WWW.JNEUROSCI.ORG
-
The Journal of Neuroscience Advertisement
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     
-


HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP
The Journal of Neuroscience, December 26, 2007, 27(52):14404-14414; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4908-07.2007

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hasegawa, H.
Right arrow Articles by Wang, F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hasegawa, H.
Right arrow Articles by Wang, F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Development/Plasticity/Repair
Analyzing Somatosensory Axon Projections with the Sensory Neuron-Specific Advillin Gene

Hiroshi Hasegawa, Sara Abbott, Bao-Xia Han, Yi Qi, and Fan Wang

Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710

Correspondence should be addressed to Fan Wang, Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3709, Durham, NC 27710. Email: f.wang{at}cellbio.duke.edu

Peripheral sensory neurons detect diverse physical stimuli and transmit the information into the CNS. At present, the genetic tools for specifically studying the development, plasticity, and regeneration of the sensory axon projections are limited. We found that the gene encoding Advillin, an actin binding protein that belongs to the gelsolin superfamily, is expressed almost exclusively in peripheral sensory neurons. We next generated a line of knock-in mice in which the start codon of the Advillin is replaced by the gene encoding human placenta alkaline phosphatase (Avil-hPLAP mice). In heterozygous Avil-hPLAP mice, sensory axons, the exquisite sensory endings, as well as the fine central axonal collaterals can be clearly visualized with a simple alkaline phosphatase staining. Using this mouse line, we found that the development of peripheral target innervation and sensory ending formation is an ordered process with specific timing depending on sensory modalities. This is also true for the in-growth of central axonal collaterals into the brainstem and the spinal cord. Our results demonstrate that Avil-hPLAP mouse is a valuable tool for specifically studying peripheral sensory neurons. Functionally, we found that the regenerative axon growth of Advillin-null sensory neurons is significantly shortened and that deletion of Advillin reduces the plasticity of whisker-related barrelettes patterns in the hindbrain.

Key words: sensory ganglia; genetic labeling; sensory ending; central collateral projection; hPLAP; Advillin

Received May 11, 2007; accepted Nov. 16, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Fan Wang, Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3709, Durham, NC 27710. Email: f.wang{at}cellbio.duke.edu






-

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help
-
Copyright 2008 by Society for Neuroscience ONLINE ISSN: 1529-2401
-