Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2021
Publication Title
Journal of Cell Science
Abstract
Proper regulation of microtubule (MT) stability and dynamics is vital for essential cellular processes, including axonal transportation and synaptic growth and remodeling in neurons. In the present study, we demonstrate that the Drosophila ankyrin repeat and KH domain-containing protein Mask negatively affects MT stability in both larval muscles and motor neurons. In larval muscles, loss-of-function of mask increases MT polymer length, and in motor neurons, loss of mask function results in overexpansion of the presynaptic terminal at the larval neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). mask genetically interacts with stathmin (stai), a neuronal modulator of MT stability, in the regulation of axon transportation and synaptic terminal stability. Our structure–function analysis of Mask revealed that its ankyrin repeats domain-containing N-terminal portion is sufficient to mediate Mask’s impact on MT stability. Furthermore, we discovered that Mask negatively regulates the abundance of the MT-associated protein Jupiter in motor neuron axons, and that neuronal knocking down of Jupiter partially suppresses mask loss-of-function phenotypes at the larval NMJs. Taken together, our studies demonstrate that Mask is a novel regulator for MT stability, and such a role of Mask requires normal function of Jupiter.
First Page
1
Last Page
11
PubMed ID
34553767
Volume
134
Issue
20
Publisher
The Company of Biologists
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Martinez, Daniel; Zhu, Mingwei; Guidry, Jessie J.; Majeste, Niles; Mao, Hui; Yanofsky, Sarah T.; Tian, Xiaolin; and Wu, Chunlai, "Mask, the Drosophila Ankyrin Repeat and KH Domain-Containing Protein, Affects Microtubule Stability" (2021). School of Medicine Faculty Publications. 23.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/som_facpubs/23
10.1242/jcs.258512
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File Size
7200 KB