Control of Growth Within Drosophila Peripheral Nerves by Ras and Protein Kinase A
Abstract
The long term goals of this research are to understand the mechanisms by which NFl and its partners control growth using the Drosophila peripheral nerve as our assay system. This system is advantageous because we can apply a number of powerful molecular genetic methodologies that are not available in other systems. This project addresses four specific aspects of growth control, two of which were begun during these first twelve months of funding. First, we found that a reduction in PKA activity did not suppress the growth-promoting effects of Ras(sub v12) we predicted. However, in preliminary findings, we report that, as predicted, expression of NFl specifically within the peripheral glia can enhance the effects of Ras(sub v12), and the growth-promoting effects of a constitutively active PKA is epistatic to the growth-suppressing effects of mutations in NFl. Second, we found that activity of Pl3 kinase, a known mediator of Ras signalling, is both necessary and sufficient to promote perineurial glial growth, and that activity of Akt, a kinase activated by PI3 kinase, is necessary for the growth- promoting effects of PI3 kinase. These results demonstrate that the PI3 kinase pathway is an essential mediator of the growth-promoting effects of Ras within peripheral nerves.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA437352
Entities
People
- Michael Stern
Organizations
- Rice University