The Presynaptic F-box Protein FSN-1 Regulates Synapse Development via Retrograde Insulin Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Main Author: Hwang, Christine
• Other Authors: Zhen, Mei
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Synaptogenesis; Insulin Signaling; FSN-1; 0317
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/24582

Synaptogenesis entails the development and establishment of functional synapses, which form the fundamental unit of communication in the nervous system. Initially identified in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), the FSN-1, F-box protein family has emerged as evolutionarily conserved binding partners of PHR family proteins, which regulate synaptogenesis. Previously, we have shown that FSN-1 and RPM-1 form a SCF/FSN-1/RPM-1 ubiquitin ligase complex that negatively regulates synapse growth by downregulating presynaptic targets, like the MAP kinase pathway. For my master’s thesis, I used a combination of both candidate and forward genetic approaches to identify additional components of signaling pathways that are regulated by FSN-1 during synaptogenesis. Our studies are among the first to suggest diverging roles for these partners and provide the first evidence for a mechanism through which the F-box protein regulates synaptogenesis via retrograde insulin/IGF/FOXO signaling and glucosaminidase/O-GlcNAc modifications.