Activated mutants of the alpha subunit of G(o) promote an increased number of neurites per cell.
The high concentration of the GTP-binding protein G(o) in the neuronal growth cone suggests that G(o) activation state may after neurite outgrowth. We find that activation of pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins by mastoparan increases neurite outgrowth from neuroblastoma cells. To examine G(o) activation specifically, point mutations homologous to activating, oncogenic mutations in alpha i2 and alpha s were introduced into the alpha subunit of G(o). The stability of the alpha o mutants to tryptic digestion confirms that they are activated. When expressed in PC12 or N1E-115 cells, activated alpha o doubles total neurites length per cell, primarily by increasing the number of neurites per cell. The growth cones of cells expressing activated alpha o are narrower than control growth cones. Expression of wildtype alpha o or the activated alpha subunits of other G-proteins did not affect total neurite length per cell. Thus, factors that lead to activation of G(o) can modulate neurite number per cell.[1]References
- Activated mutants of the alpha subunit of G(o) promote an increased number of neurites per cell. Strittmatter, S.M., Fishman, M.C., Zhu, X.P. J. Neurosci. (1994) [Pubmed]
Annotations and hyperlinks in this abstract are from individual authors of WikiGenes or automatically generated by the WikiGenes Data Mining Engine. The abstract is from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.About WikiGenesOpen Access LicencePrivacy PolicyTerms of Useapsburg
