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

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, June 1, 2003, 23(11):4613-4624

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter 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 (18) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gianola, S. Articles by Rossi, F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gianola, S. Articles by Rossi, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Cell-Autonomous Mechanisms and Myelin-Associated Factors Contribute to the Development of Purkinje Axon Intracortical Plexus in the Rat Cerebellum

Sara Gianola,¹ Tiziana Savio,² Martin E. Schwab,³ and Ferdinando Rossi¹

¹ Department of Neuroscience, Rita Levi Montalcini Centre for Brain Repair, University of Turin, I-10125 Turin, Italy, ² Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Genoa, I-16132 Genoa, Italy, and ³ Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland

The highly specific connection patterns of the mature CNS are shaped through finely regulated processes of axon growth and retraction. To investigate the relative contribution of cell-autonomous mechanisms and extrinsic cues in these events, we examined the development of Purkinje axon intracortical plexus in the rat cerebellum. During the first postnatal week, several new processes sprout from focal swellings along the initial portion of the Purkinje neurite and spread in the granular layer. Intense structural plasticity occurs during the following week, with pruning of collateral branches and remodeling of terminal arbors. The mature distribution of the Purkinje infraganglionic plexus, confined within the most superficial portion of the granular layer, is attained at approximately postnatal day 15. A similar neuritic branching pattern is also developed by Purkinje cells grown in cultures of dissociated cerebellar cells or transplanted to extracerebellar CNS regions, suggesting that cell-autonomous mechanisms contribute to determining the Purkinje axon phenotype.

The structural remodeling of Purkinje intracortical plexus is concomitant with the development of cerebellar myelin. To ask whether myelin-associated factors contribute to the morphological maturation of Purkinje neurites, we prevented normal myelinogenesis by killing oligodendrocyte precursors with 5'-azacytidine or by applying neutralizing antibodies against the myelin-associated neurite growth inhibitor Nogo-A. In both conditions, Purkinje axons retained exuberant branches, and the terminal plexus spanned the entire extent of the granular layer. Thus, the formation of Purkinje axon collaterals is, in part, controlled by intrinsic determinants, but their growth and distribution are regulated by environmental signals, among which are myelin-derived cues.

Key words: Nogo; myelin-associated neurite growth inhibitory proteins; axonal plasticity; sprouting; pruning; neuritic branching; synaptogenesis; myelinogenesis; axon growth

---

Received Nov. 25, 2002; revised Feb. 21, 2003; accepted Mar. 24, 2003.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. Montani, B. Gerrits, P. Gehrig, A. Kempf, L. Dimou, B. Wollscheid, and M. E. Schwab Neuronal Nogo-A Modulates Growth Cone Motility via Rho-GTP/LIMK1/Cofilin in the Unlesioned Adult Nervous System J. Biol. Chem., April 17, 2009; 284(16): 10793 - 10807. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Orduz and I. Llano Recurrent axon collaterals underlie facilitating synapses between cerebellar Purkinje cells PNAS, November 6, 2007; 104(45): 17831 - 17836. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Rossignol, M. Schwab, M. Schwartz, and M. G. Fehlings Spinal Cord Injury: Time to Move? J. Neurosci., October 31, 2007; 27(44): 11782 - 11792. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Jurewicz, M. Matysiak, C. S. Raine, and K. Selmaj Soluble Nogo-A, an inhibitor of axonal regeneration, as a biomarker for multiple sclerosis Neurology, January 23, 2007; 68(4): 283 - 287. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Corvetti and F. Rossi Degradation of Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans Induces Sprouting of Intact Purkinje Axons in the Cerebellum of the Adult Rat J. Neurosci., August 3, 2005; 25(31): 7150 - 7158. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Bouslama-Oueghlani, R. Wehrle, C. Sotelo, and I. Dusart The Developmental Loss of the Ability of Purkinje Cells to Regenerate Their Axons Occurs in the Absence of Myelin: An In Vitro Model to Prevent Myelination J. Neurosci., September 10, 2003; 23(23): 8318 - 8329. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help