title: N-cadherin regulates beta-catenin signal and its misexpression perturbs commissural axon projection in the developing chicken spinal cord.
abstract: N-cadherin is a calcium-sensitive cell adhesion molecule that plays an important role in the formation of the neural circuit and the development of the nervous system. In the present study, we investigated the function of N-cadherin in cell-cell connection in vitro with HEK293T cells, and in commissural axon projections in the developing chicken spinal cord using in ovo electroporation. Cell-cell connections increased with N-cadherin overexpression in HEK293T cells, while cell contacts disappeared after co-transfection with an N-cadherin-shRNA plasmid. The knockdown of N-cadherin caused the accumulation of β-catenin in the nucleus, supporting the notion that N-cadherin regulates β-catenin signaling in vitro. Furthermore, N-cadherin misexpression perturbed commissural axon projections in the spinal cord. The overexpression of N-cadherin reduced the number of axons that projected alongside the contralateral margin of the floor plate, and formed intermediate longitudinal commissural axons. In contrast, the knockdown of N-cadherin perturbed commissural axon projections significantly, affecting the projections alongside the contralateral margin of the floor plate, but did not affect intermediate longitudinal commissural axons. Taken together, these findings suggest that N-cadherin regulates commissural axon projections in the developing chicken spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.|Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
authors.forename: Ciqing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
authors.forename: Congrui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
authors.forename: Sulei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China.|Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 13200, Bertam, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang, 453003, China.
authors.forename: Zhikun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Shanting
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453003, China. developmentlab@126.com.|Henan Key Laboratory of Medical Tissue Regeneration, Xinxiang, 453003, China. developmentlab@126.com.|Institute of Anatomy I, Jena University Hospital, 07743, Jena, Germany. developmentlab@126.com.
authors.forename: Juntang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002645:Chickens; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015870:Gene Expression; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D051176:beta Catenin
keywords: Axon projection; Beta-catenin signaling; Cell connection; In vivo electroporation; N-cadherin