Local ERM activation and dynamic growth cones at Schwann cell tips implicated in efficient formation of nodes of Ranvier
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2003-08-06Keywords
Actins; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Cell Communication; Cell Differentiation; Cell Membrane; Cells, Cultured; Cytoskeletal Proteins; Fetus; Ganglia, Spinal; Growth Cones; Neurons, Afferent; Organ Culture Techniques; Peripheral Nervous System; Phosphoproteins; Ranvier's Nodes; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Schwann Cells; Signal Transduction; Sodium-Hydrogen Antiporter; rho GTP-Binding ProteinsLife Sciences
Medicine and Health Sciences
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Show full item recordAbstract
Nodes of Ranvier are specialized, highly polarized axonal domains crucial to the propagation of saltatory action potentials. In the peripheral nervous system, axo-glial cell contacts have been implicated in Schwann cell (SC) differentiation and formation of the nodes of Ranvier. SC microvilli establish axonal contact at mature nodes, and their components have been observed to localize early to sites of developing nodes. However, a role for these contacts in node formation remains controversial.Using a myelinating explant culture system, we have observed that SCs reorganize and polarize microvillar components, such as the ezrin-binding phosphoprotein 50 kD/regulatory cofactor of the sodium-hydrogen exchanger isoform 3 (NHERF-1), actin, and the activated ezrin, radixin, and moesin family proteins before myelination in response to inductive signals. These components are targeted to the SC distal tips where live cell imaging reveals novel, dynamic growth cone-like behavior. Furthermore, localized activation of the Rho signaling pathway at SC tips gives rise to these microvillar component-enriched "caps" and influences the efficiency of node formation.Source
J Cell Biol. 2003 Aug 4;162(3):489-98. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1083/jcb.200303039Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/33725PubMed ID
12900397Related Resources
Link to article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1083/jcb.200303039