The Goα splice variants Go1α and Go2α are subunits of the most abundant G-proteins in brain, Go1 and Go2. Only a few interacting partners binding to Go1α have been described so far and splice variant-specific differences are not known. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen with constitutively active Go2α as bait, we identified Rap1GTPase activating protein (Rap1GAP) and Girdin as interacting partners of Go2α, which was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. Comparison of subcellular fractions from brains of wild type and Go2α-/- mice revealed no differences in the overall expression level of Girdin or Rap1GAP. However, we found higher amounts of active Rap1-GTP in brains of Go2α deficient mutants, indicating that Go2α may increase Rap1GAP activity, thereby effecting the Rap1 activation/deactivation cycle. Rap1 has been shown to be involved in neurite outgrowth and given a Rap1GAP-Go2α interaction, we found that the loss of Go2α affected axonal outgrowth. Axons of cultured cortical and hippocampal neurons prepared from embryonic Go2α-/- mice grew longer and developed more branches than those from wild-type mice. Taken together, we provide evidence that Go2α regulates axonal outgrowth and branching.
Pubmed ID: 23373526 RIS Download
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.
Neurolucida is advanced scientific software for brain mapping, neuron reconstruction, anatomical mapping, and morphometry. Since its debut more than 20 years ago, Neurolucida has continued to evolve and has become the worldwide gold-standard for neuron reconstruction and 3D mapping. Neurolucida has the flexibility to handle data in many formats: using live images from digital or video cameras; stored image sets from confocal microscopes, electron microscopes, and scanning tomographic sources, or through the microscope oculars using the patented LucividTM. Neurolucida controls a motorized XYZ stage for integrated navigation through tissue sections, allowing for sophisticated analysis from many fields-of-view. Neurolucidas Serial Section Manager integrates unlimited sections into a single data file, maintaining each section in aligned 3D space for full quantitative analysis. Neurolucidas neuron tracing capabilities include 3D measurement and reconstruction of branching processes. Neurolucida also features sophisticated tools for mapping delineate and map anatomical regions for detailed morphometric analyses. Neurolucida uses advanced computer-controlled microscopy techniques to obtain accurate results and speed your work. Plug-in modules are available for confocal and MRI analysis, 3D solid modeling, and virtual slide creation. The user-friendly interface gives you rapid results, allowing you to acquire data and capture the full 3D extent of neurons and brain regions. You can reconstruct neurons or create 3D serial reconstructions directly from slides or acquired images, and Neurolucida offers full microscope control for brightfield, fluorescent, and confocal microscopes. Its added compatibility with 64-bit Microsoft Vista enables reconstructions with even larger images, image stacks, and virtual slides. Adding the Solid Modeling Module allows you to rotate and view your reconstructions in real time. Neurolucida is available in two separate versions Standard and Workstation. The Standard version enables control of microscope hardware, whereas the Workstation version is used for offline analysis away from the microscope. Neurolucida provides quantitative analysis with results presented in graphical or spreadsheet format exportable to Microsoft Excel. Overall, features include: - Tracing Neurons - Anatomical Mapping - Image Processing and Analysis Features - Editing - Morphometric Analysis - Hardware Integration - Cell Analysis - Visualization Features Sponsors: Neurolucida is supported by MBF Bioscience.
View all literature mentions