PUBLICATION
Acetylcholinesterase is required for neuronal and muscular development in the zebrafish embryo
- Authors
- Behra, M., Cousin, X., Bertrand, C., Vonesch, J.L., Biellmann, D., Chatonnet, A., and Strähle, U.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-020107-3
- Date
- 2002
- Source
- Nature Neuroscience 5(2): 111-118 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Behra, Martine, Bertrand, Christelle, Biellmann, Dominique, Chatonnet, Arnaud, Cousin, Xavier, Strähle, Uwe
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Acetylcholinesterase/genetics
- Acetylcholinesterase/metabolism
- Acetylcholinesterase/physiology*
- Neuromuscular Junction/embryology
- Cell Death
- Muscle, Skeletal/embryology*
- Nervous System/embryology*
- Zebrafish/embryology*
- Zebrafish/genetics
- Embryo, Nonmammalian/physiology
- Mutation/physiology
- Neurons/physiology*
- Receptors, Nicotinic/physiology
- Base Sequence/genetics
- Phenotype
- Amino Acid Sequence/genetics
- Animals
- Neurons, Afferent/physiology
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Muscular Diseases/genetics
- PubMed
- 11753420 Full text @ Nat. Neurosci.
Citation
Behra, M., Cousin, X., Bertrand, C., Vonesch, J.L., Biellmann, D., Chatonnet, A., and Strähle, U. (2002) Acetylcholinesterase is required for neuronal and muscular development in the zebrafish embryo. Nature Neuroscience. 5(2):111-118.
Abstract
The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) has a crucial role in central and neuromuscular synapses of the cholinergic system. After release into the synaptic cleft, ACh is rapidly degraded by acetylcholinesterase (AChE). We have identified a mutation in the ache gene of the zebrafish, which abolishes ACh hydrolysis in homozygous animals completely. Embryos are initially motile but subsequently develop paralysis. Mutant embryos show defects in muscle fiber formation and innervation, and primary sensory neurons die prematurely. The neuromuscular phenotype in ache mutants is suppressed by a homozygous loss-of-function allele of the alpha-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), indicating that the impairment of neuromuscular development is mediated by activation of nAChR in the mutant. Here we provide genetic evidence for non-classical functions of AChE in vertebrate development.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping