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Sci. STKE, 22 April 2003
Vol. 2003, Issue 179, p. tw163
[DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.1792003tw163]

EDITORS' CHOICE

DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY Insulin Receptors and Visual Development

In Drosophila, the insulin receptor (DInR) is expressed throughout the animal. Song et al. (see the Perspective by Dickson) now analyze how the DInR functions during visual system development. As axons make their way from the retina to their final targets in the brain, a well-organized mapping results in thorough distribution of retinal connections across the optic lobe. When DInR or its adaptor protein Dock are disrupted by mutation, the retinotectal axonal connections are also disrupted. Thus, in Drosophila, one of the myriad functions of the insulin receptor is to mediate, with the help of Dock, the normal development of neuronal connections from eye to brain.

J. Song, L. Wu, Z. Chen, R. A. Kohanski, L. Pick, Axons guided by insulin receptor in Drosophila visual system. Science 300, 502-505 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text]

B. J. Dickson, Wiring the brain with insulin. Science 300, 440-441 (2003). [Summary] [Full Text]

Citation: Insulin Receptors and Visual Development. Sci. STKE 2003, tw163 (2003).

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