TY  - JOUR
AB  - The red nucleus is located in the rostral midbrain of the vertebrate brain and controls motor coordination during locomotion. It receives input from the cerebellum and sends its output to the spinal cord. The presence of the red nucleus is well established in tetrapods, and its existence has also been suggested in teleosts but its presence and position has still been under discussion. By using wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) as a genetically encoded anterograde tracer, we recently identified contralateral projections from the cerebellum to a putative red nucleus in the zebrafish midbrain tegmentum. In this report we further revealed red nucleus derived from this contralateral afferent from the cerebellum using WGA and contralateral projections to the hindbrain-spinal cord junction site using DiI-mediated retrograde tracing. Thus the structure that we have identified by anterograde and retrograde tracing fulfills the anatomical demands for the red nucleus: the location in the midbrain tegmentum, contralateral afferent from the cerebellum (cerebello- ruber projection) and contralateral efferent to the spinal cord (rubro-spinal projection).
AU  - Matsui, H.*
AU  - Namikawa, K.
AU  - Köster, R.W.*
C1  - 43456
C2  - 36631
TI  - Identification of the zebrafish red nucleus using wheat germ agglutinin transneuronal tracing.
JO  - Commun. Integr. Biol.
VL  - 7
IS  - 6
PY  - 2014
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Cell polarity is essential to the function of many cell types, such as epithelial cells and neurons. The Discs large (Dlg) scaffolding protein was identified in Drosophila as a major regulator of basolateral epithelial identity. Four Dlg orthologs (Dlg1 through 4) are found in vertebrates, and mutations in the human Dlg3 gene are associated with X-linked mental retardation. We recently found that Dlg3 controls apical epithelial polarity and tight junction formation and contributes to neural induction in mouse development.(1) During evolution, Dlg3 acquired specific PPxY motifs, which bind to the WW domains of the E3 ubiquitin ligases, Nedd4 and Nedd4-2. This interaction results in monoubiquitination of Dlg3, leading to directed microtubule-dependent protein trafficking, via the exocyst complex, in different polarized cell types. Directed trafficking of Dlg3 plays an important role, during both mammalian development and in adulthood, in the establishment and maintenance of specialized apical cell junctions, such as tight junctions in epithelial cells and synapses in neurons.
AU  - Lickert, H.
AU  - van Campenhout, C.A.
C1  - 11598
C2  - 30708
SP  - 287-290
TI  - Evolution of the Discs large gene family provides new insights into the establishment of apical epithelial polarity and the etiology of mental retardation.
JO  - Commun. Integr. Biol.
VL  - 5
IS  - 3
PB  - Landes Bioscience
PY  - 2012
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The behavior of a cell is determined by the interplay of its subcellular components. Thus, being able to simultaneously visualize several organelles inside cells within the natural context of a living organism could greatly enhance our understanding of developmental processes. We have established a Gal4-based system for the simultaneous and cell type specific expression of multiple subcellular labels in transparent zebrafish embryos. This system offers the opportunity to follow intracellular developmental processes in a live vertebrate organism using confocal fluorescence time-lapse microscopy. Using this approach we recently showed that the centrosome neither persistently leads migration nor determines the site of axonogenesis in migrating neurons in the zebrafish cerebellum in vivo. Here we present additional in vivo findings about the centrosomal and microtubule dynamics of neuroepithelial cells during mitotic cleavages at early neural tube stages.
AU  - Distel, M.*
AU  - Hocking, J.C.*
AU  - Köster, R.W.
C1  - 5794
C2  - 29034
SP  - 336-339
TI  - In vivo cell biology using Gal4-mediated multicolor subcellular labeling in zebrafish.
JO  - Commun. Integr. Biol.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
PB  - Landes Bioscience
PY  - 2011
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The second messenger cGMP controls cardiovascular and gastrointestinal homeostasis in mammals. However, its physiological relevance in the nervous system is poorly understood.1 Now, we have reported that the cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I (PRKG1) is implicated in the regulation of the timing and quality of sleep and wakefulness.2Prkg1 mutant mice showed altered distribution of sleep and wakefulness as well as reduction in rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS) duration and in non-REMS consolidation. Furthermore, the ability to sustain waking episodes was compromised. These observations were also reflected in wheel-running and drinking activity. A decrease in electroencephalogram power in the delta frequency range (1-4 Hz) under baseline conditions was observed, which was normalized after sleep deprivation. Together with the finding that circadian clock amplitude is reduced in Prkg1 mutants these results indicate a decrease of the wake-promoting output of the circadian system affecting sleep. Because quality of sleep might affect learning we tested Prkg1 mutants in several learning tasks and find normal spatial learning but impaired object recognition memory in these animals. Our findings indicate that Prkg1 impinges on circadian rhythms, sleep and distinct aspects of learning.
AU  - Feil, R.*
AU  - Hölter, S.M.
AU  - Weindl, K.
AU  - Wurst, W.
AU  - Langmesser, S.*
AU  - Gerling, A.*
AU  - Feil, S.*
AU  - Albrecht, U.*
C1  - 876
C2  - 26324
SP  - 298-301
TI  - cGMP-dependent protein kinase I, the circadian clock, sleep and learning.
JO  - Commun. Integr. Biol.
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
PB  - Landes Bioscience
PY  - 2009
ER  -