Signaling across the synapse: a role for Wnt and Dishevelled in presynaptic assembly and neurotransmitter release

AZLINA AHMAD-ANNUAR; LORENZA CIANI; IORDANIS SIMEONIDIS; JUDIT HERREROS; NAILA BEN FREDJ; SILVANA B. ROSSO; ANITA HALL; STEPHEN BRICKLEY; PATRICIA C. SALINAS

JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY

The Rockefeller University Press

Año: 2006 vol. 174 p. 127 - 139

0021-9525

Proper dialogue between presynaptic neurons and their targets is essential for correct synaptic assembly and function. At central synapses, Wnt proteins function as retrograde signals to regulate axon remodeling and the accumulation of presynaptic proteins. Loss of Wnt7a function leads to defects in the localization of presynaptic markers and in the morphology of the presynaptic axons. We show that loss of function of Dishevelled-1 (Dvl1) mimics and enhances the Wnt7a phenotype in the cerebellum. Although active zones appear normal, electrophysiological recordings in cerebellar slices from Wnt7a/Dvl1 double mutant mice reveal a defect in neurotransmitter release at mossy fi ber–granule cell synapses. Defi ciency in Dvl1 decreases, whereas exposure to Wnt increases, synaptic vesicle recycling in mossy fi bers. Dvl increases the number of Bassoon clusters, and like other components of the Wnt pathway, it localizes to synaptic sites. These fi ndings demonstrate that Wnts signal across the synapse on Dvl-expressing presynaptic terminals to regulate synaptic assembly and suggest a potential novel function for Wnts in neurotransmitter release.