Membrane-associated periodic skeleton is a signaling platform for RTK transactivation in neurons

Abstract

A dynamic signaling scaffold In neurons, many cellular processes are regulated by receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), cell surface receptors whose activation can depend on other signaling pathways. Zhou et al. used super-resolution imaging to visualize colocalization of signaling proteins on the membrane-associated periodic skeleton (MPS) that is formed by actin, spectrin, and related molecules in the axons and dendrites of neurons. The colocalization of signaling proteins in different pathways leads to transactivation of RTK, which initiates intracellular signaling. In a negative feedback loop, the downstream signaling in turn leads to degradation of the MPS. Thus, the MPS is a dynamically regulated platform that coordinates signal transduction in neurons. Science , this issue p. 929