Caspase-3, shears for synapse pruning

摘要

Motor neurons regulate neuromuscular junction formation by using agrin to stimulate acetylcholine receptor clustering and using acetylcholine to disperse unnecessary receptor clusters on muscle fibers. Wang etal. (2014) now report in this issue of Developmental Cell a critical role for caspase-3 in intracellular mechanisms of acetylcholine-induced dispersal.