title: Dissecting Nck/Dock signaling pathways in Drosophila visual system.
abstract: The establishment of neuronal connections during embryonic development requires the precise guidance and targeting of the neuronal growth cone, an expanded cellular structure at the leading tip of a growing axon. The growth cone contains sophisticated signaling systems that allow the rapid communication between guidance receptors and the actin cytoskeleton in generating directed motility. Previous studies demonstrated a specific role for the Nck/Dock SH2/SH3 adapter protein in photoreceptor (R cell) axon guidance and target recognition in the Drosophila visual system, suggesting strongly that Nck/Dock is one of the long-sought missing links between cell surface receptors and the actin cytoskeleton. In this review, I discuss the recent progress on dissecting the Nck/Dock signaling pathways in R-cell growth cones. These studies have identified additional key components of the Nck/Dock signaling pathways for linking the receptor signaling to the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton in controlling growth-cone motility.
authors.affiliation: McGill Centre for Research in Neuroscience, and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University Health Centre, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1A4, Canada. yong.rao@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D054910:Compound Eye, Arthropod / Q000254:growth & development; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000648:ultrastructure; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D020439:Growth Cones / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D009899:Optic Lobe, Nonmammalian / Q000254:growth & development; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000502:physiology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005136:Eye Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; D000097905:Roundabout Proteins; C491736:Dscam1 protein, Drosophila; C099753:dock protein, Drosophila; C094982:InR protein, Drosophila; C099277:Pak protein, Drosophila