Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) is a secreted factor known to guide axon/dendrite growth and neuronal migration. We found that it also acts as a polarizing factor for axon/dendrite development in cultured hippocampal neurons. Exposure of the undifferentiated neurite to localized Sema3A suppressed its differentiation into axon and promoted dendrite formation, resulting in axon formation away from the Sema3A source, and bath application of Sema3A to polarized neurons promoted dendrite growth but suppressed axon growth. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging showed that Sema3A elevated the cGMP but reduced cAMP and protein kinase A (PKA) activity, and its axon suppression is attributed to the downregulation of PKA-dependent phosphorylation of axon determinants LKB1 and GSK-3β. Downregulating Sema3A signaling in rat embryonic cortical progenitors via in utero electroporation of siRNAs against the Sema3A receptor neuropilin-1 also resulted in polarization defects in vivo. Thus, Sema3A regulates the earliest step of neuronal morphogenesis by polarizing axon/dendrite formation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2011.06.041 | DOI Listing |
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Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
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Nanobiology Institute, Yale University, West Haven, CT, USA.
Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles with remarkable precision in response to presynaptic calcium influx but exhibit significant heterogeneity in exocytosis timing and efficacy based on the recent history of activity. This heterogeneity is critical for information transfer in the brain, yet its molecular basis remains poorly understood. Here, we employ a biochemically-defined fusion assay under physiologically relevant conditions to delineate the minimal protein machinery sufficient to account for various modes of calcium-triggered vesicle fusion dynamics.
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
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