Abstract. Neurofascin and NrCAM are two axon-associated transmembrane glycoproteins belonging to the L1 subgroup of the Ig superfamily. In this study, we have analyzed the interaction of both proteins using neurite outgrowth and binding assays. A neurofascinFc chimera was found to stimulate the outgrowth of tectal cells when immobilized on an inert surface but not as a soluble form using polylysine as substrate. Antibody blocking experiments demonstrate that neurite extension on immobilized neurofascin is mediated by NrCAM on the axonal surface. Under the reverse experimental conditions where NrCAM induces neurite extension, Fll, and not neurofascin, serves as axonal receptor. Binding studies using transfected COS7 cells and immunoprecipitations reveal a direct interaction between neurofascin and NrCAM. This binding activity was mapped to the Ig domains within neurofascin. The neurofascin-NrCAM binding can be modulated by alternative splicing of specific stretches within neurofascin. These studies indicate that heterophilic interactions between Ig-like proteins implicated in axonal extension underlie a regulation by the neuron.

Neurofascin is a member of the L1 subgroup of the Ig superfamily that promotes axon outgrowth by interactions with neuronal NgCAM-related cell adhesion molecule (NrCAM). We used a combination of cellular binding assays and neurite outgrowth experiments to investigate mechanisms that might modulate the interactions of neurofascin. In addition to NrCAM, we here demonstrate that neurofascin also binds to the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-R (TN-R) and to the Ig superfamily members axonin-1 and F11.Isoforms of neurofascin that are generated by alternative splicing show different preferences in ligand binding. While interactions of neurofascin with F11 are only slightly modulated, binding to axonin-1 and TN-R is strongly regulated by alternatively spliced stretches located in the NH2-terminal half, and by the proline-alanine-threonine-rich segment.In vitro neurite outgrowth and cell attachment assays on a neurofascin-Fc substrate reveal a shift of cellular receptor usage from NrCAM to axonin-1, F11, and at least one additional protein in the presence of TN-R, presumably due to competition of the neurofascin– NrCAM interaction. Thereby, F11 binds to TN-R of the neurofascin/TN-R complex, but not to neurofascin, whereas axonin-1 is not able to bind directly to the neurofascin/TN-R complex as shown by competition binding assays.In conclusion, these investigations indicate that the molecular interactions of neurofascin are regulated at different levels, including alternative splicing and by the presence of interacting proteins.

We investigated a large German family (n = 37) with male members who had contractures, rigid spine syndrome, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Muscle weakness or atrophy was not prominent in affected individuals. Muscle biopsy disclosed a myopathic pattern with cytoplasmic bodies. We used microsatellite markers and found linkage to a locus at Xq26-28, a region harboring the FHL1 gene. We sequenced FHL1 and identified a new missense mutation within the third LIM domain that replaces a highly conserved cysteine by an arginine (c.625T>C; p.C209R). Our finding expands the phenotypic spectrum of the recently identified FHL1-associated myopathies and widens the differential diagnosis of Emery-Dreifuss-like syndromes.

Dysferlin gene mutations causing LGMD2B are associated with defects in muscle membrane repair. Four stable cell lines have been established from primary human dysferlin-deficient myoblasts harbouring different mutations in the dysferlin gene. We have compared immortalized human myoblasts and myotubes carrying disease-causing mutations in dysferlin to their wild-type counterparts. Fusion of myoblasts into myotubes and expression of muscle-specific differentiation markers were investigated with special emphasis on dysferlin protein expression, subcellular localization and function in membrane repair. We found that the immortalized myoblasts and myotubes were virtually indistinguishable from their parental cell line for all of the criteria we investigated. They therefore will provide a very useful tool to further investigate dysferlin function and pathophysiology as well as to test therapeutic strategies at the cellular level.

The axon-associated protein F11 is a GPI-anchored member of the immunoglobulin superfamily that promotes axon outgrowth and that shows a complex binding pattern toward multiple cell surface and extracellular matrix proteins including tenascin-R and tenascin-C. In this study, we demonstrate that tenascin-R and tenascin-C differentially modulate cell adhesion and neurite outgrowth of tectal cells on F11. While soluble tenascin-R increases the number of attached cells and the percentage of cells with neurites on immobilized F11, tenascin-C stimulates cell attachment to a similar extent but decreases neurite outgrowth. The cellular receptor interacting with F11 has been previously identified as NrCAM; however, in the presence of tenascin-R or tenascin-C cell attachment and neurite extension are independent of NrCAM. Antibody perturbation experiments indicate that ␤ 1 integrins instead of NrCAM function as receptor for neurite outgrowth of tectal cells on an F11⅐TN-R complex. Cellular binding assays support the possibility that the interaction of F11 to NrCAM is blocked in the presence of tenascin-R and tenascin-C. Furthermore, a sandwich binding assay demonstrates that tenascin-R and tenascin-C are able to form larger molecular complexes and to link F11 polypeptides by forming a molecular bridge.These results suggest that the molecular interactions of F11 might be regulated by the presence of tenascin-R and tenascin-C. Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs)1 of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) act in concert with other cell surface molecules and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins to regulate cell migration, axonal growth, and guidance during development of the nervous system. IgSF members coexist on many extending axons and show a transient expression pattern during early stages of development. The multidomain nature of glycoproteins of the IgSF suggest that they regulate axonal pathfinding by multiple complex interactions with other axonal and ECM molecules (1).The axon-associated F11 glycoprotein is composed of six Nterminal Ig domains followed by four fibronectin type III (FNIII) domains and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor and has been implicated in axonal growth and fasciculation (2-6).As found for other axonal members of the IgSF, the F11 polypeptide shows a broad binding activity. Interactions with the cell surface proteins NgCAM, NrCAM, neurofascin, Caspr, and RPTP␤/ and the ECM glycoproteins tenascin-R (TN-R) and tenascin-C (TN-C) have been revealed by in vitro assays (7-16). The N-terminal Ig domains 1-4 of the F11 polypeptide are sufficient for interactions with NgCAM, NrCAM, TN-R, and TN-C, although binding assays with domain-specific anti-F11 monoclonal antibodies and with F11 domain deletion mutants suggest that individual domains of the four N-terminal domains might be more important for specific bindings (8 -10, 15). The interaction between immobilized F11 and neuronal NrCAM induces neurite outgrowth of tectal cells (10). TN-R and TN-C are two major members of the tenascin family of ECM glycoprote...