Axons Guided by Insulin Receptor in Drosophila Visual System

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 300; no. 5618; pp. 502 - 505
• Main Authors: Song, Jianbo, Wu, Lingling, Chen, Zun, Kohanski, Ronald A., Pick, Leslie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 18.04.2003; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; Analysis; Anatomy; Animals; Antibodies; Axonal transport; Axons; Axons - physiology; Binding Sites; Biochemistry. Physiology. Immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; Brain; Brain - cytology; Brain - growth & development; Carrier Proteins - genetics; Carrier Proteins - immunology; Carrier Proteins - metabolism; Carrier Proteins - physiology; Cell Differentiation; Cell Size; Developmental Delays; Developmental Stages; Docks; Drosophila; Drosophila - genetics; Drosophila - growth & development; Drosophila - physiology; Drosophila Proteins - genetics; Drosophila Proteins - metabolism; Eye - cytology; Eye - growth & development; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Growth cones; Growth Cones - physiology; Guidance; Insecta; Insulin; Insulin Receptor Substrate Proteins; Insulin receptors; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Invertebrates; Larvae; Male; Mosaic; Mutation; Nerve Tissue Proteins - chemistry; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; Nervous system; Phenotypes; Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate - cytology; Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate - physiology; Physiology. Development; Precipitin Tests; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - genetics; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - immunology; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - metabolism; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - physiology; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Receptor, Insulin - genetics; Receptor, Insulin - immunology; Receptor, Insulin - metabolism; Receptor, Insulin - physiology; Receptors; Retina - cytology; Retina - growth & development; Signal Transduction; src Homology Domains; Two-Hybrid System Techniques; Visual Pathways; United States; Insecta; Drosophila; Photoreceptor; Axon; Growth cone; Insulin; Drosophilidae; Eye; Guidance; Visual system; Arthropoda; Development; Invertebrata; Insulin receptor; Diptera; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1081203

Insulin receptors are abundant in the central nervous system, but their roles remain elusive. Here we show that the insulin receptor functions in axon guidance. The Drosophila insulin receptor (DInR) is required for photoreceptor-cell (R-cell) axons to find their way from the retina to the brain during development of the visual system. DInR functions as a guidance receptor for the adapter protein Dock/Nck. This function is independent of Chico, the Drosophila insulin receptor substrate (IRS) homolog.