TY - JOUR T1 - Centrosome Motility Is Essential for Initial Axon Formation in the Neocortex JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 10391 LP - 10406 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0381-10.2010 VL - 30 IS - 31 AU - Froylan Calderon de Anda AU - Konstantinos Meletis AU - Xuecai Ge AU - Damien Rei AU - Li-Huei Tsai Y1 - 2010/08/04 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/31/10391.abstract N2 - The mechanisms underlying the normal development of neuronal morphology remain a fundamental question in neurobiology. Studies in cultured neurons have suggested that the position of the centrosome and the Golgi may predict the site of axon outgrowth. During neuronal migration in the developing cortex, however, the centrosome and Golgi are oriented toward the cortical plate at a time when axons grow toward the ventricular zone. In the current work, we use in situ live imaging to demonstrate that the centrosome and the accompanying polarized cytoplasm exhibit apical translocation in newborn cortical neurons preceding initial axon outgrowth. Disruption of centrosomal activity or downregulation of the centriolar satellite protein PCM-1 affects axon formation. We further show that downregulation of the centrosomal protein Cep120 impairs microtubule organization, resulting in increased centrosome motility. Decreased centrosome motility resulting from microtubule stabilization causes an aberrant centrosomal localization, leading to misplaced axonal outgrowth. Our results reveal the dynamic nature of the centrosome in developing cortical neurons, and implicate centrosome translocation and microtubule organization during the multipolar stage as important determinants of axon formation. ER -