Cunningham RL, Herbert AL, Harty BL, Ackerman SD, Monk KR. Mutations in dock1 disrupt early Schwann cell development.
Neural Dev 2018;
13:17. [PMID:
30089513 PMCID:
PMC6083577 DOI:
10.1186/s13064-018-0114-9]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Background
In the peripheral nervous system (PNS), specialized glial cells called Schwann cells produce myelin, a lipid-rich insulating sheath that surrounds axons and promotes rapid action potential propagation. During development, Schwann cells must undergo extensive cytoskeletal rearrangements in order to become mature, myelinating Schwann cells. The intracellular mechanisms that drive Schwann cell development, myelination, and accompanying cell shape changes are poorly understood.
Methods
Through a forward genetic screen in zebrafish, we identified a mutation in the atypical guanine nucleotide exchange factor, dock1, that results in decreased myelination of peripheral axons. Rescue experiments and complementation tests with newly engineered alleles confirmed that mutations in dock1 cause defects in myelination of the PNS. Whole mount in situ hybridization, transmission electron microscopy, and live imaging were used to fully define mutant phenotypes.
Results
We show that Schwann cells in dock1 mutants can appropriately migrate and are not decreased in number, but exhibit delayed radial sorting and decreased myelination during early stages of development.
Conclusions
Together, our results demonstrate that mutations in dock1 result in defects in Schwann cell development and myelination. Specifically, loss of dock1 delays radial sorting and myelination of peripheral axons in zebrafish.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s13064-018-0114-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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