Molecular changes that occur in motor neurons around the time of birth

A team of researchers from Tom Gillingwater's lab, collaborating with colleagues from UMC Utrecht and Institute for Biophysics, CNR Trento, have uncovered the complex series of molecular changes that occur in motor neurons around the time of birth, when they undergo a process known as synapse elimination. This developmental process sculpts and refines connections between nerve and muscle at sites known as neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). The researchers have revealed rapid and dynamic changes in new protein production within motor neurons, regulated via the process of translation. The research provides a foundation from which to explore the physiology of normal neuromuscular development and may provide clues to the pathophysiology of neuromuscular disease.

Read the paper: Dynamic modulation of the motor neuron translatome during developmental synapse elimination. 

Added bonus: Co-author and Senior Postdoc Dr Helena Chaytow's image was selected for the journal's front cover!