevis and zebrafish embryos leads to a significant reduction in retinal axon arbor complexity in the optic tectum, and expression of a dominant acting mutant Hermes protein, defective in RNA-granule localization, causes similar defects in arborization. Time-lapse analysis of branch dynamics reveals that the decrease in arbor complexity is caused by a reduction in new branches rather than a decrease in branch stability. Surprisingly, Hermes depletion also le

SUBMITTER: Hornberg H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4603358 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature