Jean B. answered • 04/18/21
Medical Student Teaching Science!
Per the paper, "Neuregulins and Their Receptors: A Versatile Signaling Module in Organogenesis and Oncogenesis" published in Neuron in 1997.
"[Neuregulins or NRG for simplicity] play an important role at neuromuscular synapses, where they are thought to act as a signal that stimulates transcription of certain genes, including those encoding acetylcholine receptor (AChR) subunits, in nuclei near the synaptic site."
"Nevertheless, tetanic stimulation of their motor nerves in vitro showed that synaptic transmission fails more readily in NRGIg+/− mice, further indicating that NRG has a role in neuromuscular function."
"Agrin is an important signal for neuromuscular synapse formation, since mice lacking agrin or MuSK, a component of its receptor complex, lack neuromuscular synapses."
Muscle fibers without stimulation from lower motor neurons will result in atrophy, decreased tone, hyporeflexia, and decreased power.
