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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Detection of In Situ Protein-protein Complexes at the Drosophila Larval Neuromuscular Junction Using Proximity Ligation Assay
Published on: January 20, 2015
CASK and Dlg form a PDZ protein complex at the mammalian neuromuscular junction
Jamie L Sanford1, Tessily A Mays, Jill A Rafael-Fortney
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Ohio State University, 410 Hamilton Hall, 1645 Neil Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
Abstract:
Membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUKs) are modular adapter proteins that serve as scaffolding molecules and anchor channels and receptors via their PDZ (PSD-95, Dlg, Zo-1) domains. Calcium, calmodulin-associated serine/threonine kinase (CASK) is a MAGUK that is critical at synapses in the central nervous system and at cell-cell junctions because of its interactions with channels, receptors, and structural proteins. We show via confocal microscopy that CASK and another MAGUK, Discs Large (Dlg), are present at the mammalian neuromuscular junction in skeletal muscle. Immunoprecipitation data from mouse muscle show that CASK associates with Dlg, providing evidence of a MAGUK protein complex at this synapse. These data indicate that CASK and Dlg may act as a scaffold for organizing receptors and channels at the postsynaptic membrane of the neuromuscular junction.
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