QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, January 21, 2009, 29(3):638-652; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3845-08.2009

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data Submit an eLetter View eLetters for this paper Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Roche, F. K. Articles by Letourneau, P. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Roche, F. K. Articles by Letourneau, P. C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Development/Plasticity/Repair
Protein Synthesis in Distal Axons Is Not Required for Growth Cone Responses to Guidance Cues

Florence K. Roche, Bonnie M. Marsick, and Paul C. Letourneau

Department of Neuroscience, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Correspondence should be addressed to Paul C. Letourneau, Department of Neuroscience, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minneapolis, 6-145 Jackson Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Email: letou001{at}umn.edu

Recent evidence suggests that growth cone responses to guidance cues require local protein synthesis. Using chick neurons, we investigated whether protein synthesis is required for growth cones of several types to respond to guidance cues. First, we found that global inhibition of protein synthesis stops axonal elongation after 2 h. When protein synthesis inhibitors were added 15 min before adding guidance cues, we found no changes in the typical responses of retinal, sensory, and sympathetic growth cones. In the presence of cycloheximide or anisomycin, ephrin-A2, slit-3, and semaphorin3A still induced growth cone collapse and loss of actin filaments, nerve growth factor (NGF) and neurotrophin-3 still induced growth cone protrusion and increased filamentous actin, and sensory growth cones turned toward an NGF source. In compartmented chambers that separated perikarya from axons, axons grew for 24–48 h in the presence of cycloheximide and responded to negative and positive cues. Our results indicate that protein synthesis is not strictly required in the mechanisms for growth cone responses to many guidance cues. Differences between our results and other studies may exist because of different cellular metabolic levels in in vitro conditions and a difference in when axonal functions become dependent on local protein synthesis.

Key words: growth cone; guidance; protein synthesis; axon; actin; RhoA

---

Received Aug. 12, 2008; revised Nov. 4, 2008; accepted Dec. 2, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to Paul C. Letourneau, Department of Neuroscience, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minneapolis, 6-145 Jackson Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Email: letou001{at}umn.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				N. R. Farrar, J. M. Dmetrichuk, R. L. Carlone, and G. E. Spencer A Novel, Nongenomic Mechanism Underlies Retinoic Acid-Induced Growth Cone Turning J. Neurosci., November 11, 2009; 29(45): 14136 - 14142. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Dubacq, S. Jamet, and A. Trembleau Evidence for Developmentally Regulated Local Translation of Odorant Receptor mRNAs in the Axons of Olfactory Sensory Neurons J. Neurosci., August 19, 2009; 29(33): 10184 - 10190. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters:

Read all eLetters

Turning data not supporting the claim

James Q Zheng

J. Neurosci. Online, 18 Feb 2009 [Full text]

Response to turning data not supporting the claim

Paul C Letourneau

J. Neurosci. Online, 5 Mar 2009 [Full text]

Collapse data not supporting the claim

Samie Jaffrey

J. Neurosci. Online, 10 Mar 2009 [Full text]

Re: Collapse data not supporting the claim

Paul C Letourneau

J. Neurosci. Online, 31 Mar 2009 [Full text]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help