, 2004 and Zhan et al., 2004), the modest decrease in overlap seen in response to ectopic expression of each chimera on its own suggests that even weak

binding between isoforms promotes repulsion, albeit at an attenuated level. By contrast, coexpression of complementary chimeras induced ectopic repulsion between the dendrites of different cells similar to wild-type isoforms (Figures 4D and 4E). Thus, selective recognition between isoforms is sufficient to induce ectopic repulsion between processes of different cells. Dscam1 is among a small Compound C price group of very large families of cell recognition molecules (e.g., neurexins and clustered protocadherins) with diverse binding specificities, which are important for the assembly and function of neural circuits. To critically assess whether it is the isoform specificity Selleck Selisistat of these interactions that is crucial for their function in vivo, it will be necessary to selectively manipulate binding specificity between isoforms. As we describe here, the use of structural and biochemical data to generate pairs of complementary isoforms with altered specificities provides an effective way to directly address the biological relevance of this recognition.

Chimeric knockin alleles were generated and maintained as previously described (Hattori et al., 2007). The stocks used in misexpression experiments in da sensory neurons are UAS-Dscam1 stocks and hsFLP; Gal4109(2)80; UAS > CD2 > mCD8-GFP. The stocks used in MARCM were hsFLP, elav-Gal4, UAS-mCD8-GFP; FRT42D, tub-Gal80/CyO, and those used in iMARCM were hsFLP, elav-Gal4, UAS-mCD8-GFP; Dscam1FRT, tub-Gal80/CyO. Mutations were introduced into the corresponding wild-type isoforms with the QuickChange Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene). The ELISA-based binding assay was performed as previously described (Wojtowicz et al., 2007). Cell aggregation assays were performed as previously described

(Matthews et al., 2007). Immunoblots were performed by using mAb anti-Dscam1 (11G4) at 1:2,000 dilution. AUC equilibrium experiments were performed at 25°C by using a Beckman XL-A/I ultracentrifuge equipped with a Ti60An rotor. Data were collected by using UV absorbance at 280 nm. Samples of each protein, at concentrations of 0.7, Linifanib (ABT-869) 0.46, and 0.24 mg/ml, were dialyzed in a PBS buffer, pH 7.4 for 16 hr at 4°C, and 120 μl aliquots of each concentration were loaded into six-channel equilibrium cells with parallel sides and sapphire windows. Samples were spun at 8,000 rpm for 20 hr, after which four scans were collected at a rate of one per hour. The rotor speed was then increased to 10,000 rpm for 10 hr, after which four additional scans were collected at the same rate. The speed was further increased to 12,000 rpm for another 10 hr, and four more scans were recorded under the same conditions.