PATTERN OF EXPRESSION AND ACTIVITY OF UPA SYSTEM DURING LAMINAR ORGANIZATION OF OPTIC LOBE

N. V. GOMEZ; V. SÁNCHEZ; F. FUENTES; G. SCICOLONE; M. RAPACIOLI; M. ZIMA; V. FLORES

Pinamar, Provincia de Buenos Aires

Congreso; XX Annual Meeting of the Argentine Society for Neurochemistry (SAN); 2005

Panamerican Association for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PABMB), Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Bioquímica y Biología Molecular (SAIB), Sociedad Argentina de Neuroquímica (SAN)

The extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling plays an important rolein cell migration, neurite outgrowth and tissue remodeling in thedevelopment of nervous system. Urokinase-type plasminogenactivator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) trigger ECM degradation,cell adhesion and cell migration. We investigated the expression andactivity of uPA and uPAR in the developing chick optic lobe. Thisstructure shows a cortical organization that develops following acephalo-caudal gradient axis (c-cGA). Embryos of different ageswere used to perform immunohistochemical and biochemical studies.Results show that two successive waves of uPA activity extendalong the c-cGA. The first one correlates with a massive neuronalmigration and the second one coincides with neurite outgrowth andsynapse formation. Immunohistochemical studies show a complexpattern of uPA and uPAR expression that involves different celltypes (glia and neurons) and specific layers along the laminationprocess. These results suggest that the uPA system plays a centralrole in ECM remodeling and morphogenetic events.This work was supported by grants from UBACYT and CONICET,Argentina.