TY - JOUR AU - Qian, Yueping K. AU - Chan, Ariel WS AU - Madhavan, Raghavan AU - Peng, H. Benjamin PY - 2008 DA - 2008/07/23 TI - The function of Shp2 tyrosine phosphatase in the dispersal of acetylcholine receptor clusters JO - BMC Neuroscience SP - 70 VL - 9 IS - 1 AB - A crucial event in the development of the vertebrate neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is the postsynaptic enrichment of muscle acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (AChRs). This process involves two distinct steps: the local clustering of AChRs at synapses, which depends on the activation of the muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase MuSK by neural agrin, and the global dispersal of aneural or "pre-patterned" AChR aggregates, which is triggered by ACh or by synaptogenic stimuli. We and others have previously shown that tyrosine phosphatases, such as the SH2 domain-containing phosphatase Shp2, regulate AChR cluster formation in muscle cells, and that tyrosine phosphatases also mediate the dispersal of pre-patterned AChR clusters by synaptogenic stimuli, although the specific phosphatases involved in this latter step remain unknown. SN - 1471-2202 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2202-9-70 DO - 10.1186/1471-2202-9-70 ID - Qian2008 ER -