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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Bead Aggregation Assays for the Characterization of Putative Cell Adhesion Molecules
Published on: October 17, 2014
Distinct and Cooperative Functions for the Protocadherin-α, -β and -γ Clusters in Neuronal Survival and Axon
Sonoko Hasegawa1, Makiko Kumagai1, Mitsue Hagihara1
1KOKORO-Biology Group, Laboratories for Integrated Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka UniversitySuita, Japan; AMED-CREST, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)Suita, Japan.
Abstract:
The clustered protocadherin (Pcdh) genes are divided into the Pcdhα, Pcdhβ, and Pcdhγ clusters. Gene-disruption analyses in mice have revealed the in vivo functions of the Pcdhα and Pcdhγ clusters. However, all Pcdh protein isoforms form combinatorial cis-hetero dimers and enter trans-homophilic interactions. Here we addressed distinct and cooperative functions in the Pcdh clusters by generating six cluster-deletion mutants (Δα, Δβ, Δγ, Δαβ, Δβγ, and Δαβγ) and comparing their phenotypes: Δα, Δβ, and Δαβ mutants were viable and fertile; Δγ mutants lived less than 12 h; and Δβγ and Δαβγ mutants died shortly after birth. The Pcdhα, Pcdhβ, and Pcdhγ clusters were individually and cooperatively important in olfactory-axon targeting and spinal-cord neuron survival. Neurodegeneration was most severe in Δαβγ mutants, indicating that Pcdhα and Pcdhβ function cooperatively for neuronal survival. The Pcdhα, Pcdhβ, and Pcdhγ clusters share roles in olfactory-axon targeting and neuronal survival, although to different degrees.
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