Regulated cleavage of a contact-mediated axon repellent.

Contact-mediated axon repulsion by ephrins raises an unresolved question: these cell surface ligands form a high-affinity multivalent complex with their receptors present on axons, yet rather than being bound, axons can be rapidly repelled. We show here that ephrin-A2 forms a stable complex with the metalloprotease Kuzbanian, involving interactions outside ...
the cleavage region and the protease domain. Eph receptor binding triggered ephrin-A2 cleavage in a localized reaction specific to the cognate ligand. A cleavage-inhibiting mutation in ephrin-A2 delayed axon withdrawal. These studies reveal mechanisms for protease recognition and control of cell surface proteins, and, for ephrin-A2, they may provide a means for efficient axon detachment and termination of signaling.
Mesh Terms:
Amino Acid Motifs, Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Axons, Cell Adhesion, Cell Communication, Cell Membrane, Cells, Cultured, Disintegrins, Drosophila Proteins, Ephrin-A2, Gene Expression, Glycosylphosphatidylinositols, Growth Cones, Humans, Ligands, Metalloendopeptidases, Mice, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Nervous System, Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases, Receptor, EphA3, Recombinant Fusion Proteins, Signal Transduction, Transcription Factors, Tumor Cells, Cultured
Science
Date: Aug. 25, 2000
Download Curated Data For This Publication
11006
Switch View:
  • Interactions 1