In fat and skeletal muscle cells, glucose transporter isoform 4 (Glut4) is translocated to the cell surface in response to insulin via a system of specialized recycling vesicles. Besides Glut4, these vesicles include the novel insulin-regulatable aminopeptidase, receptors for insulin-like growth factor-II/Man-6-phosphate and transferrin, and a glycoprotein with the molecular mass of 110 kDa. We...

In the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS), growth of neuronal fibers is actively inhibited by myelin. The proteins myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), oligodendrocyte myelin glycoprotein (OMgP), and Nogo-66 have been identified as inhibitory components present in CNS myelin. All three proteins exert their inhibitory activity by binding to a neuronal receptor complex containing the N...

During development, mammalian neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) transit from multiple-innervation to single-innervation through axonal competition via unknown molecular mechanisms. Previously, using an in vitro model system, we demonstrated that the postsynaptic secretion of pro-brain-derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF) stabilizes or eliminates presynaptic axon terminals, depending on its proteo...

| The discovery that heterozygous and homozygous mutations in the gene encoding progranulin are causally linked to frontotemporal dementia and lysosomal storage disease, respectively, reveals previously unrecognized roles of the progranulin protein in regulating lysosome biogenesis and function. Given the importance of lysosomes in cellular homeostasis, it is not surprising that progranulin def...