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Updated: Dec 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Understanding Microtubule Network in Drosophila Neuromuscular Junctions
Published on: October 20, 2023
Dynamin-2 Regulates Postsynaptic Cytoskeleton Organization and Neuromuscular Junction Development
Shan-Shan Lin1, Tsung-Lin Hsieh1, Gunn-Guang Liou2
1Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan.
Abstract:
Neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) govern efficient neuronal communication with muscle cells, relying on proper architecture of specialized postsynaptic compartments. However, the intrinsic mechanism in muscle cells contributing to NMJ development remains unclear. In this study, we reveal that dynamin-2 (Dyn2) is involved in postsynaptic development of NMJs. Mutations of Dyn2 have been linked to human muscular disorder and centronuclear myopathy (CNM), as well as featured with muscle atrophy and defective NMJs, yet the function of Dyn2 at the postsynaptic membrane is largely unknown. We demonstrate that Dyn2 is enriched at the postsynaptic membrane and regulates NMJ development via actin remodeling. Dyn2 functions as an actin-bundling GTPase to regulate podosome turnover and cytoskeletal organization of the postsynaptic apparatus, and CNM-Dyn2 mutations display abnormal actin remodeling and electrophysiological activity of fly NMJs. Altogether, Dyn2 primarily regulates actin cytoskeleton remodeling and NMJ morphogenesis at the postsynaptic membrane, which is distinct from its endocytosis regulatory role at the presynaptic membrane.
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