Full metadata
Title
The Role of ERK/MAPK In The Postnatal Development of Lower Motor Neurons
Description
The Erk/MAPK pathway plays a major role in cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Genetic mutations that cause dysregulation in this pathway can result in the development of Rasopathies, a group of several different syndromes including Noonan Syndrome, Costello Syndrome, and Neurofibromatosis Type-1. Since these mutations are germline and affect all cell types it is hard to differentiate the role that Erk/MAPK plays in each cell type. Previous research has shown that individual cell types utilize the Erk/MAPK pathway in different ways. For example, the morphological development of lower motor neuron axonal projections is Erk/MAPK-independent during embryogenesis, while nociceptive neuron projections require Erk/MAPK to innervate epidermal targets. Here, we tested whether Erk/MAPK played a role in the postnatal development of lower motor neurons during crucial periods of activity-dependent circuit modifications. We have generated Cre-dependent conditional Erk/MAPK mutant mice that exhibit either loss or gain of Erk/MAPK signaling specifically in ChAT:Cre expressing lower motor neurons. Importantly, we found that Erk/MAPK is necessary for the development of neuromuscular junction morphology by the second postnatal week. In contrast, we were unable to detect a significant difference in lower motor neuron development in Erk/MAPK gain-of-function mice. The data suggests that Erk/MAPK plays an important role in postnatal lower motor neuron development by regulating the morphological maturation of the neuromuscular junction.
Date Created
2017
Contributors
- Smith, Colton (Author)
- Newbern, Jason (Thesis advisor)
- Neisewander, Janet (Committee member)
- Hamm, Thomas (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
83 pages
Language
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.45555
Level of coding
minimal
Note
Masters Thesis Biology 2017
System Created
- 2017-10-02 07:20:38
System Modified
- 2021-08-26 09:47:01
- 2 years 8 months ago
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