Accession Number:

ADA515523

Title:

Control of Growth Within Drosophila Peripheral Nerves by Ras and Protein Kinase A

Descriptive Note:

Annual rept. 1 Feb 2006-31 Jan 2007

Corporate Author:

RICE UNIV HOUSTON TX

Personal Author(s):

• Stern, Michael

Report Date:

2007-02-01

Pagination or Media Count:

20.0

Abstract:

The long term goals of this research are to understand the mechanisms by which NF1 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. For task 3, we used RNA interference to generate preliminary evidence that push acts in the peripheral glia to control perineurial glial growth. This preliminary finding will be pursued in much greater detail during the next funding period. Our major findings continue to be generated from aim 4. Our finding, reported last year, that Ras nonautonomously activates perineurial glial growth via PI3 Kinase, Akt and FOXO, was published in the Journal of Neuroscience. During this funding period we found evidence for a role for the Akt-regulated Tor pathway in regulating glial growth for example, expression of a dominant-negative S6 kinase suppressed the increased glial growth conferred by PI3K-CAAX. This and other observations raise the possibility that Tor and FOXO interact to control glial growth. We also report evidence that the Ras-activated Ral GTPase participates with PI3K inglial growth control.

Descriptors:

• *PHOSPHORUS TRANSFERASES
• *DROSOPHILA
• *NEUROLOGY
• *PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
• NERVE CELLS
• CELLS(BIOLOGY)
• RIBONUCLEIC ACIDS
• GENETICS
• NERVES
• BIOASSAY
• GROWTH(PHYSIOLOGY)
• REPORTS
• PROTEINS
• MOLECULES
• CONTROL
• METHODOLOGY

Subject Categories:

• Biochemistry
• Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Medicine and Medical Research

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE