Searching across hundreds of databases

Our searching services are busy right now. Your search will reload in five seconds.

X
Forgot Password

If you have forgotten your password you can enter your email here and get a temporary password sent to your email.

X
Forgot Password

If you have forgotten your password you can enter your email here and get a temporary password sent to your email.

Alternative splicing of neuroligin and its protein distribution in the outer plexiform layer of the chicken retina.

The Journal of comparative neurology | 2010

Although synaptogenesis within the retina is obviously essential for vision, mechanisms responsible for the initiation and maintenance of retinal synapses are poorly understood. In addition to its scientific interest, understanding retinal synapse formation is becoming clinically relevant with ongoing efforts to develop transplantation-based approaches for the treatment of retinal degenerative disease. To extend our understanding, we have focused on the chick model system and have studied the neuroligin family of neuronal adhesion factors that has been shown to participate in synapse assembly in the brain. We identified chicken orthologs of neuroligins 1, -3, and -4, but could find no evidence of neuroligin 2. We investigated temporal and spatial patterns of mRNA and protein expression during development using standard polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative PCR (QPCR), laser-capture microdissection (LCM), and confocal microscopy. At the mRNA level, neuroligins were detected at the earliest period tested, embryonic day (ED)5, which precedes the period of inner retina synaptogenesis. Significant alternative splicing was observed through development. While neuroligin gene products were generally detected in the inner retina, low levels of neuroligin 1 mRNA were also detected in the photoreceptor layer. Neuroligin 3 and -4 transcripts, on the other hand, were only detected in the inner retina. At retinal synapses neuroligin 1 protein was detected in the inner plexiform layer, but its highest levels were detected in the outer plexiform layer on the tips of horizontal cell dendrites. This work lays the groundwork for future studies on the functional roles of the neuroligins within the retina.

Pubmed ID: 21031560 RIS Download

Associated grants

  • Agency: NEI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: P30 EY001765
  • Agency: NEI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: EY009769
  • Agency: NEI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: EY04859
  • Agency: PHS HHS, United States
    Id: T32-07143
  • Agency: NEI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: EY1765
  • Agency: NEI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R01 EY009769
  • Agency: NEI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R01 EY004859

Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.

This is a list of tools and resources that we have found mentioned in this publication.


Sequencher (tool)

RRID:SCR_001528

Software for Next-Generation DNA sequencing, Sanger DNA analysis, and RNA sequencing. It contains sequence analysis tools which include reference-guided alignments, de novo assembly, variant calling, and SNP analyses. It has integrated the Cufflinks suite for in-depth transcript analysis and differential gene expression of RNA-Seq data.

View all literature mentions

NeuroMab (tool)

RRID:SCR_003086

A national mouse monoclonal antibody generating resource for biochemical and immunohistochemical applications in mammalian brain. NeuroMabs are generated from mice immunized with synthetic and recombinant immunogens corresponding to components of the neuronal proteome as predicted from genomic and other large-scale cloning efforts. Comprehensive biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses of human, primate and non-primate mammalian brain are incorporated into the initial NeuroMab screening procedure. This yields a subset of mouse mAbs that are optimized for use in brain (i.e. NeuroMabs): for immunocytochemical-based imaging studies of protein localization in adult, developing and pathological brain samples, for biochemical analyses of subunit composition and post-translational modifications of native brain proteins, and for proteomic analyses of native brain protein networks. The NeuroMab facility was initially funded with a five-year U24 cooperative grant from NINDS and NIMH. The initial goal of the facility for this funding period is to generate a library of novel NeuroMabs against neuronal proteins, initially focusing on membrane proteins (receptors/channels/transporters), synaptic proteins, other neuronal signaling molecules, and proteins with established links to disease states. The scope of the facility was expanded with supplements from the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research to include neurodevelopmental targets, the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research to include epigenetics targets, and NIH Office of Rare Diseases Research to include rare disease targets. These NeuroMabs will then be produced on a large scale and made available to the neuroscience research community on an inexpensive basis as tissue culture supernatants or purified immunoglobulin by Antibodies Inc. The UC Davis/NIH NeuroMab Facility makes NeuroMabs available directly to end users and is unable to accommodate sales to distributors for third party distribution. Note, NeuroMab antibodies are now offered through antibodiesinc.

View all literature mentions

SMART (tool)

RRID:SCR_005026

Software tool for identification and annotation of genetically mobile domains and analysis of domain architectures.

View all literature mentions

Geneious (tool)

RRID:SCR_010519

Software package for sequence alignment, assembly and analysis. Integrated and extendable desktop software platform for organization and analysis of sequence data. Bioinformatics software platform packed with molecular biology and sequence analysis tools.

View all literature mentions

DSHB (tool)

RRID:SCR_013527

An antibody supplier which banks and distributes hybridomas and monoclonal antibodies for use in research. The bank includes antibodies against targets such as GFP, transcription factors, stem cells, and human.

View all literature mentions

SignalP (tool)

RRID:SCR_015644

Web application for prediction of the presence and location of signal peptide cleavage sites in amino acid sequences from different organisms. The method incorporates a prediction of cleavage sites and a signal peptide/non-signal peptide prediction based on a combination of several artificial neural networks.

View all literature mentions

Anti-PSD-95 Antibody (antibody)

RRID:AB_10698024

This monoclonal targets PSD-95 MAGUK scaffolding protein

View all literature mentions

Anti-CASK Antibody (antibody)

RRID:AB_2068730

This monoclonal targets CASK

View all literature mentions

Anti-Neuroligin-1 Antibody (antibody)

RRID:AB_2235964

This monoclonal targets Neuroligin-1

View all literature mentions

Anti-PSD-95 Antibody (antibody)

RRID:AB_2292909

This monoclonal targets PSD 95

View all literature mentions

Lhx1/5 (antibody)

RRID:AB_531784

This unknown targets

View all literature mentions