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Contactins for Postnatal Development of the Brain| old_uid | 7113 |
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| title | Contactins for Postnatal Development of the Brain |
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| start_date | 2009/06/05 |
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| schedule | 14h |
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| online | no |
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| location_info | bât. Metchnikoff, salle Jules Bordet |
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| summary | Contactin subgroup consists of six members of neural cell recognition molecules, which are contactin, TAG-1, BIG-1, BIG-2, NB-2 and NB-3, also referred to as contactin 1-6, respectively. The expression of contactins is restricted to the nervous system. Contactins except TAG-1 begin their expression after birth, with a maximum level between postnatal first and third weeks in mouse when synapse formation/maturation and myelination occur. It has been shown that contactin and TAG-1 play essential roles in myelination. In contrast, the functions of the other members remain elusive. Here, I will focus my talk on the possible roles of NB-2 in the auditory pathways and NB-3 in the cerebellum during postnatal development. Both molecules were localized at the presynaptic termini of glutamatergic neurons in these regions. In gene-deficient mouse for each molecule, the number of synapses was reduced and that of apoptotic cells was increased relative to wild-type mouse. These suggest that both molecules might play roles in synapse formation at the brain regions where each molecule is expressed, and that the failure in the synapse formation might induce apoptosis in the gene-deficient cells. We consider that subtle deficits caused by NB-2 or NB-3 deficiency will lead to serious impairments in normal brain function. |
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| responsibles | Baran |
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