The formation of neurocircuitry depends on the control of neurite outgrowth that, in turn, can be divided into two processes: nerve growth cone protrusion and neurite extension. It has long been known that the neural cell adhesion molecules L1 and NCAM-180 promote neurite outgrowth, but how they function in growth cones is unclear. We addressed the roles of L1 and NCAM-180 in neurite outgrowth ...

Recombinant Wnt-3a stimulated the rapid formation of elongated processes in Ewing sarcoma family tumor (ESFT) cells that were identified as neurites. The processes stained positively for polymerized actin and microtubules as well as synapsin I and growth-associated protein 43. Inhibition of the Wnt receptor, Frizzled3 (Fzd3), with antiserum or by short interfering RNA (siRNA) markedly reduced n...

Neurotrophin-coated nanoscale magnetic beads were used to regulate the differentiation and survival of neurons. The beads coated with nerve growth factor (NGF) or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) promoted neurite outgrowths of neurons in the same manner as soluble NGF or soluble BDNF, but beads coated with bovine serum albumin did not promote neurite outgrowths. When the volume of NGF-c...

The Rho family of small GTPases has been implicated in cytoskeletal reorganization and subsequent morphological changes in various cell types. Among them, Rac and Cdc42 have been shown to be involved in neurite outgrowth in neuronal cells. In this study, we examined the role of RhoG, another member of Rho family GTPases, in nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. Expr...

We have compared neurite outgrowth on extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents to outgrowth on glial and muscle cell surfaces. Embryonic chick ciliary ganglion (CG) neurons regenerate neurites rapidly on surfaces coated with laminin (LN), fibronectin (FN), conditioned media (CM) from several non-neuronal cell types that secrete LN, and on intact extracellular matrices. Neurite outgrowth on all o...

Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), one of the major extracellular matrix components glial scar that surrounds central nervous system (CNS) injuries, are known to inhibit regeneration neurons. This study investigated whether pleiotrophin (PTN), a growth factor upregulated during early CNS development, can overcome inhibition mediated by CSPGs and promote neurite outgrowth neurons in vitr...

We investigated how the neural cell adhesion molecule L1 mediates neurite outgrowth through L1-L1 homophilic interactions. Wild-type L1 and L1 with mutations in the cytoplasmic domain (CD) were introduced into L1 knock-out neurons, and transfected neurons were grown on an L1 substrate. Neurite length and branching were compared between wild-type L1 and L1CD mutations. Surprisingly, the L1CD is ...

Neurite RNA binding proteins are important for neurite growth, a process critical for neuronal development and regeneration after injury. It has been known that many RNA binding proteins undergo nucleocytoplasmic shuttling but how their nucleocytoplasmic distributions are regulated during neurite growth has not been well explored. Here we found that the polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB...

Neurite extension and growth cone navigation are guided by extracellular cues that control cytoskeletal rearrangements. However, understanding the complex signaling mechanisms that mediate neuritogenesis has been limited by the inability to biochemically separate the neurite and soma for spatial proteomic and bioinformatic analyses. Here, we apply global proteome profiling in combination with a...

Drebrins, actin-binding proteins, are dominantly expressed during embryogenesis and accumulated in neurite processes of postmigratory neurons. While the cytoskeletal proteins are the important factors for regulating neurite outgrowth, the cellular mechanism in neurons is still unclear. To address the role of drebrins in the neurite outgrowth, we have studied the effect of suppression of drebrin...