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XB-ART-46455
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012 Oct 02;10940:16336-41. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1202818109.
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Interplay between electrical activity and bone morphogenetic protein signaling regulates spinal neuron differentiation.

Swapna I , Borodinsky LN .


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A gradient of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) along the dorsoventral axis of the spinal cord is necessary for the specification of dorsal neurons. Concurrently, a gradient of calcium-mediated electrical activity is present in the developing spinal cord but in an opposing ventrodorsal direction. Whether BMPs and electrical activity interact in embryonic spinal neurons remains unknown. We show that BMP decreases electrical activity by enhancing p38 MAPK-mediated negative modulation of voltage-gated sodium channels. In turn, electrical activity affects the phosphorylation status and nuclear level of activated Smads, the canonical components of BMP signaling. This interaction between calcium spike activity and BMP signaling regulates the specification of the dorsal commissural spinal neuron phenotype. The present study identifies an unexpected interplay between BMPs and electrical activity that is critical for decoding the morphogen gradient during spinal neuron differentiation.

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Species referenced: Xenopus
Genes referenced: grap2 mapk1 mapk14

References [+] :
Basler, Control of cell pattern in the neural tube: regulation of cell differentiation by dorsalin-1, a novel TGF beta family member. 1993, Pubmed