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The Journal of Neuroscience, November 26, 2008, 28(48):13014-13024; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3192-08.2008

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Development/Plasticity/Repair
Detection of Endogenous Retinoids in the Molluscan CNS and Characterization of the Trophic and Tropic Actions of 9-cis Retinoic Acid on Isolated Neurons

Jennifer M. Dmetrichuk,¹ Robert L. Carlone,¹ Timothy R. B. Jones,² Nicholas D. Vesprini,¹ and Gaynor E. Spencer¹

Departments of ¹Biological Sciences and ²Chemistry, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1

Correspondence should be addressed to Gaynor E. Spencer, Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1. Email: gspencer{at}brocku.ca

Retinoic acid (RA) is an active metabolite of Vitamin A that plays an important role in the growth and differentiation of many cell types. All-trans RA (atRA) is the retinoic acid isomer that has been most widely studied in the nervous system, and can induce and direct neurite outgrowth from both vertebrate and invertebrate preparations. The presence and role of the 9-cis-RA isomer in the nervous system is far less well defined. Here, we used high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS) to show for the first time, the presence of both atRA and 9-cis-RA in the CNS of an invertebrate. We then demonstrated that 9-cis-RA was capable of exerting the same neurotrophic and chemotropic effects on cultured neurons as atRA. In this study, significantly more cells showed neurite outgrowth in 9-cis-RA versus the EtOH vehicle control, and 9-cis-RA significantly increased the number and length of neurites from identified neurons after 4 d in culture. 9-cis-RA also extended the duration of time that cells remained electrically excitable in culture. Furthermore, we showed for the first time in any species, that exogenous application of 9-cis-RA induced positive growth cone turning of cultured neurons. This study provides the first evidence for the presence of both atRA and 9-cis-RA in an invertebrate CNS and also provides the first direct evidence for a potential physiological role for 9-cis-RA in neuronal regeneration and axon pathfinding.

Key words: growth cone; retinoic acid; endogenous retinoid; 9-cis retinoic acid; Lymnaea stagnalis; cell culture

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Received July 9, 2008; revised Oct. 3, 2008; accepted Oct. 24, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to Gaynor E. Spencer, Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1. Email: gspencer{at}brocku.ca

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]

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