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Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2004, p. 10905-10922, Vol. 24, No. 24
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.24.10905-10922.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Abi2-Deficient Mice Exhibit Defective Cell Migration, Aberrant Dendritic Spine Morphogenesis, and Deficits in Learning and Memory

Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology,¹ Departments of Psychiatry, Medicine (Endocrinology), and Cell Biology, Mouse Behavioral and Neuroendocrine Analysis Core Facility, Duke University Medical Center, Durham,² Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina³

Received 4 June 2004/ Returned for modification 14 July 2004/ Accepted 14 September 2004

The Abl-interactor (Abi) family of adaptor proteins has been linked to signaling pathways involving the Abl tyrosine kinases and the Rac GTPase. Abi proteins localize to sites of actin polymerization in protrusive membrane structures and regulate actin dynamics in vitro. Here we demonstrate that Abi2 modulates cell morphogenesis and migration in vivo. Homozygous deletion of murine abi2 produced abnormal phenotypes in the eye and brain, the tissues with the highest Abi2 expression. In the absence of Abi2, secondary lens fiber orientation and migration were defective in the eye, without detectable defects in proliferation, differentiation, or apoptosis. These phenotypes were consistent with the localization of Abi2 at adherens junctions in the developing lens and at nascent epithelial cell adherens junctions in vitro. Downregulation of Abi expression by RNA interference impaired adherens junction formation and correlated with downregulation of the Wave actin-nucleation promoting factor. Loss of Abi2 also resulted in cell migration defects in the neocortex and hippocampus, abnormal dendritic spine morphology and density, and severe deficits in short- and long-term memory. These findings support a role for Abi2 in the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics at adherens junctions and dendritic spines, which is critical for intercellular connectivity, cell morphogenesis, and cognitive functions.

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