Independent Junior Research Group Axonal Growth and Regeneration, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
Science. 2010 Feb 5;327(5966):704-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1182179. Epub 2010 Jan 7.
Microtubules are polymeric protein structures and components of the cytoskeleton. Their dynamic polymerization is important for diverse cellular functions. The centrosome is the classical site of microtubule nucleation and is thought to be essential for axon growth and neuronal differentiation--processes that require microtubule assembly. We found that the centrosome loses its function as a microtubule organizing center during development of rodent hippocampal neurons. Axons still extended and regenerated through acentrosomal microtubule nucleation, and axons continued to grow after laser ablation of the centrosome in early neuronal development. Thus, decentralized microtubule assembly enables axon extension and regeneration, and, after axon initiation, acentrosomal microtubule nucleation arranges the cytoskeleton, which is the source of the sophisticated morphology of neurons.
微管是聚合蛋白结构和细胞骨架的组成部分。它们的动态聚合对于多种细胞功能很重要。中心体是微管起始的经典部位，被认为对于轴突生长和神经元分化是必需的，这些过程需要微管组装。我们发现，在啮齿动物海马神经元的发育过程中，中心体失去了作为微管组织中心的功能。轴突仍然通过无中心体的微管起始延伸和再生，并且在早期神经元发育中用光漂白破坏中心体后轴突仍继续生长。因此，分散的微管组装使轴突延伸和再生成为可能，并且在轴突起始之后，无中心体的微管起始排列细胞骨架，这是神经元复杂形态的来源。
