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J Neurophysiol (May 4, 2005). doi:10.1152/jn.00954.2004
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00954.2004v1
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Submitted on September 14, 2004
Accepted on April 27, 2005

The Drosophila CAKI/CMG protein, a homolog of human CASK, is essential for regulation of neurotransmitter vesicle release

Mauro A Zordan1, Michele Massironi2, Maria G Ducato2, Geertruy te Kronnie2, Rodolfo Costa1, Carlo Reggiani2, Carine Chagneau3, Jean R Martin3, and Aram Megighian2*

1 Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
2 Human Anatomy and Physiology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
3 NAMC, CNRS - Universite' Paris Sud, Paris, France

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: aram.megighian{at}unipd.it.

Vertebrate CASK is a member of the MAGUK family of proteins. CASK is present in the nervous system where it binds to NEUREXIN, a transmembrane protein localized in the pre-synaptic membrane. The Drosophila homolog of CASK is CAKI or CAMGUK. CAKI is expressed in the nervous system of larvae and adult flies. In adult flies the expression of caki is particularly evident in the visual brain regions (Martin and Ollo, 1996). In order to elucidate the functional role of CASK we employed a caki null mutant in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster (Martin and Ollo, 1996). By means of electrophysiological methods we analyzed, in adult flies, the spontaneous and evoked neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) as well as the functional status of the giant fiber pathway and of the visual system. We found that in caki mutants synaptic activity is modified: i) the spontaneous neurotransmitter release of the indirect flight muscle NMJ was increased, ii) the response of the giant fiber pathway to continuous stimulation was impaired, iii) electroretinographic responses to single and continuous repetitive stimuli were altered and optomotor behavior was abnormal. These results support the involvement of CAKI in neurotransmitter release and nervous system function.




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