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¹ Department of Biological Science, Nagoya University Graduate School of Science, Furocho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan
² KAN Research Institute, Science Center Building #3, Kyoto-Research Park, 93 Chudoji-Awatacho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto 600-8815, Japan
³ Group for Evolutionary Regeneration Biology, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
⁴ Department of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Kita 14, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0814, Japan
⁵ Department of Biophysics, Kyoto University Graduate School of Science, Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan

Precise wiring and proper remodeling of the neural network are essential for its normal function. The freshwater planarian is an attractive animal in which to study the formation and maintenance of the neural network due to its high regenerative capability and developmental plasticity. Although a recent study revealed that homologs of netrin and its receptors are required for regeneration and maintenance of the planarian central nervous system (CNS), the roles of cell adhesion in the formation and maintenance of the planarian neural network remain poorly understood. In the present study, we found primitive immunoglobulin superfamily cell adhesion molecules (IgCAMs) in a planarian that are homologous to vertebrate neural IgCAMs. We identified planarian orthologs of NCAM, L1CAM, contactin and DSCAM, and designated them DjCAM, DjLCAM, DjCTCAM and DjDSCAM, respectively. We further confirmed that they function as cell adhesion molecules using cell aggregation assays. DjCAM and DjDSCAM were found to be differentially expressed in the CNS. Functional analyses using RNA interference revealed that DjCAM is partly involved in axon formation, and that DjDSCAM plays crucial roles in neuronal cell migration, axon outgrowth, fasciculation and projection.

^* Correspondence: E-mail: k-takeuchi{at}kan.gr.jp

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