Abstract
N-cadherin is a calcium-sensitive cell adhesion molecule that plays an important role in the formation of the neural circuit and the development of the nervous system. In the present study, we investigated the function of N-cadherin in cell–cell connection in vitro with HEK293T cells, and in commissural axon projections in the developing chicken spinal cord using in ovo electroporation. Cell–cell connections increased with N-cadherin overexpression in HEK293T cells, while cell contacts disappeared after co-transfection with an N-cadherin-shRNA plasmid. The knockdown of N-cadherin caused the accumulation of β-catenin in the nucleus, supporting the notion that N-cadherin regulates β-catenin signaling in vitro. Furthermore, N-cadherin misexpression perturbed commissural axon projections in the spinal cord. The overexpression of N-cadherin reduced the number of axons that projected alongside the contralateral margin of the floor plate, and formed intermediate longitudinal commissural axons. In contrast, the knockdown of N-cadherin perturbed commissural axon projections significantly, affecting the projections alongside the contralateral margin of the floor plate, but did not affect intermediate longitudinal commissural axons. Taken together, these findings suggest that N-cadherin regulates commissural axon projections in the developing chicken spinal cord.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Prof. C. Redies for critical reading and correcting this manuscript.
Author contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: Zhikun Guo, Shanting Zhao, Juntang Lin. Performed the experiments: Ciqing Yang, Xiaoying Li, Congrui Wang Sulei Fu, Han Li. Analyzed the data: Ciqing Yang.Wrote the paper: Ciqing Yang.
Funding
This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31440049), the Science and Technology Innovation Plan of Henan (14HASTIT032), the Henan Province University youth researcher support program project (2015GGJS-133), the Scientific Research Fund (162300410232, 14B310007) and the PhD Research Startup Foundation (505090) of Xinxiang Medical University.
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Yang, C., Li, X., Wang, C. et al. N-cadherin regulates beta-catenin signal and its misexpression perturbs commissural axon projection in the developing chicken spinal cord. J Mol Hist 47, 541–554 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10735-016-9698-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10735-016-9698-8