{"id":89926,"date":"2025-10-19T16:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T14:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/?post_type=projects&p=89926"},"modified":"2025-12-16T18:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T17:45:23","slug":"function-of-cap2-in-motor-neurons-and-skeletal-muscles-sona-cap-2","status":"publish","type":"projects","link":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/projekty-badawcze\/function-of-cap2-in-motor-neurons-and-skeletal-muscles-sona-cap-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Function of Cap2 in Motor Neurons and Skeletal Muscles – SONA.CAP 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Project funded by the National Science Centre (NCN) under the \u201cSONATINA 8\u201d competition<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Logo\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Project number: 2024\/52\/C\/NZ3\/00219<\/strong>
Project value: 1,115,082.00 PLN<\/strong>
Funding amount: 1,115,082.00 PLN<\/strong>
Project duration: 25\/09\/2024 \u2013 24\/09\/2027<\/strong>
Project Manager: Olga W\u00f3jcicka, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVIEW PROJECT<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The ability of the human body to move relies on the cooperation between the nervous and muscular systems<\/strong>. A signal generated in the brain is transmitted through motor neurons<\/strong> to muscle fibers<\/strong>, triggering muscle contraction. This transmission is made possible by a specialized type of synapse<\/strong> known as the neuromuscular junction (NMJ)<\/strong>.<\/p>

In this synapse, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine<\/strong> is released from synaptic vesicles at the terminal of the motor neuron\u2019s axon. It then diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to acetylcholine receptors (AChRs)<\/strong> located on the muscle fiber membrane<\/strong>. These receptors are highly clustered<\/strong>, and their organization depends on numerous scaffolding proteins<\/strong> that interact with the cellular cytoskeleton<\/strong>, particularly with actin filaments<\/strong>. The actin cytoskeleton undergoes dynamic remodeling in response to internal and external signals. One of the proteins involved in this remodeling process is Cap2<\/strong>.<\/p>

Previous studies have shown that Cap2<\/strong> is essential for the development and proper function of cardiac muscle<\/strong>, and its absence causes severe cardiac abnormalities<\/strong> in both mice and humans. In skeletal muscles, Cap2 dysfunction<\/strong> is associated with muscle weakness<\/strong> and the formation of abnormal protein aggregates<\/strong> known as nemaline rods<\/strong>, which impair muscle function. Our collaborative research with a German group has demonstrated that Cap2 knockout (Cap2 KO) mice<\/strong> develop ring fibers<\/strong> in fast-twitch muscles. These are myofibrils oriented transversely<\/strong> relative to other fibers in the muscle, leading to defective muscle contraction<\/strong>. Interestingly, similar ring fibers have been observed in humans with myopathies of unknown origin<\/strong>. These findings indicate that Cap2 plays a crucial role in skeletal muscle physiology<\/strong>, though its specific function at the neuromuscular junction<\/strong> remains unexplored.<\/p>

Our preliminary, unpublished results show that loss of Cap2<\/strong> in Cap2 KO mice<\/strong> leads to abnormal motor neuron axon morphology<\/strong>, defective AChR clustering<\/strong>, and altered synaptic junction size<\/strong>. These findings suggest that Cap2 is important for both sides of the synapse<\/strong> \u2014 the motor neuron<\/strong> and the muscle fiber<\/strong>. To study these roles in more detail, I have generated tissue-specific knockout mutants<\/strong>, lacking Cap2 only in motor neurons (Cap2 nKO)<\/strong> or only in skeletal muscles (Cap2 mKO)<\/strong>.<\/p>

Within this project, I will conduct a comprehensive characterization<\/strong> of these mutants, focusing on the morphology and ultrastructure<\/strong> of neuromuscular junctions using various microscopy techniques<\/strong>. Additionally, I will perform functional analyses<\/strong> of synaptic performance, including locomotor behavior tests<\/strong>, muscle strength measurements<\/strong>, and electrophysiological recordings<\/strong>.<\/p>

The results of this project will provide new insights into the role of Cap2<\/strong> at the neuromuscular junction and may serve as a foundation for developing potential therapies<\/strong> for neuromuscular junction disorders<\/strong>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Project funded by the National Science Centre (NCN) under the \u201cSONATINA 8\u201d competition Project number: 2024\/52\/C\/NZ3\/00219Project value: 1,115,082.00 PLNFunding amount: 1,115,082.00 PLNProject duration: 25\/09\/2024 \u2013 24\/09\/2027Project Manager: Olga W\u00f3jcicka, PhD VIEW PROJECT The ability of the human body to move relies on the cooperation between the nervous and muscular systems. A signal generated in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":81418,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[747],"grupy_badawcze":[608],"pozostale_projekty":[],"class_list":["post-89926","projects","type-projects","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nsc","grupy_badawcze-grupa-badawcza-synaptogenezy"],"acf":{"kierownik_projektu":["Dr. Olga W\u00f3jcicka"],"dofinansowanie":"Narodowe Centrum Nauki","nazwa_projektu":"","tematyka_projektu":"","opis_projektu":"","grupa_badawcza":["Synaptogenesis Research Group"],"dofinanowanie":"National Science Centre"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-01 17:58:53","action":"category","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/projects\/89926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/projects"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/projects"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/projects\/89926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95444,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/projects\/89926\/revisions\/95444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89926"},{"taxonomy":"grupy_badawcze","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/grupy_badawcze?post=89926"},{"taxonomy":"pozostale_projekty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/port.lukasiewicz.gov.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pozostale_projekty?post=89926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}