Nerve-induced remodeling of muscle basal lamina during synaptogenesis

Roles of tyrosine kinases and phosphatases in the formation and dispersal of acetylcholine receptor clusters

The formation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters at the postsynaptic muscle membrane in response to motor innervation is a key event in the development of the neuromuscular junction. The synaptic AChR clustering process is initiated by motor axon-released agrin, which activates a tyrosine kinase-based signaling pathway to cause AChR aggregation. In cultured muscle cells, AChR clustering is elicited by diverse nonneural signals, and this process is also mediated by tyrosine kinases. Conversely, the formation of new AChR clusters induced by innervation or nonneural stimuli is unfailingly associated with the dispersal of pre-existing AChR clusters, and this process is mediated by tyrosine phosphatases. In this review, we address how local kinase activation leads to global phosphatase action in muscle. More specifically, we discuss the roles of Src kinase and the SH2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase Shp-2 in establishing a regenerative mechanism to propagate the AChR cluster dispersing signal extrasynaptically and in defining the boundary of cluster formation subsynaptically.

Nerve, Muscle, and Synaptogenesis

The vertebrate skeletal neuromuscular junction (NMJ) has long served as a model system for studying synapse structure, function, and development. Over the last several decades, a neuron-specific isoform of agrin, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, has been identified as playing a central role in synapse formation at all vertebrate skeletal neuromuscular synapses. While agrin was initially postulated to be the inductive molecule that initiates synaptogenesis, this model has been modified in response to work showing that postsynaptic differentiation can develop in the absence of innervation, and that synapses can form in transgenic mice in which the agrin gene is ablated. In place of a unitary mechanism for neuromuscular synapse formation, studies in both mice and zebrafish have led to the proposal that two mechanisms mediate synaptogenesis, with some synapses being induced by nerve contact while others involve the incorporation of prepatterned postsynaptic structures. Moreover, the current model also proposes that agrin can serve two functions, to induce synaptogenesis and to stabilize new synapses, once these are formed. This review examines the evidence for these propositions, and concludes that it remains possible that a single molecular mechanism mediates synaptogenesis at all NMJs, and that agrin acts as a stabilizer, while its role as inducer is open to question. Moreover, if agrin does not act to initiate synaptogenesis, it follows that as yet uncharacterized molecular interactions are required to play this essential inductive role. Several alternatives to agrin for this function are suggested, including focal pericellular proteolysis and integrin signaling, but all require experimental validation.

The dystroglycan complex is necessary for stabilization of acetylcholine receptor clusters at neuromuscular junctions and formation of the synaptic basement membrane

The dystrophin-associated protein (DAP) complex spans the sarcolemmal membrane linking the cytoskeleton to the basement membrane surrounding each myofiber. Defects in the DAP complex have been linked previously to a variety of muscular dystrophies. Other evidence points to a role for the DAP complex in formation of nerve-muscle synapses. We show that myotubes differentiated from dystroglycan-/- embryonic stem cells are responsive to agrin, but produce acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters which are two to three times larger in area, about half as dense, and significantly less stable than those on dystroglycan+/+ myotubes. AChRs at neuromuscular junctions are similarly affected in dystroglycan-deficient chimeric mice and there is a coordinate increase in nerve terminal size at these junctions. In culture and in vivo the absence of dystroglycan disrupts the localization to AChR clusters of laminin, perlecan, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but not rapsyn or agrin. Treatment of myotubes in culture with laminin induces AChR clusters on dystroglycan+/+, but not -/- myotubes. These results suggest that dystroglycan is essential for the assembly of a synaptic basement membrane, most notably by localizing AChE through its binding to perlecan. In addition, they suggest that dystroglycan functions in the organization and stabilization of AChR clusters, which appear to be mediated through its binding of laminin.

Synapse formation molecules in muscle and autonomic ganglia: the dual constraint hypothesis

In 1970 it was thought that if the motor-nerve supply to a muscle was interrupted and then allowed to regenerate into the muscle, motor-synaptic terminals most often formed presynaptic specializations at random positions over the surface of the constituent muscle fibres, so that the original spatial pattern of synapses was not restored. However, in the early 1970s a systematic series of experiments were carried out showing that if injury to muscles was avoided then either reinnervation or cross-reinnervation reconstituted the pattern of synapses on the muscle fibres according to an analysis using the combined techniques of electrophysiology, electronmicroscopy and histology on the muscles. It was thus shown that motor-synaptic terminals are uniquely restored to their original synaptic positions. This led to the concept of the synaptic site, defined as that region on a muscle fibre that contains molecules for triggering synaptic terminal formation. However, nerves in developing muscles were found to form connections at random positions on the surface of the very short muscle cells, indicating that these molecules are not generated by the muscle but imprinted by the nerves themselves; growth in length of the cells on either side of the imprint creates the mature synaptic site in the approximate middle of the muscle fibres. This process is accompanied at first by the differentiation of an excess number of terminals at the synaptic site, and then the elimination of all but one of the terminals. In the succeeding 25 years, identification of the synaptic site molecules has been a major task of molecular neurobiology. This review presents an historical account of the developments this century of the idea that synaptic-site formation molecules exist in muscle. The properties that these molecules must possess if they are to guide the differentiation and elimination of synaptic terminals is considered in the context of a quantitative model of this process termed the dual-constraint hypothesis. It is suggested that the molecules agrin, ARIA, MuSK and S-laminin have suitable properties according to the dual-constraint hypothesis to subserve this purpose. The extent to which there is evidence for similar molecules at neuronal synapses such as those in autonomic ganglia is also considered.

The relationship between perlecan and dystroglycan and its implication in the formation of the neuromuscular junction

Perlecan is a major heparan-sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) within the basement membrane surrounding skeletal muscle fibers. The C-terminus of its core protein contains three globular domain modules which are also found in laminin and agrin, two proteins that bind to dystroglycan (DG, cranin) on the muscle surface with these modules. In this study, we examined whether perlecan can also bind to DG and is involved in signaling the formation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). By labeling cultured muscle cells with a polyclonal anti-perlecan antibody, this protein is found both within the extracellular matrix in a fibrillar network and at the cell surface in a punctate pattern. In Xenopus muscle cells, the cell-surface perlecan is precisely colocalized with DG. Both perlecan and DG are clustered at ACh receptor clusters induced by spinal neurons or by beads coated with HB-GAM, a heparin-binding growth factor. Blot overlay assays have shown that perlecan binds alpha-DG in a calcium and heparin-sensitive manner. Furthermore, perlecan is present in muscle lysate immunoprecipitated with an anti-DG antibody. Immunolabeling also showed colocalization between HB-GAM and perlecan and between HB-GAM and DG. These data suggest that perlecan is anchored to muscle surface via DG-dystrophin complex. Since DG is also a site of agrin binding, the neural agrin secreted by motoneurons during NMJ formation may compete with the pre-existing perlecan for cell surface binding. This competition may result in the presentation of perlecan-bound growth factors such as HB-GAM to effect synaptic induction.

Retrograde signaling in the development and modification of synapses

Retrograde signaling from the postsynaptic cell to the presynaptic neuron is essential for the development, maintenance, and activity-dependent modification of synaptic connections. This review covers various forms of retrograde interactions at developing and mature synapses. First, we discuss evidence for early retrograde inductive events during synaptogenesis and how maturation of presynaptic structure and function is affected by signals from the postsynaptic cell. Second, we review the evidence that retrograde interactions are involved in activity-dependent synapse competition and elimination in developing nervous systems and in long-term potentiation and depression at mature synapses. Third, we review evidence for various forms of retrograde signaling via membrane-permeant factors, secreted factors, and membrane-bound factors. Finally, we discuss the evidence and physiological implications of the long-range propagation of retrograde signals to the cell body and other parts of the presynaptic neuron.

A role of midkine in the development of the neuromuscular junction

Midkine (MK) is a member of a family of developmentally regulated neurotrophic and heparin-binding growth factors. It is expressed during the midgestation period in a retinoid-acid dependent manner during embryogenesis in the mouse. In vitro, it promotes neurite outgrowth from spinal cord neurons and cell migration. It expression is strongest in the central nervous system, thus suggesting a function for this protein in neural development. In this study, the role of MK in synaptogenesis was examined in the Xenopus system. A Xenopus MK cDNA was cloned from an embryonic library encompassing neurulation and synaptogenesis stages. By Northern blot analysis, MK mRNA was detected from the onset of neurulation and throughout the stages of synaptogenesis in the Xenopus embryo. This suggests that MK is also an important growth regulator in Xenopus embryogenesis. To study the function of MK in the development of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), fusion proteins were made and their ability to induce the formation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters in cultured muscle cells was studied. Beads coated with MK strongly induce AChR clustering. When nerve-muscle cocultures were labeled with antibodies made against the MK fusion protein, MK immunoreactivity was detected at the NMJ. Unlike heparin-binding growth-associated molecule (HB-GAM), another member of this growth factor family, MK expression cannot be detected in the muscle but is present in spinal cord neurites. Consistent with these in vitro data is the observation that MK mRNA is only localized in the central nervous system but the protein is deposited at the intersomitic junction where the NMJ is located in vivo. Exogenously applied MK does bind to the heparan sulfate proteoglycan on the surface of Xenopus muscle cells. Agrin, a heparan-sulfate proteoglycan that induces the formation of AChR clusters in cultured muscle cells, binds strongly to MK. Bath application of MK in conjunction with agrin results in a change in the pattern of AChR clustering induced by agrin alone. These data suggest that MK is a neuron-derived factor that participates in the signal transduction process during NMJ development.

Nerve-induced disruption and reformation of beta1-integrin aggregates during development of the neuromuscular junction

The earliest biochemical change detected during synaptogenesis is a local elimination of muscle basal lamina proteins. To explore whether this provides signal(s) that regulate postsynaptic differentiation, we examined the effects of innervation on the distribution of beta1-integrins, which were initially present in scattered aggregates complexed with basal lamina ligands. These beta1-integrin aggregates disappear along paths of nerve contact as their basal lamina ligands are eliminated. New accumulations of these proteins then form during assembly of the postsynaptic apparatus. The new beta1-integrin aggregates at developing synapses form partly via a redistribution of mobile molecules on muscle surface. We thus consider whether (a) the removal of integrins' basal lamina ligands alters their cytoplasmic ligand-interactions, causing the dissociation of integrin clusters, and (b) this receptor modulation helps to transduce local changes in pericellular protease activity into cytoplasmic signals that control postsynaptic differentiation.

Intercellular communication that mediates formation of the neuromuscular junction

Reciprocal signals between the motor axon and myofiber induce structural and functional differentiation in the developing neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Elevation of presynaptic acetylcholine (ACh) release on nerve-muscle contact and the correlated increase in axonal-free calcium are triggered by unidentified membrane molecules. Restriction of axon growth to the developing NMJ and formation of active zones for ACh release in the presynaptic terminal may be induced by molecules in the synaptic basal lamina, such as S-laminin, heparin binding growth factors, and agrin. Acetylcholine receptor (AChR) synthesis by muscle cells may be increased by calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), ascorbic acid, and AChR-inducing activity (ARIA)/heregulin, which is the best-established regulator. Heparin binding growth factors, proteases, adhesion molecules, and agrin all may be involved in the induction of AChR redistribution to form postsynaptic-like aggregates. However, the strongest case has been made for agrin's involvement. "Knockout" experiments have implicated agrin as a primary anterograde signal for postsynaptic differentiation and muscle-specific kinase (MuSK), as a putative agrin receptor. It is likely that both presynaptic and postsynaptic differentiation are induced by multiple molecular signals. Future research should reveal the physiological roles of different molecules, their interactions, and the identity of other molecular participants.

Proteolytic disruption of laminin-integrin complexes on muscle cells during synapse formation

To explore whether a neural modulation of muscle integrins' extracellular ligand interactions contributes to synapse induction, we compared the distributions of beta1-integrins and basal lamina proteins on Xenopus myotomal myocytes developing in culture. beta1-Integrins formed numerous organized aggregates scattered over the entire muscle surface, with particularly dense accumulations at specialized sites resembling myotendinous and neuromuscular junctions. Integrin aggregates on muscle cells differed from those on surrounding fibroblasts and epithelial cells, both in their lack of response to cross-linking by multivalent ligands and in their consistent association with the cells' own extracellular matrices. Muscle integrin clusters were usually associated with congruent basal lamina accumulations containing laminin and a heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), sometimes including fibronectin and vitronectin acquired from the surrounding medium. Immediately prior to synaptic differentiation, any existing laminin and HSPG accumulations along the path of cell contact were eliminated, disrupting otherwise stable laminin-integrin complexes. This apparently proteolytic modulation of integrins' extracellular ligand interactions was soon followed by the accumulation of new congruent accumulations of laminin and HSPG in the developing synaptic basal lamina. Combining these results with earlier findings, we consider the possibility that postsynaptic differentiation is induced, at least in part, by the proteolytic disruption of integrin-ligand complexes at sites of nerve-muscle contact.

Microfilament-membrane interactions in Xenopus myocytes

We used quick-freeze, deep-etch, rotary-replication transmission electron microscopy to determine at molecular resolution the organization of microfilaments at the cytoplasmic surface of the sarcolemma of Xenopus myocytes. We demonstrate that actin microfilaments interact with the sarcolemma in two distinct ways. In one, which resembled focal contacts in Xenopus fibroblasts [Samuelsson et al., 1993: J. Cell Biol. 122:485-496], bundles of microfilaments approached the sarcolemma at sites containing aggregates of membrane-associated particles. Immunogold cytochemistry showed that these particle aggregates contained vinculin, talin and beta 1-integrin. In the second, which covered most of the cytoplasmic surface of the sarcolemma, individual actin microfilaments formed an extensive, lattice-like array. Particle aggregates associated with this array of actin microfilaments also labeled with antibodies to vinculin, talin and beta 1-integrin. The unique, lattice-like association of actin microfilaments with the membrane in Xenopus myocytes suggests that the organization of actin filaments over most of the sarcolemma is distinct from focal contacts, mediating widespread associations of the actin cytoskeleton with the cytoplasmic membrane face.

Elevation in presynaptic Ca2+ level accompanying initial nerve-muscle contact in tissue culture

Nerve-muscle cocultures were used to study the relationship between neuronal Ca2+ level and the earliest nerve-muscle interaction. Xenopus spinal cord neurons were loaded with Ca2+ indicators and monitored by digital video microscopy as a myoball was manipulated into contact with it. Transmitter release was measured from the myoball by whole-cell recording. We observed a 1.5- to 6-fold increase in Ca2+ level in the neurite upon contact with a myoball. Fifty percent of the pairs showing Ca2+ elevation were also positive for neurotransmission. This Ca2+ rise was suppressed by lifting away the myoball, by Ca(2+)-free solution, or by suramin, a polyanionic compound that interferes with cell surface receptors. This suppression was accompanied by a reduction in transmitter release. The specificity of the nerve-muscle contact-induced Ca2+ rise was shown by its absence upon neuron-neuron contact. Naturally formed nerve-muscle contacts also showed an elevation in presynaptic Ca2+ level. Thus, this elevation appears to be a physiological step in the early stage of synaptogenesis and is likely mediated by muscle-derived molecules.

Agrin and the molecular choreography of synapse formation

High concentrations of neurotransmitter receptors characterize neuromuscular junctions as well as neuron-neuron synapses in the brain and periphery. Synaptic function is critically dependent upon this marshalling of neurotransmitter receptors to the post-synaptic membrane. This review discusses agrin's role in orchestrating the molecular topography of the post-synaptic apparatus at nerve-muscle synapses and the emerging evidence suggesting a role for agrin in synaptogenesis in the brain.

Tyrosine phosphorylation and acetylcholine receptor cluster formation in cultured Xenopus muscle cells

Aggregation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at sites of nerve-muscle contact is one of the earliest events to occur during the development of the neuromuscular junction. The stimulus presented to the muscle by nerve and the mechanisms underlying postsynaptic differentiation are not known. The purpose of this study was to examine the distribution of phosphotyrosine (PY)-containing proteins in cultured Xenopus muscle cells in response to AChR clustering stimuli. Results demonstrated a distinct accumulation of PY at AChR clusters induced by several stimuli, including nerve, the culture substratum, and polystyrene microbeads. AChR microclusters formed by external cross-linking did not show PY colocalization, implying that the accumulation of PY in response to clustering stimuli was not due to the aggregation of basally phosphorylated AChRs. A semi-quantitative determination of the time course for development of PY labeling at bead contacts revealed early PY accumulation within 15 min of contact before significant AChR aggregation. At later stages (within 15 h), the AChR signal came to approximate the PY signal. We have reported the inhibition of bead-induced AChR clustering in response to beads by a tyrphostin tyrosine kinase inhibitor (RG50864) (Peng, H. B., L. P. Baker, and Q. Chen. 1991. Neuron. 6:237-246). RG50864 also inhibited PY accumulation at bead contacts, providing evidence for tyrosine kinase activation in response to the bead stimulus. These results suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation may play an important role in the generative stages of cluster formation, and may involve protein(s) other than or in addition to AChRs.

The 29-kDa hemocyte proteinase dissociates fat body at metamorphosis of Sarcophaga

Previously, we reported the purification of a 29-kDa proteinase from the pupal hemocytes of Sarcophaga peregrina (flesh fly). Antibody against this proteinase was found to inhibit dissociation of the fat body by pupal hemocytes in vitro. Moreover, the purified enzyme alone was shown to dissociate the fat body. This enzyme was found to be localized in granules of heterogeneous size in the hemocytes and to be released on their interaction with the fat body. From these results, we conclude that this 29-kDa proteinase participates in dissociation of the fat body at metamorphosis.

Increases in pericellular proteolysis at developing neuromuscular junctions in culture

To determine whether localized changes in pericellular proteolysis contribute to synapse formation, we examined the degradative actions of developing Xenopus laevis nerve and muscle cells on films of extracellular matrix proteins adsorbed to the glass surface of a tissue culture chamber. Skeletal myocytes, growing neurites, and fibroblasts all removed fluorescent fibronectin and laminin from the culture substratum at regions of close cell-surface contact. In addition, however, motor neurites also displayed a particularly enhanced rate of gelatin elimination at developing neuromuscular junctions. It has already been shown (a) that there is a similar remodeling of organized muscle basal lamina proteoglycan accumulations along the path of nerve-muscle contact and (b) that this is the earliest detectable biochemical change specific to developing neuromuscular junctions. Our observations thus suggest that the establishment of motoneuron-muscle contact leads to a further activation of pericellular proteinases along both the pre- and the postsynaptic surfaces of the developing junction. We therefore consider whether site-specific proteinase-activation cascades could contribute to the inductive signals that direct synaptic differentiation.

Muscle-derived agrin in cultured myotubes: expression in the basal lamina and at induced acetylcholine receptor clusters

The synaptic basal lamina (SBL) directs key aspects of the differentiation of regenerating neuromuscular junctions. A range of experiments indicate that agrin or a closely related molecule is stably associated with the SBL and participates in inducing the formation of the postsynaptic apparatus after damage to adult muscle. The selective concentration of agrin-related molecules in the SBL suggests that agrin is secreted locally by cellular components of the nerve-muscle synapse. In vivo studies on aneural embryonic muscle indicate that the muscle cell is one source of the agrin-like molecules in the SBL. Here we have used cultured chick muscle cells to study the expression of agrin-related molecules in the absence of innervation. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy show that myogenic cells in culture express agrin-related molecules on their surfaces, and that at least a subset of these molecules are associated with the basal lamina. Moreover, in short term cultures agrin-like molecules accumulate on the surfaces of myogenic cells grown in unsupplemented basal media. We quantified the expression of agrin-like molecules on the cell surface using a solid-phase radioimmune assay. The expression of these molecules is relatively low during the first 6 days of culture and increases fourfold during the second week. The stimulation of the expression of agrin-related molecules in these long-term cultures requires the presence of chick embryo extract or fetal calf serum. We also characterized the expression of muscle-derived agrin-like molecules at clusters of AChR. These agrin-related molecules are not consistently colocalized at spontaneous AChR aggregates; however, they are selectively concentrated at greater than or equal to 90% of the AChR clusters that are induced by Torpedo agrin. These data, together with previous results from in vivo developmental experiments indicate that the agrin-like molecules in the synaptic basal lamina are derived at least in part from the muscle cell. In addition, the expression of agrin-like molecules can be regulated by soluble factors present in CEE and FBS. Finally, the selective localization of these molecules at induced AChR clusters, taken together with their localization in the basal lamina, suggests that agrin-like molecules secreted by the muscle cell play an important role in the formation and/or the stabilization of the postsynaptic apparatus.

Synaptic differentiation can be evoked by polymer microbeads that mimic localized pericellular proteolysis by removing proteins from adjacent surfaces

Synaptic differentiation is normally "induced" by regulatory signals that are exchanged only at close contacts between neurites and their predetermined target cells. These signals can, however, be mimicked by contact of either cell with some kinds of polymer microbeads. To find what bead action is responsible for this mimicry, we compared the effects of active and inert microbeads on Xenopus muscle cells developing in culture and on glass-adsorbed films of laminin or fibronectin. Our results show that inductive bioactivity is a property of native polystyrene microbeads that (a) is not dependent merely on bead-muscle adhesion, (b) can be eliminated simply by exposing the beads to inert serum proteins, and (c) correlates closely with the ability of some beads to desorb proteins from adjacent surfaces. Quasi-synaptic differentiation of the muscle surface thus seems to be triggered by the focal removal of peripheral cell surface components, rather than by direct bead interactions with membrane receptors or ion channels or their gradual acquisition of endogenous regulatory substances. Since nerve-muscle interaction also causes an elimination of extracellular matrix proteins from the muscle surface, very early in synapse development, we consider the possibility that the extracellular degradation of peripheral surface components contributes to the transmission of inductive positional signals during synaptogenesis.

Localization of dystrophin relative to acetylcholine receptor domains in electric tissue and adult and cultured skeletal muscle

Two high-affinity mAbs were prepared against Torpedo dystrophin, an electric organ protein that is closely similar to human dystrophin, the gene product of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy locus. The antibodies were used to localize dystrophin relative to acetylcholine receptors (AChR) in electric organ and in skeletal muscle, and to show identity between Torpedo dystrophin and the previously described 270/300-kD Torpedo postsynaptic protein. Dystrophin was found in both AChR-rich and AChR-poor regions of the innervated face of the electroplaque. Immunogold experiments showed that AChR and dystrophin were closely intermingled in the AChR domains. In contrast, dystrophin appeared to be absent from many or all AChR-rich domains of the rat neuromuscular junction and of AChR clusters in cultured muscle (Xenopus laevis). It was present, however, in the immediately surrounding membrane (deep regions of the junctional folds, membrane domains interdigitating with and surrounding AChR domains within clusters). These results suggest that dystrophin may have a role in organization of AChR in electric tissue. Dystrophin is not, however, an obligatory component of AChR domains in muscle and, at the neuromuscular junction, its roles may be more related to organization of the junctional folds.

Plasminogen activators and inhibitors in the neuromuscular system: III. The serpin protease nexin I is synthesized by muscle and localized at neuromuscular synapses

Recent studies suggest that the nature of events leading to the formation, maintenance, and elimination of synapses may be regulated by cascade-type, locally expressed proteases and protease inhibitors acting on adhesive extracellular matrix components. We have identified a molecule in conditioned medium of murine skeletal muscle cells that in molecular weight, target protease inhibition, heparin-binding and cross-reactivity with authenic antisera is similar to the human serine proteinase inhibitor, protease nexin I. Protease nexin I is a 43-50 kDa glycoprotein of the serpin superfamily (arg-serpin class). Purified anti-protease nexin I antibody (anti-47 kDa) stains adult mouse skeletal muscle in discrete foci that precisely superimpose on synaptic neuromuscular junctions. Protease nexin I appears in patches on surfaces of cultured mouse skeletal myotubes, but not on myoblasts. These patches co-localize with acetylcholine receptor clusters and acetylcholinesterase staining during cellular maturation in culture. Evidence that protease nexin I is a synaptic, extracellular antigen is particularly intriguing since it has been shown to be identical, in structure and activity, with a factor released by glial cells, called glia-derived nexin that stimulates mouse neuroblastoma cell neurite outgrowth and inhibits granule cell migration. Protease nexin I inhibits both tumor cell and myoblast plasminogen activator-mediated destruction of extracellular matrix. Thus, such observations as presented in this report provide further evidence for involvement of cascade proteolytic systems, and their post-translational regulation by specific serpins, in the remodeling that occurs in synapse formation and elimination.

Induction of synaptic development in cultured muscle cells by basic fibroblast growth factor

The role of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in signaling the development of the neuromuscular junction was examined. Beads coated with bFGF induced the formation of acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusters in cultured Xenopus myotomal muscle cells. Tyrphostin, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, abolished AChR clustering induced by bFGF beads, suggesting a role of tyrosine kinase activation in AChR clustering. Using specific antibodies, we demonstrated the presence of both bFGF and its receptor in the myotomal muscle in vivo during the period of neuromuscular connection. However, similar tissue from older animals with mature neuromuscular junctions showed an apparently truncated form of the bFGF receptor. These data suggest that bFGF may play a role in signaling synaptogenesis in skeletal muscle.

Agrin-induced reorganization of extracellular matrix components on cultured myotubes: relationship to AChR aggregation

Agrin, an extracellular matrix-associated protein extracted from synapse-rich tissues, induces the accumulation of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and other synaptic components into discrete patches on cultured myotubes. The appearance of agrin-like molecules at neuromuscular junctions suggests that it may direct synaptic organization in vivo. In the present study we examined the role of extracellular matrix components in agrin-induced differentiation. We used immunohistochemical techniques to visualize the spatial and temporal distribution of laminin, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG), fibronectin, and type IV collagen on cultured chick myotubes during agrin-induced aggregation of AChRs. Myotubes displayed significant amounts of laminin and HSPG, lesser amounts of type IV collagen, and little, if any, fibronectin. Agrin treatment caused cell surface laminin and HSPG to patch, while collagen and fibronectin distributions were generally unaffected. Many of the agrin-induced laminin and HSPG patches colocalized with AChR patches, raising the possibility of a causal relationship between matrix patching and AChR accumulations. However, patching of AChRs (complete within a few hours) preceded that of laminin or HSPG (not complete until 15-20 h), making it unlikely that matrix accumulations initiate AChR patching at agrin-induced sites. Conversely, when AChR patching was blocked by treatment with anti-AChR antibody mAb 35, agrin was still able to effect patching of laminin and HSPG. Taken together, these findings suggest that agrin-induced accumulations of AChR and laminin/HSPG are not mechanistically linked.

Plasminogen activators and their inhibitors in the neuromuscular system: I. Developmental regulation of plasminogen activator isoforms during in vitro myogenesis in two cell lines

Plasminogen activators (PAs), were estimated qualitatively and quantitatively in two different clonal murine skeletal muscle cell lines. Both cell lines produced the two major types of PAs found in mammalian cells, urokinase-type (uPA) and tissue type (tPA). These two lines are models for the study of myogenesis in vitro, but differ in several growth and differentiation characteristics. Because of their possible involvement in these characteristics we assayed the expression of PAs in both cell systems during development in culture. Utilizing fibrin zymography two isoforms of tPA were detected. One co-migrated with human tPA at 75 kd and another may represent a tPA:inhibitor complex at 105 Kd. Several isoenzymes of uPA were detected and these changed depending on whether cell homogenates or conditioned medium was analyzed and whether myogenic cells were at single-cell myoblast or multi-nucleated myotube stage. Species-specific antisera to mouse uPA identified 4 uPA bands in muscle cell medium and 5 in cell layers. Antigenic uPA bands also varied depending on stage of myogenesis. Quantitative amidolytic studies using chromogenic substrates showed that maximal PA activity, both uPA and tPA, occurred at the time of myoblast fusion. Furthermore, uPA activity in membranes increased during myogenesis, while both uPA and tPA in medium decreased after fusion. These studies indicate that muscle PA expression is developmentally regulated and may correlate with growth and differentiation in skeletal muscle.

Plasminogen activators and their inhibitors in the neuromuscular system: II. Serpins and serpin: protease complex receptors increase during in vitro myogenesis

In the course of studies on the regulation of plasminogen activator-mediated extracellular matrix degradation in muscle we found the presence of a factor, a cellular inhibitor of serine proteases having features similar to the serpin protease nexin I (PNI). This factor was present in the medium and at maximum concentration following fusion of skeletal muscle cells in culture. The ability of the PNI homologue in mouse muscle to inhibit ECM degradation by urokinase in myoblast medium was compared to that of human PNI purified from human fibroblasts. Stable (to SDS) 1:1 molar ratio complex formation between PNI and proteases, the proposed means by which these enzymes are regulated and removed, was also detected. Cell surface receptors for protease:PNI complexes, the specific binding sites for inactive complex internalization, were found on multinucleated myotubes, while little or no receptor activity was detected on myoblasts. These data suggest that developmental regulation of a) increased PNI proteolytic inhibitory activity expression and b) the appearance of protease:inhibitor complex receptors on muscle cell surfaces during myogenesis may constitute important regulatory features of muscle surface proteolytic activity. They complement previous studies of proteoglycan metabolism in muscle, which itself contains molecules capable of regulating the activity of myotube surface proteases.

Induction of synaptic extracellular matrix molecules at ectopic neuromuscular junctions

The induction of synapse-specific molecules recognized by peanut agglutinin (PNA) was examined at ectopic neuromuscular junctions in adult frog muscles using light and electron microscopy. In normal frog muscles, PNA specifically recognizes the extracellular matrix at neuromuscular junctions but not at extrajunctional regions. This report shows binding of PNA at ectopic neuromuscular junctions which were initially extrasynaptic and hence unrecognized by PNA. Results suggest that synapse-specific extracellular matrix molecules can be induced de novo at new junctional sites.

Identification of basic fibroblast growth factor as a cholinergic growth factor from human muscle

Dissociated embryonic chick ciliary ganglion cells in culture were used as a bioassay to isolate a cholinergic growth-promoting protein from extracts of autopsied adult human muscle. An active protein was purified after acid and salt precipitation of extract, cation exchange, molecular sieving, heparin affinity chromatography, and in some cases, SDS-PAGE. This protein increased levels of choline acetyltransferase activity and ACh synthesis with time in culture. The protein was identified as basic FGF by several criteria. It shared the high affinity for heparin and was the same approximate molecular weight, 18 kD, as basic FGF. Activity was removed from solution by antibodies specific for basic FGF. Recombinant human basic FGF was equally effective in stimulating CAT activity, but was not additive with our purified protein at saturating concentrations. Basic FGF was also found in extracellular matrix and conditioned medium from cultured embryonic chick muscle. The activity could be released from extracellular matrix by treatment with heparinase or high salt extraction. Basic FGF stimulates neurite outgrowth as well as the capacity for transmitter synthesis. Thus, basic FGF is present in embryonic and adult muscle and capable of acting as a growth regulator for cholinergic neurons.

Identification of proteins secreted from axons of embryonic dorsal-root-ganglia neurons

Secretion of proteins from the growth cone has been implicated in axon growth and synapse formation and might be involved in the transmission of a variety of axon-derived regulatory signals during neurogenesis. In order to identify axonally secreted proteins, dorsal-root-ganglia neurons from chicken embryos were cultured in a compartmentalized cell culture system that allows separate access to neuronal cell somas and axons. The proteins synthesized by the neurons were metabolically labeled by addition of [35S]methionine to the compartment containing the cell somas; the proteins released from the axons were harvested from the culture medium of the axonal compartment. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed two axonally secreted proteins with apparent molecular mass of 132-140 kDa and 54-60 kDa; they were termed axonin-1 and axonin-2, respectively. Both axonins were found to be secreted from a variety of neuronal cell cultures, but not from any of the nonneuronal cultures investigated, and hence might be neuron-specific. Virtual absence of these proteins from the axonal protein pattern suggests constitutive secretion. The information acquired on coordinates and spot morphology of these proteins in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis provides a useful assay for their purification.

Immunochemical identification of desmin in Torpedo postsynaptic membranes and at the rat neuromuscular junction

Preparations of acetylcholine receptor-rich (AChR-rich) postsynaptic membranes from electric tissue of electric rays often contain an Mr 55,000 protein (55kD protein) that has not been previously characterized. Using a monoclonal antibody (MAb 1403) against the 55kD protein from Torpedo californica and a pan-specific, anti-intermediate filament antibody (Pruss et al., 1981; Cell 27:419-428), we show that the 55kD protein has the properties expected of Torpedo desmin. By the electron microscope immunogold method applied to perfusion-fixed electric tissue, MAb 1403 labeled only cytoplasmic filaments in the electroplax. These filaments were neither more concentrated nor arranged detectably differently in postsynaptic regions relative to nonpostsynaptic regions. The 55kD protein could also be fractionated away from isolated postsynaptic membranes by gradient centrifugation. The protein is thus a minor component of the postsynaptic membrane in situ and after isolation. On semithin cryosections of rat skeletal muscle, on the other hand, MAb 1403, which recognizes rat desmin but not rat vimentin, gave strong fluorescent labeling of the postsynaptic region, weaker labeling of the Z-line, and still weaker labeling of the cell surface immediately surrounding extra-junctional nuclei. The pattern of postsynaptic labeling suggests that desmin, presumably in the form of intermediate filaments, occurs near the AChR-rich crests of the junctional folds, but is particularly concentrated among and around the ends of the folds. Similar results were obtained with a second monoclonal antibody raised against authentic desmin. These results suggest that desmin intermediate filaments may have an important role in organization of the postsynaptic cytoplasm in rat muscle.

Fine structure of synaptogenesis in the vertebrate central nervous system

This article reviews studies of the formation of synaptic junctions in the vertebrate central nervous system. It is focused on electron microscopic investigations of synaptogenesis, although insights from other disciplines are interwoven where appropriate, as are findings from developing peripheral and invertebrate nervous systems. The first part of the review is concerned with the morphological maturation of synapses as described from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Next, epigenetic influences on synaptogenesis are examined, and later in the article the concept of epigenesis is integrated with that of hierarchy. It is suggested that the formation of synaptic junctions may take place as an ordered progression of epigenetically modulated events wherein each level of cellular affinity becomes subordinate to the one that follows. The ultimate determination of whether a synapse is maintained, modified or dissolved would be made by the changing molecular fabric of its junctional membranes. In closing, a hypothetical model of synaptogenesis is proposed, and an hierarchial order of events is associated with a speculative synaptogenic sequence. Key elements of this hypothesis are 1) epigenetic factors that facilitate generally appropriate interactions between neurites; 2) independent expression of surface specializations that contain sufficient information for establishing threshold recognition between interacting neurites; 3) exchange of molecular information that biases the course of subsequent junctional differentiation and ultimately results in 4) the stabilization of synaptic junctions into functional connectivity patterns.

The development of cholinergic neurons

Motoneuron precursors acquire some principles of their spatial organization early in their cell lineage, probably at the blastula stage. A predisposition to the cholinergic phenotype in motoneurons and some neural crest cells is detectable at the gastrula to neurula stages. Cholinergic expression is evident upon cessation of cell division. Cholinergic neurons can synthesize ACh during their migration and release ACh from their growth cones prior to target contact or synapse formation. Neurons of different cell lineages can express the cholinergic phenotype, suggesting the importance of secondary induction. Early cholinergic commitment can be modified or reversed until later in development when it is amplified during interaction with target. Motoneurons extend their axons and actively sort out in response to local environmental cues to make highly specific connections with appropriate muscles. The essential elements of the matching mechanism are not species-specific. A certain degree of topographic matching is present throughout the nervous system. In dissociated cell culture, most topographic specificity is lost due to disruption of local environmental cues. Functional cholinergic transmission occurs within minutes of contact between the growth cone and a receptive target. These early contacts contain a few clear vesicles but lack typical ultrastructural specializations and are physiologically immature. An initial stabilization of the nerve terminal with a postsynaptic AChR cluster is not prevented by blocking ACh synthesis, electrical activity, or ACh receptors, but AChR clusters are not induced by non-cholinergic neurons. After initial synaptic contact, there is increasing deposition of presynaptic active zones and synaptic vesicles, extracellular basal lamina and AChE, and postjunctional ridges over a period of days to weeks. There is a concomitant increase in m.e.p.p. frequency, mean quantal content, metabolic stabilization of AChRs, and maturation of single channel properties. At the onset of synaptic transmission, cell death begins to reduce the innervating population of neurons by about half over a period of several days. If target tissue is removed, almost all neurons die. If competing neurons are removed or additional target is provided, cell death is reduced in the remaining population. Pre- or postsynaptic blockade of neuromuscular transmission postpones cell death until function returns.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Isolation and characterization of a laminin-binding protein from rat and chick muscle

A major laminin-binding protein (LBP), distinct from previously described LBPs, has been isolated from chick and rat skeletal muscle (Mr 56,000 and 66,000, respectively). The purified LBPs from the two species were shown to be related antigenically and to have similar NH2-terminal amino acid sequences and total amino acid compositions. Protein blots using laminin and laminin fragments provided evidence that this LBP interacts with the major heparin-binding domain, E3, of laminin. Studies on the association of this LBP with muscle membrane fractions and reconstituted lipid vesicles indicate that this protein can interact with lipid bilayers and has properties of a peripheral, not an integral membrane protein. These properties are consistent with its amino acid sequence, determined from cDNAs (Clegg et al., 1988). Examination by light and electron microscopy of the LBP antigen distribution in skeletal muscle indicated that the protein is localized primarily extracellularly, near the extracellular matrix and myotube plasmalemma. While a form of this LBP has been identified in heart muscle, it is present at low or undetectable levels in other tissues examined by immunocytochemistry indicating that it is probably a muscle-specific protein. As this protein is localized extracellularly and can bind to both membranes and laminin, it may mediate myotube interactions with the extracellular matrix.

Identification of agrin, a synaptic organizing protein from Torpedo electric organ

Extracts of the electric organ of Torpedo californica contain a proteinaceous factor that causes the formation of patches on cultured myotubes at which acetylcholine receptors (AChR), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) are concentrated. Results of previous experiments indicate that this factor is similar to the molecules in the synaptic basal lamina that direct the aggregation of AChR and AChE at regenerating neuromuscular junctions in vivo. We have purified the active components in the extracts 9,000-fold. mAbs against four different epitopes on the AChR/AChE/BuChE-aggregating molecules each immunoprecipitated four polypeptides from electric organ extracts, with molecular masses of 150, 135, 95, and 70 kD. Gel filtration chromatography of electric organ extracts revealed two peaks of AChR/AChE/BuChE-aggregation activity; one comigrated with the 150-kD polypeptide, the other with the 95-kD polypeptide. The 135- and 70-kD polypeptides did not cause AChR/AChE/BuChE aggregation. Based on these molecular characteristics and on the pattern of staining seen in sections of muscle labeled with the mAbs, we conclude that the electric organ-aggregating factor is distinct from previously identified molecules, and we have named it "agrin."

Heterogeneous distribution of a basement membrane heparan sulfate proteoglycan in rat tissues

A heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) synthesized by murine parietal yolk sac (PYS-2) cells has been characterized and purified from culture supernatants. A monospecific polyclonal antiserum was raised against it which showed activity against the HSPG core protein and basement membrane specificity in immunohistochemical studies on frozen tissue sections from many rat organs. However, there was no reactivity with some basement membranes, notably those of several smooth muscle types and cardiac muscle. In addition, it was found that pancreatic acinar basement membranes also lacked the HSPG type recognized by this antiserum. Those basement membranes that lacked the HSPG strongly stained with antisera against laminin and type IV collagen. The striking distribution pattern is possibly indicative of multiple species of basement membrane HSPGs of which one type is recognized by this antiserum. Further evidence for multiple HSPGs was derived from the finding that skeletal neuromuscular junction and liver epithelia also did not contain this type of HSPG, though previous reports have indicated the presence of HSPGs at these sites. The PYS-2 HSPG was shown to be antigenically related to the large, low buoyant density HSPG from the murine Engelbreth-Holm swarm tumor. It was, however, confirmed that only a single population of antibodies was present in the serum. Despite the presence of similar epitopes on these two proteoglycans of different hydrodynamic properties, it was apparent that the PYS-2 HSPG represents a basement membrane proteoglycan of distinct properties reflected in its restricted distribution in vivo.

A lectin, peanut agglutinin, as a probe for the extracellular matrix in living neuromuscular junctions

The extracellular matrix plays important roles in the differentiation of synapses. To identify molecules concentrated specifically in the synaptic extracellular matrix, fluorescently-labelled lectins were applied to neuromuscular junctions. A lectin, peanut agglutinin (PNA), stains the neuromuscular region selectively and irreversibly (up to at least 3 weeks in situ), outlining the periphery of the nerve terminal arborization in the frog. Snake neuromuscular junctions also stain intensely with fluorescent PNA, while mouse diaphragm staining is faint. At the electron microscopic level, the reaction products of horseradish peroxidase-conjugated PNA are found primarily in the extracellular matrix flanking Schwann cells in the frog endplate regions. Fluorescently labelled PNA does not affect synaptic potentials and can serve as a simple stain for correlating functional studies of living neuromuscular junctions. Moreover, it can be combined with a presynaptic dye to observe nerve terminals and synaptic extracellular matrix in the same junctions in situ. This report reveals the existence of synapse-specific carbohydrates associated with Schwann cell extracellular matrix in the frog neuromuscular junction. The specific binding and its physiological compatibility make PNA a useful probe for further investigation of synaptic differentiation, plasticity and maintenance.

A postsynaptic Mr 58,000 (58K) protein concentrated at acetylcholine receptor-rich sites in Torpedo electroplaques and skeletal muscle

In the study of proteins that may participate in the events responsible for organization of macromolecules in the postsynaptic membrane, we have used a mAb to an Mr 58,000 protein (58K protein) found in purified acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-enriched membranes from Torpedo electrocytes. Immunogold labeling with the mAb shows that the 58K protein is located on the cytoplasmic side of Torpedo postsynaptic membranes and is most concentrated near the crests of the postjunctional folds, i.e., at sites of high AChR concentration. The mAb also recognizes a skeletal muscle protein with biochemical characteristics very similar to the electrocyte 58K protein. In immunofluorescence experiments on adult mammalian skeletal muscle, the 58K protein mAb labels endplates very intensely, but staining of extrasynaptic membrane is also seen. Endplate staining is not due entirely to membrane infoldings since a similar pattern is seen in neonatal rat diaphragm in which postjunctional folds are shallow and rudimentary, and in chicken muscle, which lacks folds entirely. Furthermore, clusters of AChR that occur spontaneously on cultured Xenopus myotomal cells and mouse muscle cells of the C2 line are also stained more intensely than the surrounding membrane with the 58K mAb. Denervation of adult rat diaphragm muscle for relatively long times causes a dramatic decrease in the endplate staining intensity. Thus, the concentration of this evolutionarily conserved protein at postsynaptic sites may be regulated by innervation or by muscle activity.