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CELL BIOLOGY OF THE NEURON Polarity ... - Tavernarakis Lab

CELL BIOLOGY OF THE NEURON Polarity ... - Tavernarakis Lab

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Cell Biology of the Neuron: <strong>Polarity</strong>, Plasticity and Regeneration, Crete 2011<br />

Cytoplasmic Linker Proteins Regulate Neuronal<br />

Polarization through Microtubule and Growth Cone<br />

Dynamics<br />

Dorothee Neukirchen, Frank Bradke<br />

Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology<br />

Axon formation is a hallmark of initial neuronal polarization. This process is<br />

thought to be regulated by enhanced microtubule stability in the subsequent axon<br />

and changes in actin dynamics in the future axonal growth cone. Here, we show<br />

that the microtubule end-binding proteins Cytoplasmic Linker Protein (CLIP) 115<br />

and CLIP 170 were enriched in the axonal growth cone and extended into the<br />

actin rich domain of the growth cone. CLIPs were necessary for axon formation<br />

and sufficient to induce an axon. The regulation of axonal microtubule<br />

stabilization by CLIPs enabled the protrusion of microtubules into the leading<br />

edge of the axonal growth cone. Moreover, CLIPs positively regulated growth<br />

cone dynamics and restrained actin arc formation, which was necessary for axon<br />

growth. In fact, in neurons without CLIP activity, axon formation was restored by<br />

actin destabilization or myosin II inhibition. Together, our data suggest that<br />

CLIPs enable neuronal polarization by controlling the stabilization of<br />

microtubules and growth cone dynamics.<br />

Presented by: Neukirchen, Dorothee<br />

161<br />

Poster No 079<br />

Red Session

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