Synapse-specific gene expression

Abstract

Skeletal myofibers are specialized at the site of contact between nerve and muscle, and recent studies indicate that mechanisms involved in the formation of this specialized region are similar to mechanisms used to establish specialized domains in other syncytial cells. In this review experiments are summarized that indicate that nuclei in the synaptic region of syncytial myofibers are transcriptionally distinct from nuclei in the remainder of the myofiber, and the steps used to establish synapse-specific gene expression are compared with the mechanisms used to regulate gene expression among subsets of nuclei in other syncytia, namely the syncytial blastoderm of Drosophila melanogaster and the syncytial germ line of Caenorhabditis elegans.