Email this page
Print this page
Autophagic Punctum
Nibbling away at synaptic development
Wei Shen and Barry Ganetzky
Volume 6, Issue 1January 1, 2010
Pages 168 - 169
Purchase article for $19
Subscribe to this journal
» Log in
Beyond its role as a response to starvation, autophagy has been increasingly implicated as part of the normal mechanisms regulating growth and remodeling of various cells and tissues during development. In recently published work we demonstrate that autophagy promotes synaptic development of the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). We find that autophagy acts by downregulating an E3 ubiquitin ligase, Highwire (Hiw), which limits NMJ growth via a MAPKKK pathway. A similar role for autophagy in the synaptic remodeling that occurs during learning and memory remains an intriguing possibility.
Punctum to: Shen W, Ganetzky BJ. Autophagy promotes synapse development in Drosophila. J Cell Biol 2009; 187:71–9; PMID: 19786572; DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200907109.
Authors
- Wei Shen
- Laboratory of Genetics; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI USA
- Barry Ganetzky Corresponding author: ganetzky@wisc.edu
- Laboratory of Genetics; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison, WI USA
Purchase article for $19
Subscribe to this journal
» Log in
