Browsing by Author "Perez de Arce, Karen"

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    Synaptic Clustering of PSD-95 Is Regulated by c-Abl through Tyrosine Phosphorylation
    (SOC NEUROSCIENCE, 2010) Perez de Arce, Karen; Varela Nallar, Lorena; Farias, Olivia; Cifuentes, Alejandra; Bull, Paulina; Couch, Brian A.; Koleske, Anthony J.; Inestrosa, Nibaldo C.; Alvarez, Alejandra R.
    The c-Abl tyrosine kinase is present in mouse brain synapses, but its precise synaptic function is unknown. We found that c-Abl levels in the rat hippocampus increase postnatally, with expression peaking at the first postnatal week. In 14 d in vitro hippocampal neuron cultures, c-Abl localizes primarily to the postsynaptic compartment, in which it colocalizes with the postsynaptic scaffold protein postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) in apposition to presynaptic markers. c-Abl associates with PSD-95, and chemical or genetic inhibition of c-Abl kinase activity reduces PSD-95 tyrosine phosphorylation, leading to reduced PSD-95 clustering and reduced synapses in treated neurons. c-Abl can phosphorylate PSD-95 on tyrosine 533, and mutation of this residue reduces the ability of PSD-95 to cluster at postsynaptic sites. Our results indicate that c-Abl regulates synapse formation by mediating tyrosine phosphorylation and clustering of PSD-95.